Belarus’ WTO accession talks proceed to final stage

The negotiations on Belarus’ accession to the World Trade Organization are on the home stretch, reads the Annual Review of Foreign Policy of the Republic of Belarus and Activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2021 that was published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus on 14 February, BelTA has learned.

“Since the work on Belarus’ accession to the WTO gained steam in 2016, the negotiations have entered the final stage. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the discussion of the fifth edition of the Draft Working Party Report (the final document defining the conditions for the country’s membership in the organization) and the work on the final discussion of Belarus’ commitments in the WTO have been postponed to 2022,” the foreign ministry’s report reads.
 
The foreign ministry noted that in 2021 the focus was on domestic procedures to improve foreign trade regulations taking into account the WTO requirements. From 2016 to 2021, bilateral bargaining sessions on market access were completed with 12 WTO members. This brought the total number of bilateral protocols to 21. Last year, a number of consultations were held with Brazil and Costa Rica; a format for formalizing bilateral agreements is being discussed.

“The talks on bilateral market access agreements continued with the United States of America, Ukraine, the EU, Canada, Costa Rica and New Zealand; the talks with the last four of them are in the final stage. Work was underway to update the business community, enterprises, the academic community on the progress in the negotiation process and to explain to them the WTO rules, the advantages and consequences of Belarus’ membership in the organization. Within the framework of technical assistance projects of the WTO Secretariat and UNDP, a series of educational seminars were held to prepare the country for membership in the organization,” the foreign ministry informed.