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

4.2 Application for membership and establishment of Working Party

Examination of application by the General Council.  back to top

The normal procedure is for the request for accession to then be placed on the agenda of the next or an early future meeting of the General Council.

The General Council “considers the application and the establishment of a Working Party”.⁶³ The Chairman of the General Council typically invites the representative of the applicant government to introduce the main features of the trade and economic regime currently in place and to summarize the reasons behind the application. It is, naturally, helpful if the applicant is able to state that its existing policies are already in line with WTO requirements or that reforms are underway to ensure conformity with WTO rules. Governments often stress points of particular importance to them, such as their level of economic development or their transition to a market economy.

When requests for accession from separate customs territories have been considered, the General Council has wished to satisfy itself that the territory in question does in fact possess “full autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations and of the other matters provided for in [the WTO] Agreement and the Multilateral Trade Agreements” as required by Article XII of the WTO Agreement and that it intends “to undertake all the obligations associated with WTO membership and to be responsible to WTO Members for fulfilment of its obligations”.⁶⁴

 

Establishment of Working Party. Terms of Reference.  back to top

Once the General Council considers a request for accession and finds it acceptable, it establishes a Working Party to examine the application further. All Accession Working Parties have been given the same terms of reference.⁶⁵

Box 4 Terms of Reference for Accession Working Parties “to examine the application of the Government of [name of applicant] to accede to the World Trade Organization under Article XII and to submit to the General Council/Ministerial Conference recommendations which may include a draft Protocol of Accession.”

After proposing the terms of reference, the Chairman then proceeds to invite the applicant to consult with the Accessions Division of the Secretariat as to the further procedures, in particular regarding the basic documentation to be prepared for the Working Party’s consideration.

 

Observer status for acceders  back to top

The Chairman, speaking on behalf of the General Council after establishment of a Working Party, invites the acceding government concerned, if it does not already have observer status, to attend meetings of the General Council as an observer and, as appropriate, meetings of other WTO bodies during the period when the Working Party is carrying out its work. For rights and obligations of observers, see section 2.2 above.

Acceding governments are encouraged to attend meetings of Accession Working Parties other than their own, to familiarize themselves with the process and to prepare for their own negotiations. Those with enough resources often do so.

The negotiations launched at the Doha Ministerial Conference are open to observers that are in the process of accession to the WTO but decisions on the outcomes of the negotiations are taken only by Members.⁶⁶

 

Chair of Working Party  back to top

In establishing an accession Working Party, the General Council authorizes its Chairperson to designate the Chairperson of the Working Party, in consultation with Members and the applicant concerned. The usual practice is for the Accessions Division to carry out these consultations on behalf of the Chairperson of the General Council and under his/her guidance. The Chairmanship is not confirmed until an announcement has been made at the General Council under “Other business”.

The Chairperson is usually an ambassador resident in Geneva. The acceding government may suggest names, but the final selection also requires the agreement of all interested WTO Members. Vacancies are not necessarily filled immediately after the establishment of Working Parties but nearer the date of the first meeting of the Working Party, which takes place after the necessary basic documentation has been supplied by the applicants.

The duties of the Chairperson are not laid down in writing. It is clear that they are required to direct the discussions in their Working Parties on an impartial and objective basis. They may sometimes use the authority conferred on them by their office to make suggestions aimed at facilitating these discussions but their power of initiative is limited by the fact that the negotiations for accession are conducted between the members of the Working Parties and the acceding government.

The Chairperson and the Secretariat sometimes pay visits to acceding capitals at critical stages in the process. These visits have played an important role in activating or accelerating accession processes. Invariably, such visits have involved contacts at the highest policy levels in government and parliament, as well as meetings with representatives of the public and private sectors and the media.

 

Membership of Working Party  back to top

Membership of Working Parties on Accession is open to all interested WTO Members and their size has varied considerably from one accession to another. WTO Members can choose to join at any stage before the completion of the Working Party mandate.

The largest of the Working Parties of applicants that have already acceded to the WTO had 62 members (counting the European Communities and their member States as one) and the smallest 17.⁶⁷ Five WTO Members have been members of all of these⁶⁸, reflecting not only their particular trade interests but also their interest in the WTO system. A number of Members have joined all but one or two⁶⁹ and some other of the larger economies have been members of several Working Parties. Many other WTO Members ask for membership of individual Working Parties to demonstrate their support for the applicant concerned. Neighbouring States or close trade or diplomatic partners are therefore likely to become members of a given Working Party. The membership of Working Parties is thus not necessarily representative of the WTO membership as a whole, but tends to be commensurate with the Members’ economic weight in the system and with their interest in a given accession.

Recently acceded WTO Members also have an interest in joining accession Working Parties. Two new Members joined all Working Parties which were still conducting negotiations⁷⁰ while others have been more selective.⁷¹

Working Party members do not always participate actively in the work. Most WTO Members do not have the resources to follow closely all accessions. In some cases, Members choose to focus on meetings relevant to their primary trade interests. This is especially true of discussions on agriculture.

The applicant takes part in Working Party discussions on an equal footing with Members as the aim of the sessions is for all concerned to reach mutual agreement on the terms of entry.

 

Observer status for international organizations  back to top

The rules of procedure governing observer status for international intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) in the WTO are designed “to enable these organizations to follow discussions therein on matters of direct interest to them” and requests are considered “from organizations which have competence and a direct interest in trade policy matters, or which, pursuant to paragraph V:1 of the WTO Agreement, have responsibilities related to those of the WTO”⁷². The rules provide that requests for observer status from IGOs shall be considered on a case-by-case basis by each WTO body to which such a request is addressed, taking into account such factors as the nature of work of the organization concerned, the nature of its membership, the number of WTO Members in the organization, reciprocity with respect to access to proceedings, documents and other aspects of observership, and whether the organization has been associated in the past with the work of the GATT 1947. They specify that IGOs accorded observer status in a particular WTO body shall not automatically be accorded such status in other WTO bodies. The procedures go on to provide that “organizations with which the WTO has entered into a formal arrangement for cooperation and consultation shall be accorded observer status in such bodies as may be determined by that arrangement”. Under the procedures, IGOs that do not have the formal status of observers may attend meetings of accession Working Parties on an ad hoc basis at the specific invitation of the Working Party concerned. Invitations may also be extended, as appropriate and on a case-by-case basis, to specific organizations to follow particular issues within a WTO body in an observer capacity.

IGOs that wish to become observers in accession Working Parties make an application to the Working Party or parties concerned. The following IGOs have obtained observer status in some accession Working Parties: EBRD, EFTA, IMF, UN, UNCTAD, WIPO and World Bank.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) do not qualify for observer status at the WTO and do not participate in accession Working Parties. While Article V:2 of the Marrakesh Agreement provides that “the General Council may make appropriate arrangements for consultation and cooperation with [NGOs] concerned with matters related to those of the WTO,” the broadly-held view is that it would not be possible for NGOs to be directly involved in the work of the WTO or its meetings given the special character of the organization as a legally binding intergovernmental treaty of rights and obligations among its Members and a forum for negotiations. Closer consultation and cooperation with NGOs is, however, encouraged at the national level.⁷³

 

Notes:

63. WTO document WT/ACC/1, para 5. Like other items proposed for inclusion on the agenda of the General Council/Ministerial Conference, request for accession are also approved by consensus rather than by voting, a practice to which WTO Members have consistently shown preference. This was demonstrated in the case of one accession request initially presented in July 1996 and approved by consensus on 26 May 2005 (WTO document WT/GC/M/95). Another application has still to be placed before the General Council (WTO document WT/ACC/SYR/1 of 30 October 2001, renewed in February 2004 and September 2005). One acceding country made clear that, once a Member, it would not block the decision-making process concerning the accession of another country (WTO document WT/ACC/ARM/22) back to text
64. Montenegro, WTO document WT/GC/M/92, paras 27-29; Serbia, WTO document WT/GC/M/92, paras 34-36. back to text
65. As suggested in para 5 of the Note by the Secretariat on the Procedures for Negotiations under Article XII, WTO document WT/ACC/1. back to text
66. Doha Ministerial Declaration, para 48. back to text
67. China, WTO document WT/ACC/CHN/2/Rev.11; and Tonga, WTO document WT/ACC/TON/2/Rev.8. back to text
68. Australia, Canada, the EC, Japan, and the United States. These countries together make up 63 percent of world trade. back to text
69. India, and Switzerland. back to text
70. China and Chinese Taipei. back to text
71. E.g. Croatia and Viet Nam. back to text
72. Observer Status for International Intergovernmental Organizations in the WTO, WT/L/161, Annex 3. See also Minutes of the General Council of 22 October 1997 — WTO document WT/GC/M/23, page 23. back to text
73. See “Guidelines for Arrangements on Relations with Non-Governmental Organizations — Decision adopted by the General Council on 18 July 1996” (WTO document WT/L/162). back to text