Introduction and summary

Summary

This Handbook is intended for readers wanting detailed information on the process of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO). It will be of practical use to people involved in one way or another with the process and with the negotiations on accession to the World Trade Organization. The Handbook provides the general reader with a basis for informed discussion and analysis of the WTO's membership process. It first places accession in the context of the WTO. It then sets out the basic provisions governing accession before going on to look at the standard procedures followed and then at the terms on which applicants have acceded to the Organization. Finally, its annexes bring together the main documents used in the accession process.

The primary source used in its preparation is the documentation of the WTO itself. It is therefore beyond the scope of this publication to examine the preparations that take place in each acceding country or in each of the participating WTO Members, even though these are crucial parts of the process.

ACCESSION IN PERSPECTIVE

The WTO is an intergovernmental organization that provides the multilateral framework for the conduct of world trade. The WTO Agreement establishes the Organization and provides the institutional framework for its administration. The individual agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement contain detailed obligations relating to: trade in goods, trade in services and trade-related intellectual property measures (TRIPS) and the settlement of disputes concerning WTO provisions.