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WTO: 2008 NEWS ITEMS

2nd Working Party meeting on Iraq's accession

  
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Review of trade legislation

At this stage of the accession, members examine all aspects of Iraq's trade and economic policies to assess their conformity with WTO principles.

Since the 1st Working Party meeting held in May 2007, Iraq has provided members with a legislative action plan which shows the state of play of the ongoing legal reforms. Iraq also provided information on its sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, technical barriers to trade (TBT) and the trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) as well as information on its domestic support and export subsidies in agriculture.

Members requested more information on Iraq's pricing policy, investment rules, import licences, customs law, state trading enterprises, regulations on tariffs, free zones and telecom licences.

Bilateral negotiations

Iraq has met with several members on the margins of the Working Party. Market access negotiations will start once Iraq tables its initial offers on goods and services. There have been some discussions but no concrete proposals for the moment.

Technical assistance

Members and international organizations have been providing technical assistance to Iraq. The Chair of the Working Party, Claudia Uribe, Ambassador for Colombia, has urged members to continue and step up this support.

Next steps

Iraq will update its legislative action plan, as appropriate, and will continue providing information to members.

Next meeting

No date was decided.

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