Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 8 • Number 37 • 3rd November 2004
WTO In Brief
LAOS BEGINS WTO MEMBERSHIP NEGOTIATIONS
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) kicked off its WTO membership negotiations on 28 October by outlining the trade reforms it has already undertaken and calling for sympathy for its status as a land-locked, least-developed country (LDC) without a representative in Geneva. The first meeting of the Working Party on the Accession of the Lao PDR completed a first examination of Laos’ memorandum describing its foreign trade regime and other accompanying documents. The meeting also heard Lao PDR Commerce Minister Soulivong Daravong describe his country in his opening statement. Membership will "offer an opportunity to accelerate the economic reform process undertaken by the Lao government," Daravong said. "It will have far-reaching implications for the Lao economy and its integration into the world trading system". Working Party members will submit further questions regarding the memorandum. Laos also met some Members bilaterally to discuss its membership bid.
Before the next meeting, Laos is expected to submit an action plan for enacting legislation and providing further information on agriculture, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, services and intellectual property. Laos was also asked to prepare and circulate its first offers for market access for goods and services.Around 80 percent of the population of 5.4 million people in the small country in the Mekong sub-region of South East Asia lives in rural areas and is engaged in agricultural activities. In 1986 the Lao government introduced the New Economic Mechanism and has moved gradually towards economic liberalisation aided by a 1991 market-oriented constitution. Lao PDR applied to join the WTO on 16 July 1997. The next meeting of the Working Party could be held as early as mid-2005.
ICTSD reporting.
WTO CALLS ON EU TO LIBERALISE AGRICULTURE SECTOR
At the WTO Trade Policy Review (TPR) of the EU, held from 25-27 October, Members, while commending the general openness and transparency of the EU, criticised its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The TPR, prepared by the WTO Secretariat, pointed out that the EU continued to limit foreign competition and to generate surpluses of some products in the agriculture sector. In this regard, the complex EU tariff structure — with non ad valorem duties based on volume applied on 46 percent of agricultural tariff lines, rather than ad valorem duties that apply tariffs based on a fixed percentage of the value of imports — posed problems for agriculture-exporting countries. In addition, the tariff structure was characterised by mixed escalation, meaning both raw materials and highly processed goods faced higher tariffs, while semi-processed goods faced lower tariffs. In some cases, duties were applied based on the technical content of the products, or could vary with season. Whey and products comprising natural milk constituents attracted the highest rates of duty at 209.9 percent.
The report noted that further liberalisation of the EU’s CAP, notably through simplification of its tariff structure and the reduction of duty rates, as well as the downsizing of the levels of support, would "…substantially contribute to the promotion of world trade and to the improvement of the EC’s resource allocation". The EU’s report for the TPR, on the other hand, noted that the EU was the largest importer and exporter of agricultural products, including from developing countries. The EU imported as much as the US, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand taken together, and absorbed 85 percent of African farm exports.
To view the EU TPR documentation, visit Internet
"WTO Urges EU to Further Liberalise Agriculture," CHINA VIEW, 1 Nov 2004; "A Generally Open Trade Regime, But Further Agriculture Liberalization Would Promote World Trade," WTO NEWS, 27 October 2004.