Package at the Final Working Party Today

Geneva –Switzerland on Tuesday, 06 October 2015, Liberia today will present its Draft Accession Package to the members of the Working Party on Liberia Accession to the World Trade Organization for adoption ad referendum. This represents the final process of Liberia accession process in its ambitious roadmap to join the WTO at the WTO, Ministerial 10 conference to be held in December in Nairobi. The Nairobi Ministerial Conference 10 represents the first time the WTO conference, will be held in sub-saharan Africa since its inception in 1995. It is also the twentieth anniversary of the organization and the acceptance of Liberia in December will make Liberia the last country on continental Africa to join the organization, joining the rest of the ECOWAS members who are all members. Liberia’s membership is timely as the Nairobi Ministerial will table many issues particularly those most important to Africa. Issues such as support for the development agenda for developing and least developed countries to improve their trade competitiveness, issues of agriculture and market access, and capacity building on trade facilitation are among the many issues to be tabled for negotiations.

Today at 3:00PM, the Liberian Delegation, led by its Chief Negotiator, Hon. Axel M. Addy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, will participate in the final working party meeting and will also host the Friends of Liberia Accession event to recognize the support of the many partners that have supported Liberia over the last seven years on the accession process. Members of the delegation include, H.E. Ambassador Joakim Reiter of Sweden, Chair of the Working Party on Liberia’s Accession; Senator Jim Tornonlah of Margibi County and Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce and Industry; Hon. Paul Tate, Charge d’Affairs, Liberia Mission to UN Organization in Geneva; Hon. Seklau Wiles, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Agriculture; Hon. Decontee King-Sackie, Deputy Commissioner of the Liberia Revenue Authority; Mr. Roosevelt Gould, Legal Counsel, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Mr. Winston Tubman, Legal Officer, Law Reform Commission; Hon. Patrick Honnah, Deputy Director General, Liberia Broadcasting System; Hon. Juah Feika, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Finance and Development Planning; Assistant Minister Stephen Marvie, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Hon. William Buku, Assistant Commissioner, Liberia Revenue Authority; supported by several Liberian technicians and technicians from several partner organizations including Swedish National Board of Trade (NBT) with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation (SIDA), International Trade Media Advisory – WTO High Level Visit 2 Center (ITC), World Bank, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); the World Trade Organization (WTO); King and Spalding; IDEAS Center, and the Advisory Center on WTO Law (ACWL) .

Liberia Chief negotiator, Hon. Axel M. Addy, Minister of Commerce and Industry and a small team has been in Geneva for several days engaging in bilateral meetings with members of the Working Party on Liberia’s Accession to ensure that all outstanding issues are adequately addressed prior to the Final Working Party to allow for the adoption of the Package in time for Nairobi. The team was joined by the remaining members of the delegation on Saturday and has held working session on the development of Liberia’s Post Accession Strategy as a fundraising tool to be launched in Nairobi at MC10.

Today, the Delegation will conclude the substantive activities of accession of Liberia after ten (10) months of intense work and negotiations in Liberia, the US, Brussels and Geneva and commence work on fundraising for the implementation of domestic reforms as per its commitment obligations in its accession package.

Liberia commenced its accession process in 2007 under the leadership of Honorable Olubanke King-Akerele, the Minister of Commerce and Industry. The process gathered momentum under the leadership of Honorable Miatta Beysolow, the Minister of Commerce and Industry at the time. The government held its first Working Party meeting in 2012. Honorable Axel M. Addy, Liberia's current Minister of Commerce and Industry, working under the former Minister Beysolow inherited the portfolio and since has been facilitating the process and leading the negotiations as Chief Negotiator, in consultation with all Government and private sector stakeholders. Under his leadership, Liberia has tabled its market access offers on Goods (Tariff using ECOWAS CET), Services, and Rules (Legislative Action Plan). Liberia concluded its 3rd Working Party and all bilateral negotiations in July in accordance with its roadmap to accede in December in Nairobi at the 10th Ministerial Conference (MC10) of the World Trade Organization. This will be the first time a WTO Ministerial Conference will be held in Africa and at which occasion the Organization will conclude the year-long celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the rules-based Multilateral Trading System. The final formal decision on Liberia’s Accession shall be taken at the Tenth WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.