UNCTAD supports Iraq’s WTO accession process in the area of commercial services
UNCTAD will conduct an advisory mission to Erbil to assist Iraqi officials in the legal and regulatory audit pertaining to selected key services sectors, including Finance/Central Bank of Iraq, Tourism, Transport and Education services. The services’ legal audit is part of the country’s preparation for WTO membership negotiations.
After almost two decades of a stalled accession process, due mainly to political instability and deterioration of the security environment, the Government of Iraq (GoI) is currently working to reactivate the accession negotiations. Iraq’s application to join the WTO dates back to 2004. UNCTAD has been supporting the Iraqi Ministry of Trade (MoT) to improve its capacity and preparedness for meeting the technical and legal requirements of the accession process. This support includes trade policy advice to help the GoI in adopting a WTO consistent foreign trade regime, including through training of negotiators and review of the accession-related instruments and documentation.
In this context, the advisory meeting in Erbil, will enable Iraqi authorities to undertake a thorough examination of the policies and regulations governing the aforementioned services, under the guidance of UNCTAD’s experts. This exercise is a prerequisite step for an orderly preparation of the initial offer on market access for services, in line with the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). This, in turn, would allow the GoI to kick-start the preliminary round of bilateral accession negotiations with WTO members on the services trade component.
UNCTAD assistance activities in Iraq are funded under the UN Development Project Account (DA) - 13th Tranche 2021-2024. The project aims at supporting Iraq, as a post-conflict country, in the area of trade policy formulation and trade negotiations.
