Adhesiones a la OMC

Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa with a GDP in excess of US$ 500 billion dependent on oil and gas exports for the bulk of government revenues as well as foreign exchange. Its growth – which averaged about 7 per cent in the decade between 2005 and 2014 – has in recent years been driven by the non-oil sectors: services agriculture and manufacturing. The principal challenge for the President Buhari administration which took office in May 2015 is to build on this trend by diversifying export income and the sources of government revenues as well as kickstarting the long-overdue task of industrializing the Nigerian economy. One of the goals of this approach is to achieve robust stable and predictable growth free from short-to-medium-term cycles of boom and bust.

Forms of collective action and balanced commitment through negotiations were the foundation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the structure for its daily work. These remain at the centrepiece of work in the WTO in a system structured on the balance of rights and obligations. GATT contracting parties established the principles of balance and reciprocity trade liberalisation and a system of mediation and dispute settlement for mutual resolution of GATT provisions. From this base expansion of membership pursuant to accession negotiations has required a commitment to accepting GATT/WTO rules resulting from previous negotiations. WTO accession supports applicants’ efforts for economic reform and integration into world markets. This is one of the most important benefits of membership. Although challenging accession negotiations and the implementation of WTO provisions support important economic goals such as sustainable growth the promotion of high-tech industries attraction of foreign direct investment raised living standards and global assertion of national trade interest.

Where are the legal roots of WTO Accession Protocols? How much was carried over from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade standard and practice? What customary practice governs the preparation and approval of accession decisions and protocols? What is the current substantive standard and basic architecture of Accession Protocols? Are there unique provisions in Accession Protocols that have emerged in twenty years of WTO accession history? To what extent do Accession Protocols come into play in the context of WTO dispute settlement? By comparing the empirical data contained in the WTO Accession Protocols with preceding GATT Accession Protocols this chapter offers waterfront coverage of WTO Accession Protocols from the GATT baseline. The chapter shows that although rooted in its GATT predecessor base and remarkably consistent over time some unique provisions have been incorporated into the architecture of the WTO Accession Protocols since 1995. Because Accession Protocols become integral parts of WTO Agreement after they come into force the chapter argues that the specific ‘terms and conditions of accession’ in WTO Accession Protocols have had a direct and salutary impact on the entirety of the WTO Agreement through its tightened safeguard and upgrade. The chapter concludes by arguing that the evidence suggests that the WTO Agreement has been expanded by the absorption of the Accession Protocols over the course of the last twenty years and that the effect on the WTO Agreement has been significant rather than marginal.

In 2011 a popular revolution occurred in Yemen leading to the formation of the government which brought the accession process to its conclusion in 2014 following years of long and complex negotiations. From the beginning Yemen’s accession process was envisaged not as an end in itself but as a means to achieve other more imperative objectives including poverty reduction decreasing levels of chronic unemployment and raising levels of sustained development to meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. This chapter gives an account of the accession process focusing on the positive effects of Yemen’s accession to the WTO both as a catalyst for long sought-after domestic reform and as a useful and convenient path to reach higher levels of reform for which the accession process acted as a spur. The aspiration was to create a competitive business environment that would lead to efficient resource allocation and ultimately boost output and productivity as well as increasing the well-being of the populace and reaping the benefits of WTO membership. Joining the WTO does not mark the end of the reform process. There is work post-accession to establish and strengthen different institutions to exercise the benefits of WTO membership for Yemen.

This chapter asks whether distinctions exist between the original WTO least-developed country (LDC) members and the Article XII LDCs in respect of their obligations under the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement. The chapter examines the evidence from the protocols of accession of the seven Article XII LDCs in the context of the associated treaty dialogue in their working party reports. It finds that distinctions exist and that the commitments accepted by Article XII LDCs in some respects go beyond the original requirements of the TRIPs Agreements and therefore also go beyond the TRIPs obligations of original LDC members. The chapter investigates these WTO TRIPs ‘plus’ commitments and assesses their merits in relation to the sovereign determined domestic reform priorities of the Article XII members and possible implications for the rules-based multilateral trading system. It is argued that the TRIPs Agreement is a minimum standards agreement consisting of both principles and substantive obligations with built-in flexibilities and considerable scope for interpretation and national implementation of its provisions. WTO members may deviate from these minimum standards to the extent that they benefit from longer or shorter periods of transitional relief which may vary according to an LDC member’s status as either an original member or Article XII member. Accession-specific commitments and associated treaty dialogue also show that there is implementation ‘flexibility’ on the basis of pre-determined action plans. The chapter finds that in those instances where Article XII LDCs members have undertaken legally binding commitments to implement WTO-plus obligations the substantive minimum standards of protection of the TRIPs Agreement have been increased. These WTO-plus binding commitments have been used to ‘lock in’ domestic institutional and structural reforms based on domestic development priorities to encourage innovation and attraction of foreign direct investment and they have served a domestic reform purpose to encourage innovation induce foreign direct investment and strengthen the TRIPs Agreement by increasing substantive minimum standards.

The WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) is unique in its duality as an international trade agreement that promotes and preserves market opening and as an instrument for the promotion of good governance. The recent successful renegotiation of the GPA has enhanced its coverage so that it now provides access to markets valued at US$1.7 trillion annually. In addition the text of the GPA has been effectively modernised making it more relevant economically and simplifying its implementation. Although not a substitute for domestic procurement reforms it is a catalytic and reinforcing factor for reforms that enhance transparency and competition internally – thereby yielding important gains for governments and citizens in terms of value for money in national procurement activities. Participation in the GPA can also promote inward foreign direct investment by signalling a country’s commitment to good governance and the fair treatment of all players under national legislation. The review in this chapter of the evidence from WTO and GPA accessions indicates that the WTO accession negotiations of Article XII members are often used to leverage increased GPA accessions. Specifically of the members that have acceded to the WTO pursuant to Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO (WTO Agreement) twenty-two have undertaken GPA-related commitments and seven subsequently joined the GPA. Out of the ten WTO members that are currently seeking accession to the GPA nine undertook commitments related to GPA accession at the time of their WTO accessions pursuant to Article XII of the WTO Agreement. The chapter concludes that even though WTO accession and GPA accession are formally separate steps the basic policy decision as to whether to join the GPA is often made long before GPA accession negotiations are started at the time of WTO accession. This chapter provides countries and other WTO members considering taking on accession commitments with a strengthened understanding of the relevant benefits and costs.

Over the past twenty years the rules-based global economy has been subject to a dynamic process of transformation. The trading environment has been characterized by shifts in the balance of economic power emerging structures and rapid changes in global and regional alliances. Since its establishment in 1995 the WTO has sought to adapt to these global trends. The 2017 Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) the 2015 Nairobi Decisions on Agriculture the 2015 expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and twenty years of cumulative WTO accessions acquis are all part of this process of constant adaptation by the WTO to a rapidly changing environment. However after the Seattle Ministerial meeting in 1999 free trade agreements (FTAs) and regional trade agreements (RTAs) mushroomed. The 'spaghetti-bowl’ consequences and the continuing proliferation of preferential trade agreements (PTAs) and counter-PTAs have created challenges and opportunities for the rules-based multilateral trading system. Several questions have been raised revolving around the compatibility and the discriminatory and trade diversion effects of such agreements. Are these agreements building blocks or stumbling blocks for the multilateral trading system? Moreover the emergence of mega-regional RTAs (MRTAs) in particular the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have called into question in some quarters the power and relevance of the WTO at large. This chapter examines the core question of whether mega-regionalism (and FTAs by implication) poses an existential risk to the multilateral trading system and argues that the answer is ‘no’. The negotiating results from FTAs including in their mega-regional forms and trade multilateralism can coexist in a constructive healthy and competitive relationship and both are essential for the governance of the multipolar twenty-first-century global economy. To substantiate this conclusion the chapter reviews the WTO accessions acquis and compares it to the provisions of the TPP without pre-judging its future. The comparative analysis is conducted across several areas: market access; trade rules (bilateral/plurilateral/multilateral); trade negotiations as an instrument for domestic reforms; and discriminatory effects. The results of the analysis point to areas of significant complementarity and mutual supportiveness between WTO accession acquis and the TPP and different degrees of trade liberalization in certain sectors. The accessions acquis demonstrates a process of mutually supportive coexistence between bilateral and plurilateral negotiations and the multilateral legal and policy framework of the WTO. The scope and quality of accession negotiations results are comparable to results from PTAs including MRTAs and go further to show greater robustness and durability.

International trade provides ample opportunities for the economic development of countries and regions. The fall in trade costs – communication and transportation costs greater access to international capital markets regional cooperation and last but not least the decrease in trade barriers – has supported global trade and output expansion over the last decades. Emerging opportunities and challenges resulting from technological economic and political developments differ however from region to region. Historical experience shows that much of the progress in economic growth and development also depends on the readiness of local business and governments to rapidly adapt and seize opportunities.

This chapter posits that leaving WTO accession in the hands of trade experts or commercial specialists within the acceding government can be unwise. Accession to the WTO goes far beyond the remit of the trade commerce and/or foreign ministry and even beyond the responsibilities of the minister. In order to conclude an accession what is required of the acceding government will involve many if not most ministries call upon governmental agencies and other authorities and may very well include both regional and municipal levels of government. The acceding government must expect to make hard policy choices. Poorer developing countries are likely to come across particular challenges and solutions. Given the demanding nature of this process it is important that the acceding government is entirely convinced before embarking upon the process that it has the right motivations and expectations in wishing to become a member of the WTO.

This chapter focuses on the objectives of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) of the Republic of Armenia the Republic of Belarus the Republic of Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation within the multilateral trading system. The EAEU has become one of the largest trading blocs in the world with a land area of more than 20 million square kilometres and a population of more than 176 million people. This chapter analyses the history of Eurasian integration and presents its current status as well as the prospects of the Eurasian Economic Union for 2015.