Ethiopia Accelerates WTO
Accession, Signs 11 of 17 Bilateral Market Access Agreements
At its eighth meeting on 9 and 10 November, the Working Party on
Ethiopia's Accession to the WTO took stock of the latest progress in bilateral
market access negotiations and reforms of Ethiopia's foreign trade regime.
Leading a high-level delegation, Ethiopia's Minister of Trade and Regional
Integration and Chief Trade Negotiator, Yasmin Wohabrebbi
Saeed, reaffirmed the priority the government continues to attach to achieving
WTO accession as soon as possible. Members welcomed the progress achieved while
noting that further work is needed before the accession process can be
concluded
·
Ethiopia
reaffirmed its commitment to securing WTO membership at the earliest, with its
new government giving the accession process the highest priority.
·
At
the eighth WTO Working Party meeting (9–10 November), members welcomed progress
in trade reforms and bilateral market access negotiations.
·
11
out of 17 bilateral market access agreements have been signed, with most
remaining negotiations nearing completion.
·
Ethiopia
reported legislative reforms covering foreign exchange, customs administration,
taxation, import licensing and trading rights. Further reforms are underway in
export taxes, other duties and charges, and intellectual property rights
(TRIPS).
·
WTO
members and the Secretariat welcomed Ethiopia's commitment and assured
continued technical support, including assistance from the IMF, World Bank and
International Trade Centre.
·
Members
identified additional legislative issues requiring attention before accession
can be completed.
·
Next
steps:
Finalize the remaining six bilateral agreements, submit written questions and
comments by 8
December 2026,
and revise the Draft Working Party Report.
·
The
next Working Party meeting will be scheduled depending on progress in accession
negotiations.
[ABS News Service/13.11.2026]
The high-level delegation of
Ethiopia, led by Minister Yasmin, consisted of senior government officials
based in Geneva and Addis Ababa, including five members of the National
Steering Committee on WTO Accession. These comprised State Minister of
Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chief Trade Negotiator Ambassador Hadera Abera Admasu,
National Bank Governor Eyob Tekalign Tolina, State Minister of Justice Belayihun
Yirga Kifile, Commissioner
of the Ethiopian Customs Commission Debele Kabeta Hursa and Deputy Chief
Executive Officer of Ethiopian Investment Holdings Zeleke
Temesgen Boru.
Minister Yasmin confirmed
that Ethiopia's new government, formed in October, "accords the highest
priority to Ethiopia's WTO accession". "Being a member of the WTO
family will serve as an international, legally binding anchor for our reforms,
guarding against policy reversal and reinforcing predictability, transparency
and institutional credibility," she stressed. Emphasizing that Ethiopia's WTO
membership would also strengthen the WTO, Minister Yasmin said: "Bringing
a market of more than 130 million people, the fifth largest economy in Africa,
into a system of predictable, non-discriminatory rules is critical. It would
reinforce the importance of WTO accession and demonstrate that the system works
for least developed countries."
Highlighting Ethiopia's
intensified efforts to address outstanding issues, Minister Yasmin updated the
Working Party on the legislative progress made since the seventh Working Party meeting, including on foreign exchange and payments, customs
administration and taxation. She also presented the country's procedures
governing trading rights and import licensing. Minister Yasmin noted that other
reforms are underway on other duties and charges, internal and export taxes and
trade-related intellectual property rights (TRIPS). A total of 11 bilateral
market access agreements have now been signed out of the 17 market access
negotiations launched, with many of the remaining ones close to conclusion.
Urging members to adopt a pragmatic approach to the remaining negotiations, she
said: "Ethiopia will do its part. We count on your support to do
yours."
WTO Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang commended Ethiopia's continuing engagement
despite the change of government. "WTO accession can help anchor
Ethiopia's reforms and deepen its integration into the global economy, creating
clear benefits for Ethiopia and the WTO membership," he said. Highlighting
the importance Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
attaches to this accession process, he confirmed the WTO Secretariat's
continued support alongside development partners, such as the International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the International Trade Centre.
WTO members expressed their
continued support for Ethiopia's accession while welcoming the government's
ongoing commitment and progress in the accession process. They also identified
areas for further legislative follow up to move the process further forward.
Working Party Chair Rebecca
Fisher-Lamb (the United Kingdom) welcomed the good progress in the bilateral
market access negotiations and the substantive exchanges between Ethiopia and
WTO members to review the latest reforms. Appreciating Ethiopia's continued
efforts to address members' requests for specific action, the Chair urged the
new government to continue to pursue legislative and regulatory reforms
expeditiously. She also encouraged Ethiopia and WTO members to sustain
engagement between each Working Party cycle to help resolve the remaining
issues.
On the bilateral track,
Ethiopia and WTO members were invited to intensify engagement, finalize
remaining bilateral market access negotiations and sign agreements as soon as
possible. After having received all market access agreements, the WTO
Secretariat would consolidate them into Ethiopia's draft Schedules on Goods and
Services, followed by technical verification by signatory members.
On the multilateral track,
members were invited to submit written questions and comments by 8 December.
The WTO Secretariat was mandated to revise and streamline the Draft Working
Party Report. Ethiopia was invited to continue updating the Working Party on
its legislative progress.
The next Working Party
meeting could be scheduled contingent upon progress made in the accession
negotiations.