The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Dr Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, today said that joining of the World Trade Organization (WTO) requires the conclusion of bilateral agreements with WTO members.
In a statement to the press, following his signing of the bilateral protocol with the European Union (EU) on access to markets in commodities and service sectors, Yamani said that reaching bilateral agreements with the EU and the United States of America, the world’s largest commercial blocs, is a major step towards reaching bilateral agreements with other WTO member states.
Following today’s bilateral agreement, which was signed in Jeddah, with Commercial Commissioner of the EU, Dr Pascal Lamy, who arrived on a visit to the Kingdom on Saturday, it remains for the Kingdom to reach an agreement with the U.S. before attainment of WTO membership, Yamani said.
On the obstacles facing negotiations with the U.S., the Saudi Minister of Commerce and Industry said that officials from the Kingdom have already met with their U.S. counterparts, and have received warm invitations to negotiate difficult issues between the two sides. The American side is currently studying Saudi offers.
Yamani said that the agreement with the EU was not difficult to reach, and predicted an equally positive response from the U.S. side. “This does not mean that negotiations with the U.S. will be easy,” he said. He recalled a statement made by the U.S. commercial representative, in which he acknowledged the Kingdom’s economic leverage, suggesting that it is a merit for Saudi Arabia in its attempt to achieve accession to the WTO.
Commenting on a question about whether Saudi Arabia has made concessions to the EU, which resulted in their fast approval of the Kingdom’s admission to WTO, Yamani said: “It may appear that that is the case, but it is not. The Kingdom has not offered any concessions.”
Over recent years, the Kingdom has exerted strenuous efforts to attain WTO membership, which have yielded positive results. During the past three years, the Kingdom has taken a number of steps to reform its economy, and implement new legislation to strengthen its economy, regardless of its plans to join the WTO.
The U.S. and the E.U. view these steps as positive and encouraging moves to pave the way for the accession of one of the world’s major economies to the WTO. The EU was, therefore, motivated to accept more of our terms, and the U.S. is taking decisions to do the same.
On U.S. conditions to agree to Saudi accession to the WTO, the Minister of Commerce and Industry explained that there are three major articles in any bilateral agreement between the Kingdom and WTO member states: the ceiling of customs tariffs on agricultural and industrial goods; services, including health, insurance, banking, and commercial services, and laws, including laws that protect intellectual property.
Regarding customs ceilings, Yamani said that most countries have accepted the Saudi demand, but have also asked the Kingdom to progress towards allowing some goods to have access to the Saudi market.
Yamani said that the Kingdom would prefer not to speak prematurely about services, until it has issued new regulations, such as that pertaining to insurance. He said that such regulations strengthen the position of Saudi negotiators.
Yamani said he believes that investors would not come to the Kingdom without the assurance of intellectual rights. Eleven laws have been issued with regard to intellectual property, and only two further laws remain; hence the acceleration of signing the agreement with the EU. The Shoura Council is currently discussing the two remaining laws.
The Minister announced that the Kingdom would participate as observer in Cancun’s forthcoming meeting, which will provide a rare opportunity for the Kingdom to hold bilateral meetings with most WTO member states, including the U.S., and other economic blocs, such as India, Indonesia and Latvia. He said that the agreement with the EU would constitute a breakthrough in Saudi Arabia’s endeavour to reach similar protocols with other countries.
For his part, the Commercial Commissioner of the EU expressed satisfaction with the bilateral agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the European Union, and said that the agreement happens to be part of the Kingdom’s endeavour to join the WTO.
Speaking to the press following the signing ceremony in Jeddah today, Lamy also lauded the outcome of the intensive bilateral negotiations between the Saudi negotiating team and their European counterpart in Riyadh, Geneva and Brussels, confirming that the Kingdom’s accession to the WTO would benefit the Kingdom, the European group, and all WTO member countries. He said that this important agreement would certainly enhance commercial and economic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the European Union, Saudi Arabia’s primary trade partner.
Source: SPA
