Liberia Concludes Key Technical Inputs in its Accession to the World Trade Organization

Geneva, Switzerland – Thursday, 23 July 2015

Liberia holds Third Working Party Meeting at the Working Party Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.   Ambassador Joakim Reiter chairs the meeting with support from the WTO Secretariat.  

Chief Negotiator, Hon. Axel M. Addy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, is leading the Liberian Delegation at the Third Working Party Meeting. Liberia hopes to conclude these technical meetings to set the stage for the conclusion of the accession package.

Assistant Minister for Trade Services, Hon. Stephen Towain Marvie, Jr., is the technical lead on the Services Negotiations, while LRA’s Deputy Commissioner for Technical Affairs, Hon. Decontee King-Sackie, and Assistant Customs Commissioner for Technical Operations, Atty. William Buku; provide the technical inputs on Goods (tariff).

The Ministry’s Chief Legal Counsel, Atty. Roosevelt Gould, is the lead on the Legislative Action Plan (LAP).  Given the legal reforms that accompany WTO accession, Hon. Jim W. Tornonlah, Senator, Margibi County and Chairman, Senate Committee on Commerce, has joined the Liberian delegation to participate in the Third Working Party and broaden his understanding of Liberia’s commitments to the WTO.

Liberia has been able to provide responses regarding excise duties, fees and charges, import licensing, SPS, TBT, and TRIPS.  Updates have also been done on the Import Licensing Questionnaires and checklist on TRIPS (TRIPS/ACC/9).  

Liberia is committed to accession domestic reforms and as such has made difficult decision with regards to excise duties on key commodities.  Liberia will remove the discrimination that was imposed on those key commodities. However, the Liberian Delegation is proposing a transitional period up to August 2017.  

Liberia will also ensure that Customs User Fees are specific and proportional to the size of the container.  Regarding Pre-shipment inspection fees, Liberia will also ensure that the costs of PSI are specific and related to the services being provided by the PSI firm.  Pre-shipment inspection services fees include inspection, automated trade facilitation procedures/infrastructure, issuance of certificate with expertise for valuation and classification.  

Liberia has drafted regulations to establish the SPS and TBT Enquiry Points and also updated the Customs Code to include the Amendments regarding the provisions of the Customs Valuation Agreement, including the Interpretative Notes, and the Rules of Origin Agreement.

The Government is hoping to conclude membership at the WTO Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2015.