Ethiopia has reached a decisive phase in its two-decade effort to join the World Trade Organization, with only six bilateral market access negotiations remaining before the WTO Secretariat can consolidate the country's trade commitments into draft schedules on goods and services.
During the eighth meeting of the Working Party on Ethiopia's Accession held in Geneva on November 9 and 10, Ethiopia's Minister of Trade and Regional Integration and Chief Trade Negotiator Yasmin Wohabrebbi Saeed announced that 11 of the 17 bilateral market access negotiations initiated so far have been concluded and signed, with several of the remaining six close to completion. Once all 17 bilateral agreements are finalized and submitted, the WTO Secretariat will consolidate the commitments into Ethiopia's draft Schedules on Goods and Services for technical verification by the respective negotiating members.
The government formed in October has made securing WTO membership a top political priority, according to Minister Yasmin. She told the Working Party that membership would serve as an anchor for reforms and strengthen predictability, transparency and institutional credibility. She emphasized that integrating Africa's fifth-largest economy, with a market of more than 130 million people, into a predictable and non-discriminatory trading system would strengthen the multilateral trading system and demonstrate that the WTO accession framework can deliver results for least developed countries.
Since the seventh Working Party meeting in April, Ethiopia has enacted major legislative and regulatory changes covering foreign exchange and payments, customs administration, taxation, trading rights and import licensing, the National Bank Governor and other senior officials briefed WTO members. The country has also advanced additional draft legislation covering internal and export taxes, other duties and charges, and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.
WTO Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang commended Ethiopia for maintaining its reform momentum despite the recent government transition, noting that technical assistance from the Secretariat, in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the International Trade Centre, would continue. WTO members have until December 8 to submit written questions and comments, after which the Secretariat will revise and streamline the Draft Working Party Report.
For Ethiopian businesses and savers, WTO membership would provide legally binding protection for market-oriented reforms and reduce the risk of sudden policy shifts that could affect trade and investment.