stan ‘s Accession to WTO Afg

Afghanistan ‘s Accession to
WTO
Prepared by: Baraimal Jeryan
Trade Expert for WTO devision
Ministry of Commerce and Industries of Afghanistan
Email: [email protected]
Oct- 28th- 2013, New Delhi, India
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Content
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Overview
Objectives
Achievements and progress
Pros and Cons
Bali Ministerial conference
Conclusion
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Overview
• November 2004: GIRoA submits its
application for WTO accession.
• December 2004: The WTO grants
Afghanistan observer status.
• December 2004: The WTO establishes a
Working Party for Afghanistan.
Strategically objective of Accession to WTO
1. Art, 13th National constitution
2. Economic Development pillar of ANDS
3. Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan (July
2012)
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Objectives
• To make the accession process an opportunity to
reform investment and business Climate in AFG
• To prepare and implement an international
strategy/policy to integrate in MTAs and RTAs
• Secure, stable, and non-discriminatory access for
Afghan exports (goods and services)
• Control over unfair treatment of Afghan products
and services in the markets of WTO Members.
• Control over unjustifiable export restrictions
• Secure and non-discriminatory transit and
reasonable and fair transit fees for Afghan
products
• Improving living standards
• Diversify products
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Objectives
• Increase in investment capital, transfer of
technology and know-how boosting economic
development and creating new jobs
• Improvements in the economic performance (e.g.
economic growth, output, employment)
• Increase in fiscal revenue as result of increase in
investment, economic activities, production,
service-related activities, trade flow, and
employment.
• Wider access for Afghan consumers
• Access to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body
• Modernization and stabilization of the policy,
legal, regulatory, and institutional framework in
Afghanistan.
• Good governance through strengthening he rule
of law and introducing predictability, transparency,
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Achievements and progress
• The IMWG was tasked to prepare the
memorandum of the foreign trade regime (MFTR)
in collaboration of the development partners and
use of available opportunities to build their
capacities and attract technical assistances.
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Achievements and progress
• Memorandum on foreign trade regime
(MFTR) March 2009
170 questions during summer 2009
(Canada, Chinese, Taipei, European Union, and the
United States)
Working party meetings
• first WP meeting on 31 January 2011.
Four WTO members (Canada, Australia, European
Union, and the United States) submitted during first
quarter of 2011 around 168 questions related to
that.
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Achievements and progress
• Second working party was
successfully held on 8th June -2012.
Following that Afghanistan has received (153)
questions from United States, Japan, Canada, EU
and Australia
The replies and further requested documents were
submitted to WTO secretariat in November 2012.
Afghanistan has been quicker off the mark
than most applicant countries, submitting
complex documents to the WTO well ahead
of time.
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Achievements and progress
• Third working party was established on
7th – December -2012,
enclosed some successful and remarkable bilateral
negotiation on 5th and 6th December with (USA, EU,
Norway, Japan and Canada).
• Bilateral negotiations on market access offers in
goods and service before June 2013 and the
commitments should be signed in June or July of
this year.
• At least 13 laws should be drafted/amended and
approved by parliament and it is necessary to
prove the loyalty of Afghan negotiation team on
their commitments and gain the credibility among
WTO members.
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Achievements and progress
• To finalize the schedule of specific
commitments in service no later than September
2013.
• At least 10 unconformities with WTO
agreements and principles on fees, tariffs,
discriminatory issues should be purposed and
discussed.
• Assembling the commitments on Goods, bilateral
negotiation results and the schedule of
concessions before September 2013.
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Achievements and progress
• fourth working party meeting took
place on July 25, 2013.
basis for discussions was the draft working party
report, replies to questions raised by working party
members after the third working party meeting.
1. agricultural negotiations completed for both
agricultural domestic support subsidies and
export subsidies.
2. Bilateral negotiations with Canada on
agriculture and non-agriculture goods and
services concluded.
3. Bilateral negotiations with Japan on nonagricultural goods and services concluded.
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Achievements and progress
4. Chinese Taipei and Thailand – negotiations
completed pending formalities in capitals for
approving draft protocols prior to signing.
5. Norway: Negotiations completed, protocol to be
signed
6. EU: Negotiations on non-agriculture and services
completed. pending confirmation of 3 final items by
Brussels. As for Agriculture, only two items are
pending revised offer from Afghanistan. EU
negotiations will likely conclude.
7. US: Non-agriculture negotiations completed.
Services completed pending confirmation of 2 items
back Washington DC.
8. Turkey: list narrowed pending revision by Ankara.
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Achievements and progress
5th working party to be held in November
2013
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Documents submitted to WTO
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MOFTR – March 2009
Replies to the Questions raised after each WP
Information on Agriculture (WT/ACC/4)
Information on services (WT/ACC/5)
SPS/TBT checklist (WT/ACC/8)
TRIPS checklist (WT/ACC/9)
Initial Market access offer on services
Initial Market access offer on Goods
Updated Legislative Action Plan
The Draft working party report, prepared by the
secretariat was circulated on 24 June 2013
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Legislative Action Plan
 21 laws drafted and amended
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Bali Ministerial conference
 The Ninth Ministerial Conference will be held in
Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 6 December 2013
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Bali Ministerial conference
 resolve outstanding technical issues,
 enact the few outstanding draft laws
 conclude remaining bilateral negotiations
a range of questions are still to be resolved on areas
such as state-owned enterprises,
procurement, trade-related
investment measures (TRIMs),
trading rights, and
transition periods in technical barriers to trade
(TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)
measures.
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Pros and Cons
 WTO accession leads to Economic credibility
 Consumer protection
 Exports will improve, but competition would raise.
The competition would motivate quality
improvement and standardization
 Well use of comparative advantages
 Afghanistan would receive Technical assistance
from WTO that would improve the capacity of the
country in terms of trade, Trade related policy
makings and trade dispute resolutions
 Preferential treatments
 FDI attraction
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Pros and Cons
 Afghanistan Infant industries can not compete
global competition
 Since Afghanistan is a consuming country, imports
will increase largely due to trade liberalization and
leads to unfavorable BOP
 Joining WTO too soon would not boost
Afghanistan exports but instead open vulnerable
sectors of agriculture and industries to foreign
competition
 Experts believe WTO competition would be useful
for the countries with high rate of trade
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Conclusion
Discussions
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