HANDBOOK ON ACCESSION TO THE WTO: CHAPTER 4

The accession process — the procedures and how they have been applied

 

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4.10 Accession of applicant

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In adopting the Decision WTO Members offer terms of accession to the applicant. The applicant also accepts those terms by accepting the Protocol.105 WTO Members do not, therefore, need to sign the Protocol. The Protocol specifies the date until which it is open for acceptance by the applicant, by signature or ratification. An authorized representative of the applicant often signs the Protocol immediately after it has been approved on an ad referendum basis. While a period of three to six months is usual, in practice it is the applicant who proposes the length of time needed to complete its internal procedures and accept the terms.

A few acceding governments have requested an extension of the time-limit for acceptance, explaining their reasons for doing so. In all these cases the General Council has agreed to the extension with very little discussion.106

The Protocol provides that applicants become Members of the WTO thirty days after accepting the Protocol of Accession. This period is allowed in order to give WTO Members time to take any action necessary to apply the WTO Agreement to the new Member.

 

Notes:

105. Depending on the constitutional law of the applicant, acceptance may be effective through signature or through subsequent ratification. back to text
106. The most recent of these requests were made by Cambodia, WTO document WT/L/561 and Tonga, WTO document WT/L/651. back to text

  

  

 

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