Trade Multilateralism in the Twenty-First Century Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Plates
- List of Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Disclaimer
- 1 Making Trade Multilateralism Work for All: The Role of WTO Accessions
- PART I WTO Accessions and the New Trade Multilateralism
- PART II Negotiators’ Perspectives on the WTO Accession Process
- PART III Accessions Acquis: Thematic Perspectives and Implementation Challenges
- 13 How Post-TRIPS Negotiations Reframe the ‘Trade-Related Aspects’ of Intellectual Property after TRIPS: The Lessons of WTO Accessions
- 14 Competition Policy in WTO Accessions: Filling in the Blanks in the International Trading System
- 15 Geographical Indications in the Accessions Landscape
- 16 WTO Accession Commitments on Agriculture: Lessons for WTO Rule-Making
- 17 The WTO-Plus Obligations: Dual Class or a Strengthened System?
- 18 Accession Protocols and the Private Sector
- 19 Post-Accession Support Platform
- 20 Conclusion: Trade Multilateralism - Enhancing Flexibility, Preserving the Momentum
- Contributor Biographies
- Index
- References
19 - Post-Accession Support Platform
from PART III - Accessions Acquis: Thematic Perspectives and Implementation Challenges
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 November 2017
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Plates
- List of Figures
- Notes on Contributors
- Foreword
- Acknowledgements
- List of Abbreviations
- Disclaimer
- 1 Making Trade Multilateralism Work for All: The Role of WTO Accessions
- PART I WTO Accessions and the New Trade Multilateralism
- PART II Negotiators’ Perspectives on the WTO Accession Process
- PART III Accessions Acquis: Thematic Perspectives and Implementation Challenges
- 13 How Post-TRIPS Negotiations Reframe the ‘Trade-Related Aspects’ of Intellectual Property after TRIPS: The Lessons of WTO Accessions
- 14 Competition Policy in WTO Accessions: Filling in the Blanks in the International Trading System
- 15 Geographical Indications in the Accessions Landscape
- 16 WTO Accession Commitments on Agriculture: Lessons for WTO Rule-Making
- 17 The WTO-Plus Obligations: Dual Class or a Strengthened System?
- 18 Accession Protocols and the Private Sector
- 19 Post-Accession Support Platform
- 20 Conclusion: Trade Multilateralism - Enhancing Flexibility, Preserving the Momentum
- Contributor Biographies
- Index
- References
Summary
Abstract
WTO obligations, including notification requirements, and specific accession commitments are complex. Most of them become effective from the date of WTO membership. From a centralized accession process, new members now suddenly have to adapt to a decentralized WTO procedures and participate in parallel in its multiple bodies. The twenty years of post-accession experience of Article XII members suggests that many, especially least-developed countries (LDCs), have faced major implementation challenges until a system of post-accession support was introduced recently. This chapter reviews the Post-Accession Support Platform (PASP), a framework developed by the WTO Secretariat to facilitate the transition from acceding economy to full-fledged WTO member. The PASP offers individual post-accession implementation strategies, technical assistance and capacity-building, best international practices, a dedicated website and internal Secretariat procedures that can be used to support new WTO members. The chapter reviews the use of the PASP by two recently acceded LDCs – Afghanistan and Liberia – and finds early signs of improved effectiveness in the WTO post-accession transition process.
Post-Accession Challenges
The completion of an accession process does not mark the end, but rather the start, of reforms needed to maximize the benefits of WTO membership. WTO membership does not automatically lead to trade-related development. Rather, WTO accession is a tool for domestic reforms and integration of the acceded members into the rules-based global economy. The realization of the benefits from the membership critically depends on sustained domestic reforms, including the implementation of WTO obligations and accession-specific commitments.
The challenges associated with the post-accession period are as great as, if not greater than, those of the accession process. WTO membership is demanding and complex. The benefits of WTO membership are realized not only through the full implementation of WTO obligations by Article XII members (i.e. those WTO members which acceded to the WTO via the procedure established in accordance with Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, also known as the WTO Agreement), but also through their active participation in all pillars of the work of the WTO. Only in this way can the multilateral trading system provide them with an effective instrument for domestic reforms and economic transformation, as it did during the accession process.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Trade Multilateralism in the Twenty-First CenturyBuilding the Upper Floors of the Trading System through WTO Accessions, pp. 387 - 404Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2017