Brussels, 14/03/2012 (Agence Europe) - Algeria is speeding up the presentation of its dossiers for membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and for preparing the 11th round of multilateral talks scheduled for June this year. Its claim is for a “more transparent and simpler” accession process, the Algerian press states, citing a source familiar with the issue. An informal meeting with the WTO working group responsible for the dossier in question is scheduled for 30 March, in Geneva.
The same media reports recall that, in 2010, Algeria had answered 96 questions raised by the countries belonging to the working group, chaired by a European, Belgium's representative. The draft report to be presented in June will complete comments made in 2008. Algeria, which has been negotiating its accession for 25 years now, calls for simplification and facilitation of the WTO membership process for developing countries and least advanced countries. Early March, the director for multilateral trade affairs at the Algerian Foreign Ministry, Mohamed Bessedik, said that accession procedures are suffering from the lack of clear rules and pre-determined criteria, as well as from the existence of an asymmetrical negotiation structure. The developing countries applying for WTO accession would be compelled to make concessions going beyond those imposed on member states, including the most developed among them.
Since 2008, press reports say, Algeria has revised 36 texts and adopted new laws on technical trade barriers, health and phytosanitary measures, intellectual property, anti-dumping practices, safeguard and countervailing measures, price policy, customs valuation, imports of pharmaceutical products and alcoholic beverages, and exports of bovine and sheep meat and palm products. (FB/transl.jl)