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The original member states of the World Trade Organization are the parties to the GATT after ratifying the Uruguay Round Agreements,〔(Legal texts: the WTO agreements ) at World Trade Organization〕 and the European Communities. They obtained this status at the entry into force on 1 January 1995 or upon their date of ratification. All other members have joined the organization as a result of negotiation, and membership consists of a balance of rights and obligations.〔(Membership, Alliances and Bureaucracy ), World Trade Organization〕 The process of becoming a World Trade Organization (WTO) member is unique to each applicant country, and the terms of accession are dependent upon the country's stage of economic development and the current trade regime.〔(Accessions Summary ), Center for International Development〕 As is typical of WTO procedures, an offer of accession is only given once consensus is reached among interested parties.〔C. Michalopoulos, ''WTO Accession'', 64〕 The process takes about five years, on average, but it can take some countries almost a decade if the country is less than fully committed to the process, or if political issues interfere. The shortest accession negotiation was that of Kyrgyzstan, lasting 2 years and 10 months. The longest were that of Russia, lasting 19 years and 2 months,〔( Russia's entry to WTO ends 19 years of negotiations ) The Guardian, 22 August 2012〕 Vanuatu, lasting 17 years and 1 month,〔 and China, lasting 15 years and 5 months.〔P. Farah, "Five Years of China's WTO Membership", 263–304〕 As of 2007, WTO member states represented 96.4% of global trade and 96.7% of global GDP.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Accession in perspective )〕 Iran, followed by Algeria, are the economies with the largest GDP and trade outside the WTO, using 2005 data. ==Accession process== The process of accession can be broken down into four major stages: a country wishing to accede to the WTO submits an application to the General Council. The government applying for membership has to describe all aspects of its trade and economic policies that have a bearing on WTO agreements.〔 The application is submitted to the WTO in a memorandum which is examined by a working party open to all interested WTO Members, and dealing with the country's application. For large countries such as Russia, numerous countries participate in this process. For smaller countries, the Quadrilateral group of countries – consisting of the EU, the United States, Canada and Japan – and an applicant's neighboring countries are typically most involved.〔C. Michalopoulos, ''WTO Accession'', 62〕 The applicant then presents a detailed memorandum to the Working Party on its foreign trade regime, describing, among other things, its economy, economic policies, domestic and international trade regulations, and intellectual property policies. The Working Party Members submit written questions to the applicant to clarify aspects of its foreign trade regime with particular attention being paid to the degree of privatization in the economy and the extent to which government regulation is transparent.〔C. Michalopoulos, ''WTO Accession'', 63〕 After all necessary background information has been acquired, the Working Party will begin meeting to focus on issues of discrepancy between the WTO rules and the Applicant's international and domestic trade policies and laws. The WP determines the terms and conditions of entry into the WTO for the applicant nation, and may consider transitional periods to allow countries some leeway in complying with the WTO rules.〔 The final phase of accession involves bilateral negotiations between the applicant nation and other Working Party members regarding the concessions and commitments on tariff levels and market access for goods and services. These talks cover tariff rates and specific market access commitments, and other policies in goods and services. The new member's commitments are to apply equally to all WTO members under normal non-discrimination rules, even though they are negotiated bilaterally. In other words, the talks determine the benefits (in the form of export opportunities and guarantees) other WTO members can expect when the new member joins. The talks can be highly complicated; it has been said that in some cases the negotiations are almost as large as an entire round of multilateral trade negotiations.〔 When the bilateral talks conclude, the working party finalizes the terms of accession. sends an accession package, which includes a summary of all the WP meetings, the Protocol of Accession (a draft membership treaty), and lists ("schedules") of the member-to-be's commitments to the General Council or Ministerial Conference. Once the General Council or Ministerial Conference approves of the terms of accession, the applicant's parliament must ratify the Protocol of Accession before it can become a member.〔(How to Become a Member of the WTO ), World Trade Organization〕 The documents used in the accession process which are embargoed during the accession process are released once the nation becomes a member.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Member states of the World Trade Organization」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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