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ACCESSIONS:

WTO Secretariat technical notes on accession procedures

The documents below provide further details on the procedure for becoming a WTO member — including on the information that would need to be provided by governments wishing to join the WTO.

Please note that official documents examined by a working party during the accession process remain confidential until completion of the process. They are then made available to the public through the WTO website

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Documents on accessions use the code WT/ACC/* (where * takes additional values)
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  • Procedures for Accession Under Article XII (Document code WT/ACC/22 + revisions)  > search
  • Information to be provided on domestic support and export subsidies in agriculture (Document code WT/ACC/22/Add.1)   > search
  • Information to be provided on policy measures affecting trade in services (Document code WT/ACC/5)   > search
  • Checklist of illustrative SPS issues for consideration in accessions (Document code WT/ACC/22/Add.2)   > search
  • Checklist of illustrative TBT issues for consideration in accessions (Document code WT/ACC/22/Add.2)   > search
  • Implementation of the WTO Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) (Document code WT/ACC/22/Add.2)   > search
  • Technical note on the accession process (Document code WT/ACC/10), last update in 2010.  This note has been discontinued with the introduction of the Accession Commitments Database (ACDB).
  • Technical note on state of play and information on current accessions (Document code WT/ACC/11), last update in 2012.  This note has been discontinued with the inclusion of a report on current accessions in the Director-General's Annual Reports on Accessions.

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Note:
The de-restriction of documents is a key component of the transparency obligations of the Multilateral Trading System. Paragraphs 1 and 2(e) of the Ministerial Council Decision WT/L/452 of 14 May 2002 provide that “documents relating to working parties on accession shall be restricted and shall be automatically de-restricted upon the adoption of the report of the working party” by the Ministerial Conference/General Council. The time of completion of the de-restriction process depends on the amount and complexities of the documents involved. Prior to 2002, the de-restriction of accession-related documents was governed by a different set of rules (i.e. General Council Decision WT/L/160/Rev.1 of 26 July 1996), which only affect documents circulated prior to 2002.

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