In article it is reported about process of accession of the countries to the WTO, accession to WTO conditions, about a state of affairs on joining of Ukraine to the WTO. And also about guarantees of observance of the reached arrangements, stages of the introduction of Ukraine in the WTO and participation in the WTO of the post-socialist countries.
What contribution will pay Ukraine in the WTO budget when becomes the member of this organization
The country prepares for accession to WTO
(continuation)
Process of accession of the countries to the WTO. Procedure of accession to the World Trade Organization was developed throughout semicentenial existence of the GATT/the WTO. It multiplane also consists of several stages. As shows experiment of the countries competitors, this process on the average lasts 5-7 years. Ukraine made an application on accession to WTO in 1993, but for it it was tightened more than for ten years.
At the first stage within the special Working groups at multilateral level the economic mechanism and a trading political regime of the joining country about compliance to norms and rules to Vto.Posl of it are in details considered consultations and negotiations on conditions of membership of the country competitor in this organization begin. Consultations and negotiations, as a rule, pass at bilateral level with all interested countries – members of the WTO Working groups.
Introduction conditions in VTO.Vstupaya in this organization, the country assumes obligations on decrease in customs tariffs. It is its contribution to process of trading liberalization (free movement of the goods and services).
It is considered that accession to WTO process considerably opredelyaetsyanepisany rules which originate with predydushhixprecedentov. Such unwritten rules concern, in particular, and the status of the candidate countries. The WTO has no definition of the "developed" countries and "developing". The status of members opredelyaetsyaty, whether measures of "the special and differentiated mode" are applied to them.
Conditions of accession to WTO depend on the chosen strategy of the introduction and ability to carry on negotiations. For developing states its requirements regarding protection of domestic market are considerably softened. If developed countries assume obligations for 6 years to reduce by 36 % average rates of import duty, developing – for 24 % and for 10 years.
One of the main conditions of accession of the new countries to the WTO is reduction of their national legal system and practice of settlement of foreign economic activity in compliance with provisions of a package of agreements of the Uruguayan round.
Performance of this condition will mean the beginning of gradual replacement of practice of any establishment and application by the state of rules of economic behavior on practice of introduction and observance of the rules recognized on a multilateral international basis. This step can become solving in the course of formation of a civilized market economy in our country, in acceleration of integration of Ukraine in world and European economic and political structures.
About what the countries at meetings of the Working groups agree? First of all, negotiations concern "commercially important" concessions which the joining country will be ready to provide to members of the WTO concerning access of the goods and services on its domestic market.
At the same time, the joining country, as a rule, gets the rights which other members of the WTO have that will mean practically the discrimination termination in foreign markets.
Guarantees of observance of the reached arrangements. In case of illegal actions from any member of the organization, each country can address with the corresponding complaint to Body on settlement of the disagreements which decisions are obligatory for unconditional performance by each participant of the WTO.
When the country it becomes final the member of the WTO? At the final stage of accession to this organization there is a ratification by national legislature of the country competitor of all package of the documents coordinated by the Working group and approved as the General Council of Vto.Okonchatelnoye the decision on the introduction in it (ratification of the relevant documents) in Ukraine the Verkhovna Rada will accept. Usually three months are for this purpose taken away. Thirty days later after the government of the applicant notifies the WTO secretariat on completion of ratification procedure, the Government of the applicant becomes her full-fledged member. After that the specified obligations become a part of documents of the WTO and the national legal system, and the candidate country gets the status of the member of the WTO.
Now Ukrainanakhoditsya at a stage of carrying out of two – and multilateral negotiations with member countries of the Working group on joining of Ukraine to the WTO. At this stage representatives of the applicant countries are exposed to the greatest pressure from outside
members of the WTO for receiving the greatest concessions on liberalization of the markets.
When joining of Ukraine to the WTO will take place?
Since 2001, Ukraine aspires to accelerate the introduction in VTO.5 September, 2001 the President of Ukraine issued the Decree "About additional measures for acceleration of the introduction of Ukraine in the World Trade Organization" No. 797/2001 according to which process of the introduction of Ukraine in it should come to the end during 2001-2002. However in these terms accession didn’t take place. The late Department of Economic Affairs and to questions of the European integration of Ukraine provided that our state in 2003 will enter this organization, and the President of Ukraine set the task to access to WTO not later than 2004. Then terms again kept away on political reason. Creation of Uniform Economic Space provided harmonization of customs and tariff policy of Ukraine with other countries of Commonwealth. It distanced our country from accession to WTO even more, after all it was a question of harmonization of rates of import duty with Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus on which Ukraine already signed bilateral agreements with the member countries of the Working group on accession to WTO.
Eventually, the new President of Ukraine set the task to access to WTO till the end of 2005, nevertheless and this term appeared unreal.
Whether it is necessary Ukraine to access to WTO?
For our country there is no alternative to accession to this trade body. Ukraine already lost a part of positions because of delay with accession to WTO.
There are external factors which predetermine need of the fastest finding by Ukraine memberships in VTO.VO-pervykh, in its limits there is the new round of multilateral negotiations begun by Ministerial conference of the WTO in Doha (Qatar), which main goal, creation of the world trading system which is equitable to interests of all without an exception of member countries of the organization. These multilateral negotiations will define conditions of world trade for a decade forward, therefore important that interests of Ukraine also were considered. Other key moment – expansion of EU which began since 2004 and will influence volumes of trade of Ukraine with those countries which got and will get membership in EU, and also diligence of our country to accelerate process of integration into the European community. Accession to WTO will make possible liberalization of a mode of trade between Ukraine and EU.
All stated proves above that nowadays Ukraine has no neither political, nor economic alternative to completion of process of accession to WTO. Under conditions when all main trading partners are members of the WTO, Ukraine can appear in trade and economic isolation.
Whether other post-socialist countries entered the WTO?
As of December 2005goda full participants of the WTO are 149 states. For all countries with an economy in transition WTO membership became the first step of integration into the world markets and joining to the international community. Six former socialist countries signed GATT agreements till 1994: Poland (1967), Romania (1971), Hungary (1973), the Czech Republic (1993), Slovakia (1993) and Slovenia (1994).Odinnadcat other countries already joined the WTO ( in the order of the introduction) – Bulgaria (1996), Mongolia (1997), Kirgizstan (1998), Latvia (1999), Estonia (1999), Georgia (2000), Albania (2000), Croatia (2000), Lithuania (2001), Moldova (2001), Armenia (2003).Krome Ukraine, continue to carry on negotiations on the introduction Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Russia.
On materials: An Internet site, T.A.Ostashko Agricultural industry in the conditions of the WTO and EU, Institute of rural development