World Trade Organisation (Accession)

Lord Willetts Excerpts

Tuesday 18th December 2012 Written Statements

[The Minister for Universities and Science (Mr David Willetts)]

My noble Friend, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, (joint with Foreign and Commonwealth Office), Lord Green’ has today made the following statement:

I wish to inform the House that the Government have opted in to the Council decisions relating to the accession of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) and Tajikistan to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

In each case, opting in will help to achieve the Government’s trade policy objectives of expanding the WTO’s membership.

The Government have supported the accession of both Lao PDR and Tajikistan to the WTO on the right terms. In acceding to the WTO, they will embrace a series of rules and commitments which form the foundation of an open, transparent and non-discriminatory global trading system which will provide important guarantees for them and for the other WTO members. Accession to the WTO will bring them more firmly into the global economy and make them more attractive places to do business.

In each case, the Council decisions have the effect of extending to the acceding countries the horizontal commitments the UK makes to all WTO members, including in the provision of services by natural persons from third countries, otherwise known as “Mode 4”. It is the presence of these Mode 4 commitments in the relevant instruments which triggers the UK Justice and Home Affairs opt-in.