8 Accession of Tajikistan to the WTO
(34378)
| Draft Council Decision establishing the European Union position within the relevant instance of the World Trade Organization on the accession of Tajikistan to the World Trade Organization
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Legal base | Articles 91, 100(2) and 207(4), in conjunction with Article 218(9) TFEU; QMV
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Department | Business, Innovation and Skills
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Document originated |
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Deposited in Parliament |
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Basis of consideration | EM of 2 November 2012
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Previous Committee Report | None
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Discussion in Council | See para 8.6 below
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Committee's assessment | Legally important
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Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information requested
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Background
8.1 The process of World Trade Organization (WTO) accession consists
of two strands. First, individual WTO members agree bilateral
arrangements with the acceding country regarding market access
for industrial goods, agricultural trade, and services, the outcomes
of these individual negotiations then being amalgamated into the
Schedules of Commitments and the best offers granted to all WTO
members on the 'Most-Favoured Nation' (MFN) principle. Secondly,
there are discussions on the compatibility or otherwise of the
trade policy regime of the acceding member with the multilateral
agreements and obligations which constitute WTO membership. This
process which the Commission negotiates on behalf of the
EU Member States effectively sets out the terms and conditions
of the acceding party's membership, and, once these have been
agreed, a vote must be taken in the General Council of the WTO
on allowing the new member to join.
The current proposal
8.2 Although an official text is not yet available, the Government
has told us that the Commission recently put forward a draft Council
Decision proposing that, at a special meeting of the WTO General
Council on 11 December 2012, the EU should support the accession
of Tajikistan, which applied to become a member in May 2001.
The Government's view
8.3 In view of the relatively short time available for discussion
in Brussels, the Minister for Trade and Investment at the Department
for Business, Enterprise and Skills (Lord Green of Hurstpierpoint)
has sent us an Explanatory Memorandum of 2 November 2012, in advance
of the official text. He says that, whilst the UK has a limited
economic interest,[17]
it supports the accession of Tajikistan to the WTO, which will
enable foreign businesses, including those from the UK, to operate
in a more transparent and predictable business environment, with
better protection also for intellectual property rights.
8.4 The Minister adds that the Government agrees
with the Commission that the accession terms are reasonable, and
represent a balanced but ambitious package of market opening commitments,
in line with the level of development and small size of Tajikistan's
economy. He adds that WTO membership will allow Tajikistan to
benefit from market access and global trading rules and the transparency
of the WTO trading system, and that it will also be able to use
the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism to solve its differences
with other members and fully participate in the on-going negotiations
to design the trade rules of the future.
8.5 The Minister observes that the UK is bound by
commitments to admit services professionals from all existing
WTO Members in accordance with its so-called 'Mode 4' commitments
under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and that
these commitments will be extended to Tajikistan when it becomes
a WTO Member. However, he regards it as unlikely that this would
give rise to a significant increase in the number of arrivals
from Tajikistan, as the Mode 4 categories are tightly defined,
with a clear focus on highly skilled, highly qualified services
professionals. He also notes that this measure has been proposed
under Article 207(4) TFEU, which is a non-Title V legal base.
However, as EU legislation requiring Member States to open their
markets to the provision of services by natural persons from third
countries would impose JHA obligations on the UK, the Government's
view is that the UK's JHA opt-in is engaged.
8.6 Finally, the Minister says that the Presidency
is seeking to secure a decision at the Foreign Affairs Council
on 29 November, in order to allow Tajikistan's accession to be
approved by the WTO General Council on 11 December.
Conclusion
8.7 This draft Decision is clearly to be welcomed
on policy grounds, with the main point of interest arising
as on a number of previous occasions, most recently the accession
to the WTO of the Lao People's Democratic Republic[18]
over the UK intention to exercise its Mode 4 opt-in rights
under title V TFEU in the absence of an appropriate legal base.
On those occasions, we have exchanged differing views with the
Government over the legality of asserting opt-in rights in the
absence of a Title V legal base, and our view remains that such
a base is necessary for the UK to exercise its opt-in rights.
Consequently, we would like the Government to indicate whether
other Member States (including Denmark and Ireland) and the Commission
accept that the UK's opt-in rights apply to the Mode 4 provisions,
and whether a Title V legal base will be added to the Council
Decision accordingly. We also ask the Government to say whether
it will opt in to the Mode 4 provisions. Pending its response
to these points, we propose to hold the document under scrutiny.
17 UK exports of goods to Tajikistan in 2007-11 averaged
at £3.3 million. Back
18
(34225) 14170/12: see HC 86-xiii (2012-13), Chapter 2 (17 October
2012). Back
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