|
The Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia has pursued membership in the world's leading
international organization dealing with the rules for trade
between nations since June 1993, about a year and a half
before the formation of the World
Trade Organization. In 1993 it was the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT, that was responsible
for formulating international trade rules until the end of the Uruguay
Round and the inauguration of the WTO on January 1,
1995.
Since July 1993
Saudi Arabia's progress has been governed by a "Working
Party" that oversaw every twist and turn of the
multilateral and bilateral negotiations required to meet WTO
accession requirements. Today that "Working Party"
completed its work on negotiations for Saudi Arabian accession --
turning on the green light -- leaving only approval by the WTO
Governing Council to complete the membership process. That
step will come on November 11, 2005 and is viewed as being a
formality.
This SUSRIS NID
provides a wrap-up of reporting on the Working Party's completion
along with information on what the WTO is and how it works, and
links to other background material on Saudi Arabia's 12 year path
to join the world's top trading organization.
Lamy
welcomes conclusion of Saudi Arabia's WTO negotiations
Director-General
Pascal Lamy, on 28 October 2005, welcomed the conclusion of the
Working Party negotiations on the accession of Saudi Arabia to the
WTO. “This is a very important step in Saudi Arabia's accession
to the WTO. I am glad to see that the tremendous amount of work
done by Saudi Arabia has now brought it closer to WTO entry. We
look forward to confirmation by the General Council in the days to
come,” he said.
Source:
WTO.org
WTO
Members Approve Saudi Accession
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Khalil Hanware & Maha
Akeel, Arab News
JEDDAH,
29 October 2005 — Major trading nations yesterday approved Saudi
Arabia’s accession to the World Trade Organization during a key
meeting in Geneva as WTO chief Pascal Lamy called the decision
historic.
Commerce
and Industry Minister Hashem Yamani, who led the Saudi negotiating
team, called it “a victory for the principles and objectives of
the multilateral trading system.” Saudi economists applauded the
WTO accession as “an important milestone” in the Kingdom’s
history.
The WTO
working team, including all major trading nations, yesterday
approved the final package of Saudi entry terms, which must be
endorsed by the ruling General Council on Nov. 11. Approval in the
Council is seen as a foregone conclusion, officials said.
[more]
-
Saudi
Arabia gets OK to join WTO (Business Week) [more]
-
Saudi Arabia gets
nod for WTO entry by year-end (Reuters) [more]
-
Saudis on brink of
WTO membership (BBC) [more]
| About
the WTO -- by the WTO |
|
The
WTO was born out of negotiations; everything the WTO does is the
result of negotiations.
> What
is the World Trade Organization?
> Principles
of the trading system
> The
case for open trade
> The
GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh
> The
Uruguay Round
Ten benefits of the WTO
1. The
system helps promote peace
2. Disputes
are handled constructively
3. Rules
make life easier for all
4. Freer
trade cuts the costs of living
5. It
provides more choice of products and qualities
6. Trade
raises incomes
7. Trade
stimulates economic growth
8. The
basic principles make life more efficient
9. Governments
are shielded from lobbying
10. The
system encourages good government
The Organization - The
WTO is ‘member-driven’, with decisions taken by consensus
among all member governments.
> Whose
WTO is it anyway?
> Organization
chart
> Membership,
alliances and bureaucracy
> Secretariat
chart
> Special
policies
> Members
list
> Least-developed
countries list
Source: WTO.org
|
