Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 12 • Number 25 • 9th July 2008
Laos Progresses toward WTO Membership
Laos has made steady progress toward becoming a full-fledged Member of the WTO, but further work is required before the country’s accession package can be finalised, a working party on the country’s accession process announced at a meeting late last week.
Laos first applied to join the WTO in July 1997. Discussions are currently focused on a ‘factual summary of points raised’ - a preliminary document before a future draft working party report that will also include commitments.
Since the previous meeting of the working party, held in November last year, Laos has adopted a range of new laws and regulations intended to help it meet WTO requirements. Specific changes include new legislation on banking and intellectual property, as well as new policies aimed at centralising treasury, customs and tax administration.
Additionally, Laos has improved its market opening offers on goods and services. The average tariff for agricultural products has been reduced to 39 percent, while the average tariff for industrial goods has dropped to 26 percent. Laos highlighted these tariff levels at the meeting, noting that they were comparable with those of some least developed countries that have recently joined the WTO. Laos also doubled the number of services sub-sectors contained in the offer to a total of 56. Countries interested in bilateral agreements with Laos, which include Australia, Canada, the EU, India, Japan, Taiwan and the US, have said this advancement will aid future negotiations.
Further revisions Laos has underway include reducing the range of goods that are subject to price controls, licensing requirements, and import and export prohibitions.
However, issues such as trading rights, customs valuation, rules of origin, subsidies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, investment measures and intellectual property have been earmarked as requiring further work.
Laos has requested transition periods so that it has longer to implement WTO agreements in specific areas - namely customs valuation, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, investment and intellectual property.
As a least developed country with a narrow export base and human resource and capacity constraints, Laos is receiving technical assistance from other WTO Members in its accession bid.
The country’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, H. E. Dr Nam Viyaketh, stated at the meeting that Laos “seeks to use its WTO accession as a way to hasten economic integration while fostering real social development.”
While no date has been set, Ambassador Bruce Gosper (Australia), who chairs the working party, has indicated the group’s next meeting will likely take place in early 2009.
ICTSD reporting.