European Union and Cambodian officials concluded bilateral market access negotiations Friday in Geneva, drawing Cambodia a step closer to becoming a member of the World Trade Organization.
Cambodian Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh and EU officials agreed to lower tariff levels on agricultural products and non-agricultural products, an EU statement said.
The talks were the latest effort to prepare Cambodia for the Sept 5 WTO ministerial conference in Cancun, Mexico, which could mark Cambodia’s official entry into the organization.
“This is a clear demonstration of Europe’s commitment to facilitate the accession of least-developed countries to the WTO,” the statement quoted EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy as saying. “We are confident now that the accession of Cambodia can be rapidly concluded, making it the first least-developed country to join the WTO since its creation in 1995.”
A Ministry of Commerce official said Sunday that he was not surprised by the vote of confidence from the EU, an important trading partner that has long supported Cambodia’s WTO bid.
“So far we have done very well with the EU and haven’t had to work very hard with them,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
He added that bilateral negotiations with a few other countries were proving more problematic but likely would improve once Cambodia enacts or revises a number of laws and develops its human resources in certain sectors.
All 145 WTO members must agree to Cambodia’s entry into the WTO before it can gain membership.
At a meeting in November of the 15-member working party—established to review the status of Cambodia’s application—Australia, Japan, Taiwan and the US asked a number of questions regarding Cambodia’s efforts to pass legislation and meet other WTO demands.
The US, in particular, asked about the timing of the implementation of intellectual property provisions and the creation of commercial courts, in which specially trained judges could settle business disputes.
In the last year, the National Assembly approved the copyright law and a law on patents, and a trademark law was passed in 2001. But enforcement of these laws has been lax.
The EU began aggressively supporting Cambodia’s WTO membership in 2002, when Lamy said the EU would use its influence in Geneva to expedite the process.
Cambodia applied for membership in December 1994 but was not taken seriously until May 2001, when bringing least-developed countries into the WTO became a goal of the organization.
Nine other least-developed countries are in talks to gain WTO membership: Bhutan, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Laos, Nepal, Samoa, Sudan, Vanuatu and Yemen.
