SEE
ALSO:
press
releases
WTO
news
Mike
Moore's speeches
Renato
Ruggiero's speeches, 1995-99
|
Albania has agreed to assume its WTO obligations upon
accession. In addition, it will sign on to the two
plurilateral agreements on government procurement and on
trade in civil aircraft. Albania's accession package
includes market-access commitments on goods and services.Within
the region, Slovenia is already a member of the WTO and
Croatia will become a member upon completion of the
ratification procedures. Bosnia and Herzegovina and the
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia are in the process
of negotiating their accession to the WTO.
Albania
applied for GATT 1947 membership in 1992. Negotiations on
Albania's terms of accession to WTO started in earnest in
1998. The WTO General Council adopted the final results
of these negotiations on 17 July 2000.
During
that General Council meeting, Albania's Minister for
Economic Cooperation and Trade, Ermelinda Meksi, said
that WTO membership “presents us with a new role in
the international community” and would help bring
“improvement of the wellbeing and prosperity of my
people.”
Overall,
30 governments are currently negotiating to join the WTO:
Algeria, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bhutan,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cape Verde, People's
Republic of China, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Kazakstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon,
Lithuania, Moldova, Nepal, Oman, Russian Federation,
Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sudan, Chinese Taipei,
Tonga, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam and Yemen.
Merchandise
trade by product and region, 1998 — Albania Back
to top
(major
product groups)
(Million dollars)
| |
North
America
|
Western
Europe
|
C./E:
Europe/ Baltic States/CIS
|
World
|
| |
exp
|
imp
|
exp
|
imp
|
exp
|
imp
|
exp
|
imp
|
| Agricultural
products |
0.90
|
4.51
|
36.44
|
208.04
|
0.51
|
20.55
|
38.58
|
238.81
|
| Food |
0.49
|
4.48
|
19.17
|
196.07
|
0.15
|
20.28
|
20.39
|
226.51
|
| Manufactures |
0.04
|
4.21
|
139.55
|
509.72
|
0.78
|
31.74
|
140.50
|
558.67
|
Semi-manufactures
(other
than chemicals) |
0.02
|
0.62
|
11.16
|
118.83
|
0.22
|
4.92
|
11.52
|
125.81
|
| Clothing |
0.00
|
0.01
|
67.48
|
50.10
|
0.32
|
0.51
|
67.81
|
51.05
|
Consumer
goods
(other than textiles and clothing) |
0.01
|
0.49
|
50.99
|
88.29
|
0.17
|
1.91
|
51.17
|
92.25
|
| Total
merchandise
(1) |
3.47
|
9.07
|
201.38
|
759.89
|
1.97
|
52.92
|
207.67
|
840.76
|
(1)
Includes unspecified products
Source: Comstudy/Comtrade, august 10, 2000
|
|
