WTO members congratulate Vanuatu for ratifying its accession package

26 July 2012

Today, at the General Council, Vanuatu officially notified the WTO that it had ratified its accession package which spells out its membership terms. Vanuatu will join the WTO as a full-fledged member on 24 August 2012, becoming the 157th member of the WTO.

“In 30 days, Vanuatu will take a seat at the WTO family table. Its WTO membership will facilitate Vanuatu’s integration in the global economy. This is crucial for a least-developed country such as Vanuatu, since trade can be an engine for growth and poverty reduction. Vanuatu will benefit from a predictable and stable basis for development,” said WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy.

Five other Pacific Island countries — Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Samoa, which acceded on 10 May 2012 — are already WTO members.

Vanuatu committed that from the date of accession, it will fully apply all WTO provisions and did not require recourse to any transitional period except on intellectual property and on the publication of trade information. Vanuatu will apply an average final bound rate of 39.7% and has made specific commitments on 10 services sectors. The services sector has been growing and now accounts for three-quarters of Vanuatu’s GDP.

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