04/02/2013 (Agence Europe) - Laos now official WTO member and Tajikistan will become member in March. Laos officially became the 158th member country of the WTO on 2 February. Under the terms of its accession, Laos will consolidate its customs duties at 19.3% on agricultural products and 18.7% on all other products (see EUROPE 10763). Tajikistan will officially become the 159th member country of the organisation on 2 March next. According the agreement on its joining the organisation, Tajikistan has agreed to consolidate its customs duties at 10.4% for agricultural products and 7.6% for other products. It also made specific guarantees on liberalisation in 11 different service sectors. The former USSR republic has also agreed to apply all the WTO's provisions, without any transition period. It also accepted the terms of the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and submitted a request for signing the General Procurement Agreement (GPA) within a one-year timeframe after its accession. (EH/transl.fl)