Seminar on Lebanon's Accession to the World Trade Organization

The project aimed to assist Lebanon in achieving full integration into the world economy and the multilateral trading system by securing membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO). USAID invested over $12 million in the project, which provided technical and material support to the Government of Lebanon. The project's objectives were multifaceted, focusing on implementing key reforms to bring Lebanon's foreign trade regime into conformity with WTO agreements. This involved drafting and revising major laws, including the Law on International Trade and Licensing, the Law on Standards and Technical Regulations, and the Law on Food Safety. Additionally, the project assisted the Ministry of Economy and Trade in drafting and revising nine major laws for compliance with WTO. More than 15 international experts were deployed on short-term missions to support this effort. The project also played a crucial role in preparing and finalizing required accession documents, including the Memorandum of Foreign Trade Regime (MFTR), which was drafted in 2000 and submitted to the WTO. The MFTR is the key document that launches a country's multilateral negotiations to accede to the WTO. Furthermore, the project prepared and submitted ACC/4, ACC/8, and ACC/9 to the WTO Secretariat, although Lebanon decided against submitting ACC/5. The project's assistance in preparing for WTO Working Party meetings was also significant. The project supported the planning and follow-up of six Working Party meetings, provided on-the-job and formal training on negotiation skills, and assisted in proposing legal reform measures to conform with WTO member countries' requests. The project also prepared numerous studies to prepare for Working Party meetings, including a comparative study on the protection of data exclusivity. In addition to these efforts, the project implemented recently enacted laws through training and institutional capacity building. This included providing extensive assistance and training to help establish the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Enquiry Point at LIBNOR, organizing training courses on customs and copyrights, and organizing seminars on TBT and SPS. Finally, the project aimed to raise awareness and build private and public sector support for WTO accession. This involved developing and disseminating brochures on WTO, providing training on topics related to WTO and WTO-related legislation, and meeting periodically with private sector representatives to discuss issues and concerns relating to WTO accession. The project also briefed parliamentarians on general WTO principles, process, and impact of accession and disseminated written briefings.