ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ НАУКА И ИННОВАЦИОННЫЕ ИДЕИ В МИРЕ
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THE MAIN RULES, PROCEDURES AND OBLIGATIONS GOVERNING
ACCESSION TO THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION.
Samadiy Khusrov Abdusalimzoda
Asian University of
Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan
Lecturer of the Department of Social
Humanitarian and Digital Technologies
Email: khusrov@gmail.com
Phone: +998978020821
Abstract: The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the principal global
organization that regulates international trade. WTO membership entails trade
policy liberalization and integration into the international trading system. This
abstract reviews the key rules, procedures, and obligations governing WTO
accession, while also analyzing the opportunities and challenges for member
states.
Keywords:
World Trade Organization, foreign trade, Marrakesh Agreement,
Former Soviet Union countries,
Introduction:
With the global economy becoming increasingly interconnected,
international trade has become a key factor in the economic growth and development
of countries. The World Trade Organization (WTO) plays a key role in regulating this
process and ensuring that trade relations are fair and predictable. The WTO, established
in 1995 to replace the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), is the only
global organization that sets international trade rules, resolves trade disputes, and
facilitates trade negotiations.
Membership in the WTO is an important stage in the integration of each country
into the international trading system. This process involves not only economic, but also
political and legal changes. Membership in the WTO allows countries to participate
more actively in international trade relations, gain wider access to foreign trade
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markets, help attract investment, and stimulate economic growth. At the same time, the
membership process may be associated with a number of challenges, including
increased competitive pressure on domestic producers, the need to restructure some
industries, and the need to align trade policy with WTO requirements.
Main part
The purpose of this study is to analyze the main rules, procedures and obligations
governing accession to the World Trade Organization. The study examines the
procedure for joining the WTO, the main obligations of member states, as well as the
economic and political consequences of membership. The study aims to identify the
advantages and disadvantages of WTO membership for countries, as well as to develop
recommendations for successful integration into the international trading system.
This introductory part defines the importance of the WTO accession process and
highlights the main areas of the topic. The following sections examine each stage of
this process in detail.
The basic WTO provision governing membership (Article XII of the Marrakesh
Agreement Establishing the WTO) simply states that “any State or separate customs
territory which has full autonomy in the conduct of its external trade relations and in
respect of other matters provided for in this Agreement and the Multilateral Trade
Agreements may accede to this Agreement on such terms and conditions as may be
agreed between the WTO and itself.” While the terms of accession are determined on
a case-by-case basis and vary from applicant to applicant, accessions are sufficiently
similar that patterns can be identified. The main objective at this stage is to uncover
these patterns where they exist and to identify exceptions to them. This will provide an
idea of what is generally expected of members. However, it should be noted that WTO
members are not bound by precedent; practice has developed over the course of the
WTO’s existence and may develop further in the future.
Since they are outside the system, all candidates need expert advice on the
complexities of the WTO and the requirements of the accession process. Technical
Assistance and Training (TRTA) is not part of the accession process itself, but the
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WTO Secretariat provides TRTA to least developed countries (LDCs), developing
countries and low-income countries in transition at all stages of the accession process,
with priority given to NRCs.
The WTO TRTA programme aims to provide information on WTO agreements
and developments in the organisation. In recent years, funding for the WTO TRTA has
increased significantly, mainly through voluntary contributions paid by individual
WTO members. However, some form of prioritisation is required to ensure that all
eligible beneficiaries benefit, and acceding countries should bear this in mind when
submitting their requests. It should also be recognised that the WTO alone cannot meet
all needs.
It is desirable and necessary to work with other agencies providing the necessary
TRTAs for accession and with individual WTO members providing technical
assistance and training to acceding countries. The procedures governing accession
negotiations are based on proposals made by the Secretariat shortly after the
organization’s establishment in 1995. They have provided a framework for
negotiations and have generally provided transparency and predictability, while
allowing accession working groups to adapt to specific circumstances as needed. The
WTO has recently adopted a set of specific guidelines for LDC accession, designed to
streamline and simplify the procedures for these countries.
The first step in the WTO accession process is for the applicant
government to apply to the Director-General of the WTO. In this application, the
applicant must indicate that it wishes to accede in accordance with Article XII. The
WTO General Council examines the application and establishes a Working Party with
the authority to submit a report with recommendations, which may include a draft
instrument of accession. Membership of the Working Party is open to all interested
WTO Members. In most cases, working parties are established quickly. From the date
of establishment of the Working Party, all applicant governments become observers in
the General Council, with these rights and obligations, including the obligation to pay
financial contributions. All matters relating to accession are considered by its Working
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Party and are normally not invited to consider such matters until the General Council
has received the final report of the Working Party, which terminates the mandate of the
Working Party.
Having described the processes, it is important to note the conditions for
candidates to become WTO members. Each new WTO member undertakes to comply
with the WTO Agreement and the provisions of the Multilateral Trade Agreements
annexed thereto, as well as the provisions of the Protocol obligations on (i) rules, (ii)
tariffs, (iii) agricultural support and export subsidies, and (iv) services. Since WTO
rules are discussed in other guides in this series and in many other publications, this
guide focuses on the obligations under the Protocol.
The Eurasian region, which includes the fifteen states of the former Soviet Union
(FSU), provides important insights into the hypothesis of competitive dynamics among
acceding states. The simultaneous independence of these states after the collapse of the
Soviet Union provides a fortuitous historical experiment to test our hypothesis. These
states faced common challenges in their early years, ranging from managing the
transition from centrally planned economies to managing their foreign relations with
each other and the international community.
Below are descriptive statistics on the evidence for WTO membership for each
country (Table 1.1.1). Of course, these statistics are a snapshot over time and do not
capture the significant internal changes that have occurred in each country over the past
two decades. However, to the extent that the preliminary data reflect eleven
characteristics of the samples, they may indicate opportunities that warrant further
investigation.
Descriptive statistics for the countries of the former Soviet Union (2016)
(indicates countries whose largest trading partner is Russia) Photo 1.1.1
ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ НАУКА И ИННОВАЦИОННЫЕ ИДЕИ В МИРЕ
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Source: Data compiled by the author based on data from the WTO and the World
Bank
Of the fifteen countries, eleven are WTO members, three are in the process of
joining, and one has not yet applied. Judging by the degree of trade dependence of each
country on existing WTO members, there does not appear to be any correlation
between trade dependence and earlier accession or application. The only exceptions
Сountries
Year of
submission
applications
Year
entry
% of
total
trade
with
WTO
members
% of
total
exports to
WTO
member
countries
% of all
trade
with
Russia
Polity
IV
Kyrgyzstan
1996
1998
15
16
23
-3
Latvia
1993
1999
68
73
17
8
Estonia
1994
1999
75
73
15
6
Georgia
1996
2000
44
34
15
5
Lithuania
1994
2001
57
65
25
7
Moldova
1993
2003
28
29
46
10
Armenia
1993
2003
35
30
22
3
Ukraine
1993
2008
35
35
45
7
Russia
1993
2012
66
67
3
Tajikistan
2001
2013
42
41
21
-6
Kazakhstan
1996
2015
32
32
54
-4
Belarus
1993
46
51
51
0
Uzbekistan
1994
50
50
29
-9
Azerbaijan
1997
48
33
15
-6
Turkmenistan
39
39
6
-9
ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ НАУКА И ИННОВАЦИОННЫЕ ИДЕИ В МИРЕ
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are Latvia and Estonia, which have relatively high trade dependence (around 70%) and
joined the EU relatively early compared to other countries.
Xulosa
JSTga kirish - bu murakkab va ko’p bosqichli jarayon bo’lib, davlatlardan savdo
siyosatini JST qoidalariga muvofiqlashtirish va muhim majburiyatlarni bajarishni talab
qiladi. Shunga qaramay, JSTga a’zo bo’lish davlatlar uchun xalqaro savdoda ishtirok
etish va iqtisodiy o’sishni rag’batlantirish uchun muhim imkoniyatlar yaratadi.
References
1.
“The Value of Bindings”, Staff Working Paper no. ERSD-2011-13, Geneva:
https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd201113_e.htm
2.
John Whalley, Xian Xin, China’s FDI And Non-FDI Economies and The
Sustainability of Future High Chinese Growth, NBER Working Paper Series, 12249,
May 2006
3.
Fritz Thomas, Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries,
Global Issue Paper, Commissioned by German watch and the Heinrich Böll
Foundation, 2005
4.
Ziyadullaev U. International foreign economic relations of the Republic of
Uzbekistan and prospects for their development // Iqtisodiyot va innovatsion
texnologiyalar. 2020
5.
“Export Restrictions as Stabilization Responses to Food Crisis” American
Journal of Agricultural Economics – 2012
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“Does Free Trade Increase Deforestation? The Effects of Regional Trade
Agreements”, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists
– 2019
