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Afghanistan ‘s Accession to

WTO

Prepared by: Baraimal Jeryan

Trade Expert for WTO devision

Ministry of Commerce and Industries of Afghanistan

Email: baraimal_jerian@yahoo.com

Oct- 28th- 2013, New Delhi, India

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Content

1. Overview

2. Objectives

3. Achievements and progress

4. Pros and Cons

5. Bali Ministerial conference

6. Conclusion

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Overview

• November 2004: GIRoA submits its

application for WTO accession.

• December 2004: The WTO grants

Afghanistan observer status.

• December 2004: The WTO establishes a

Working Party for Afghanistan.

Strategically objective of Accession to WTO

1. Art, 13th National constitution

2. Economic Development pillar of ANDS

3. Tokyo Conference on Afghanistan (July

2012)

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Objectives

• To make the accession process an opportunity to

reform investment and business Climate in AFG

• To prepare and implement an international

strategy/policy to integrate in MTAs and RTAs

• Secure, stable, and non-discriminatory access for

Afghan exports (goods and services)

• Control over unfair treatment of Afghan products

and services in the markets of WTO Members.

• Control over unjustifiable export restrictions

• Secure and non-discriminatory transit and

reasonable and fair transit fees for Afghan

products

• Improving living standards

• Diversify products

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Objectives

• Increase in investment capital, transfer of

technology and know-how boosting economic

development and creating new jobs

• Improvements in the economic performance (e.g.

economic growth, output, employment)

• Increase in fiscal revenue as result of increase in

investment, economic activities, production,

service-related activities, trade flow, and

employment.

• Wider access for Afghan consumers

• Access to the WTO Dispute Settlement Body

• Modernization and stabilization of the policy,

legal, regulatory, and institutional framework in

Afghanistan.

• Good governance through strengthening he rule

of law and introducing predictability, transparency,

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Achievements and progress

• The IMWG was tasked to prepare the

memorandum of the foreign trade regime (MFTR)

in collaboration of the development partners and

use of available opportunities to build their

capacities and attract technical assistances.

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Achievements and progress

• Memorandum on foreign trade regime

(MFTR) March 2009

170 questions during summer 2009

(Canada, Chinese, Taipei, European Union, and the

United States)

Working party meetings

• first WP meeting on 31 January 2011.

Four WTO members (Canada, Australia, European

Union, and the United States) submitted during first

quarter of 2011 around 168 questions related to

that.

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Achievements and progress

• Second working party was

successfully held on 8th June -2012.

Following that Afghanistan has received (153)

questions from United States, Japan, Canada, EU

and Australia

The replies and further requested documents were

submitted to WTO secretariat in November 2012.

Afghanistan has been quicker off the mark

than most applicant countries, submitting

complex documents to the WTO well ahead

of time.

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Achievements and progress

• Third working party was established on

7th – December -2012,

enclosed some successful and remarkable bilateral

negotiation on 5th and 6th December with (USA, EU,

Norway, Japan and Canada).

• Bilateral negotiations on market access offers in

goods and service before June 2013 and the

commitments should be signed in June or July of

this year.

• At least 13 laws should be drafted/amended and

approved by parliament and it is necessary to

prove the loyalty of Afghan negotiation team on

their commitments and gain the credibility among

WTO members.

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Achievements and progress

• To finalize the schedule of specific

commitments in service no later than September

2013.

• At least 10 unconformities with WTO

agreements and principles on fees, tariffs,

discriminatory issues should be purposed and

discussed.

• Assembling the commitments on Goods, bilateral

negotiation results and the schedule of

concessions before September 2013.

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Achievements and progress

• fourth working party meeting took

place on July 25, 2013.

basis for discussions was the draft working party

report, replies to questions raised by working party

members after the third working party meeting.

1. agricultural negotiations completed for both

agricultural domestic support subsidies and

export subsidies.

2. Bilateral negotiations with Canada on

agriculture and non-agriculture goods and

services concluded.

3. Bilateral negotiations with Japan on non-

agricultural goods and services concluded.

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Achievements and progress

4. Chinese Taipei and Thailand – negotiations

completed pending formalities in capitals for

approving draft protocols prior to signing.

5. Norway: Negotiations completed, protocol to be

signed

6. EU: Negotiations on non-agriculture and services

completed. pending confirmation of 3 final items by

Brussels. As for Agriculture, only two items are

pending revised offer from Afghanistan. EU

negotiations will likely conclude.

7. US: Non-agriculture negotiations completed.

Services completed pending confirmation of 2 items

back Washington DC.

8. Turkey: list narrowed pending revision by Ankara.

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Achievements and progress

5th working party to be held in November

2013

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Documents submitted to WTO

MOFTR – March 2009

Replies to the Questions raised after each WP

Information on Agriculture (WT/ACC/4)

Information on services (WT/ACC/5)

SPS/TBT checklist (WT/ACC/8)

TRIPS checklist (WT/ACC/9)

Initial Market access offer on services

Initial Market access offer on Goods

Updated Legislative Action Plan

The Draft working party report, prepared by the

secretariat was circulated on 24 June 2013

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Legislative Action Plan

21 laws drafted and amended

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Bali Ministerial conference

The Ninth Ministerial Conference will be held in

Bali, Indonesia, from 3 to 6 December 2013

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Bali Ministerial conference

resolve outstanding technical issues,

enact the few outstanding draft laws

conclude remaining bilateral negotiations

a range of questions are still to be resolved on areas

such as state-owned enterprises,

procurement, trade-related

investment measures (TRIMs),

trading rights, and

transition periods in technical barriers to trade

(TBT) and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS)

measures.

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Pros and Cons

WTO accession leads to Economic credibility

Consumer protection

Exports will improve, but competition would raise.

The competition would motivate quality

improvement and standardization

Well use of comparative advantages

Afghanistan would receive Technical assistance

from WTO that would improve the capacity of the

country in terms of trade, Trade related policy

makings and trade dispute resolutions

Preferential treatments

FDI attraction

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Pros and Cons

Afghanistan Infant industries can not compete

global competition

Since Afghanistan is a consuming country, imports

will increase largely due to trade liberalization and

leads to unfavorable BOP

Joining WTO too soon would not boost

Afghanistan exports but instead open vulnerable

sectors of agriculture and industries to foreign

competition

Experts believe WTO competition would be useful

for the countries with high rate of trade

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Conclusion

Discussions

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