Seminar highlights WTO sanitary measures
Seminar highlights WTO sanitary measures
Various Lao agricultural products produced for export still face barriers in terms of World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules as some private businesses lack an understanding of the basic principles of trading under WTO rules.
To support Lao's efforts to meet WTO accession obligations, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is one of the main donors working in cooperation with the Lao government in implementing the Lao PDR – US International and ASEAN Integration Project” (LUNA II).
To this end, a seminar on WTO Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary measures (SPS) was organised by the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LNCCI) in Vientiane yesterday.
The recent workshop was one of the measures supported by USAID LUNA II with the overall aim of promoting investment to create more jobs and supporting the implementation of the country's trade and economic reform agenda.
The seminars aim to raise awareness of the basic principles of trading systems and agreements under WTO especially SPS and also to give participants as opportunity to discuss the challenges and benefits of exporting agricultural products to regional and global markets.
More than fifty private business and interested individuals in Vientiane participated in the latest seminar, which was attended by LNCCI Deputy Secretary General, Ms Sengdavone Bangonesengdet along with agriculture and health officials.
“Our approach is to support Laos' trade and economic reform agenda. We do this in several ways, one is to support Laos's efforts to meet its WTO accession commitments, assist the country's efforts to align itself with the norms called for under the newly forming Asean Economic Community (AEC) and for Laos meet its commitments under the Lao-US Bilateral Trade Agreement,” USAID LUNA II Chief of Party, Mr Daniel Fitzpatrick said.
“To achieve these goals we work with a number of Lao government agencies and institutes. For instance, at the same time we want to expand connections with the private sector,” he said.
LUNA II sees the private sector as the next step in its efforts to help the government meet its WTO and AEC obligations.
“While we can work with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Health to establish new standards for trade or food safety, they mean nothing unless they get implemented and that means working with the private sector,” Mr Fitzpatrick commented.
Private sector entities can lead the way in exercising their rights and encouraging others to follow the rules under these new arrangements.
The private sector can also serve as a great feedback mechanism to help the government know what works and what doesn't out in the real world, he added.
