WTO accession helps to ensure that enterprises can market their products internationally under competition conditions that are equitable and predictable without the disruptions caused by the sudden imposition of restrictions. The implementation of accession commitments measures can create both opportunities and challenges for the business community.
Business communities in countries with which ITC works, however, are often not adequately equipped to understand the opportunities and challenges which stem from the WTO trading system. This is mainly due to the complexity of the system, which sometimes prevents business communities from taking an interest in, and getting acquainted with, its rules. ITC provides assistance to the business community to understand the commercial implications of WTO accession.
For further information, see our two-pager.
Case studies on the experience of implementing the trade policy and regulatory reforms:
ITC’s Business Briefing e-mail newsletter targets the business community. It provides a regular summary of all of the news on WTO debates, accessions and disputes, as well as information on the Doha Development Round. The electronic version of the World Trade Net Business Briefing is updated on a daily basis.
Before and during the accession process, companies are often unable to articulate their view to government negotiators. ITC provides mechanisms for discussions among the parties. It also assists enterprises, including SMEs, to articulate their interest and priorities to trade negotiators.
ITC shares the actual experience of countries that recently joined the WTO in seizing new business opportunities and coping with challenges. This enables the acceding country to take an informed position in the accession process.
ITC guides the stakeholders to develop coherence among trade policy and regulatory regimes for export development.
ITC Executive Director, Patricia Francis, today welcomed representatives from the Tajikistan government and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to ITC headquarters for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the three parties desire to work together on Tajikistan's accession to the WTO...
Ethiopia has a better chance of becoming a member of the World Trade Organization than any other least-developed country, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said. This is largely due to Ethiopia's status as the second-most populous African nation, with more than 82 million inhabitants, even though other LDCs have bigger economies, Lamy told Mulu Solomon, president of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, on January 30 in Addis Ababa...
Innovative ways of thinking are necessary in order to respond to the ever-changing global economy, according to Patricia R. Francis, Executive Director of ITC. In her speech during the opening session of the WTO MC8, Ms. Francis emphasized that ITC is reinventing itself to keep up with the changing environment in order to provide state of the art value to the poorest countries...
The WTO General Council acknowledged several ITC accomplishments in its report adopted at its annual meeting on 30 November in Geneva. It highlighted ITC’s assistance to Least Developed Countries in their WTO accession process, the organization’s...
When I opened the 31st formal, and final, Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO, jubilation and excitement were in the air. It was among the most eagerly awaited events at the WTO, bringing to a close 18 years of talks between...
Ten years ago, China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its membership and integration into the world economy had a huge – and hugely underestimated – positive impact on global prosperity. Consumers gained from less expensive imports and, more...
With the aim of discussing business implications of Russia’s pending accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), a two-day public-private dialogue was held on 26-27 September in Cheboksary, in the Chuvash Republic, Russia. Organized in close partnership with the Centre of Export Support of the Chuvash Republic in Cheboksary, and the Cheboksary State University, this workshop was the first of its kind, bringing together businesses, academia and public sector representatives to exchange their views on how best to reap the benefits of WTO Accession. The main issues discussed included the negotiations on market access commitments in the industrial goods and agriculture sectors, as well as the process of adjusting to WTO rules and regulations through domestic reforms...
ITC Deputy Executive Director addresses annual advisory group meeting Addressing the annual Joint Advisory (JAG) meeting, Jean-Marie Paugam, Deputy Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC) emphasized four innovative contributions...