At the second meeting of the working party on Liberia’s WTO accession on 07 May 2015, WTO members demonstrated consensus for the conclusion of Liberia’s accession at the WTO’s Tenth Ministerial Conference in December in Nairobi, Kenya.
Liberia’s delegation — led by H.E. Axel Addy, Minister of Commerce and Industry, WTO Chief Accession Negotiator — reaffirmed Liberia’s determination to fast-track its accession negotiations with WTO members through technical work and a commitment to bring domestic measures into conformity with WTO rules. Concluding Liberia’s WTO accession at the tenth ministerial conference (MC10) in Nairobi is a priority for Liberia, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has announced. MC10 will be the WTO’s first ministerial conference held in Africa.
Minister Addy stressed the importance of WTO accession for the Liberian economy in light of the Ebola health crisis that has had such a drastic impact on the country’s economic performance. “Becoming a WTO member is part of our overall development and post-Ebola recovery plans,” Minister Addy stated. "It is a healing process because we believe trade for development can be a critical tool for poverty reduction. Trade is the magic bullet to transform Africa."
H.E. chairman Joakim Reiter of Sweden commended Liberia for its "non-stop, constructive and decisive engagement with members" and confirmed the “unanimous commitment of all members to deliver Liberia’s accession by MC10”. He also praised Liberia for its technical work, in particular for having concluded the agriculture negotiations at the plurilateral level and for committing to bind tariff lines on Information Technology Agreement (ITA) products at their currently applied rates, with a view to joining the ITA at a later date.