Officials brush up on commerce ahead of WTO membership
Officials brush up on commerce ahead of WTO membership
Ministry officials attended a seminar in Vientiane yesterday, aimed at expanding their knowledge of commerce as Laos prepares to become a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at the end of the year.
The National Seminar on Commercialisation of Intellectual Property Rights was attended by members of the Vientiane Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Intellectual Property under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Mr Houmphanh Intharath said it was necessary for officials to learn about market economics and free trade before Laos joins the WTO this year, and becomes a member of the Asean Economic Community in 2015.
Laos has faced many challenges in its pursuit of WTO membership and was praised for its effort and commitment by the EU, US, Australia, Japan, Switzerland and Canada. All pledged to continue to give technical assistance to Laos once it had become a member of the global trading body.
In the services sector, Laos has made market access commitments in 10 sectors, covering 79 sub-sectors.
Commitments include complying with rules of origin, pre-shipment inspection, anti-dumping measures, countervailing duty, safeguards and customs valuation, as well as export measures including prohibitions, subsidies, trade-related investment measures, free zones, laws on transit operations and preferential trade under bilateral regional and other agreements, in order to comply with conditions set by the WTO.
The organisation's rules on trading rights apply from the date a country becomes a member unless otherwise stated (some are given a two year grace period).
Certain measures must be applied immediately, including import licensing, technical barriers to trade (product standards and labelling) and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures (food safety and animal and plant health).
State enterprises which import or export broadly under commercial terms must notify the WTO of their trade details.
Companies and individuals have the right to legal appeal on government administrative actions covered by WTO rules, including those on trade regulations, subsidies, customs, valuation, intellectual property rights and domestic regulation in services.
Government fees and charges for services will be in line with WTO agreements, and taxes and other charges on imports will comply with these agreements both at home and internationally.
Many countries, such as Switzerland and Vietnam, contribute to important intellectual work and national development, so the National Seminar on Commercialisation of Intellectual Property Rights is an opportunity for participants to learn about the work of these countries, said Mr Houmphanh
He urged attendees to take on as much of this valuable information as possible, so that they could use it for development purposes.
vientiane times
