A high level team visiting Liberia from the World Trade Organization says Liberia accession to WTO will greatly benefit small businesses and consumers who are unable to lobby or negotiate on their behalf.

The Deputy Secretary General of the WTO Joakim Reiter said the WTO package to Liberia will improve economic growth, adding that it will reduce trade barrier and lower the costs of imports. Reiter said Liberia like any other country joining the WTO enjoys the benefit granted to all members.

“Small countries can participate fully in the multilateral trading system as decisions are made by consensus and each member has an equal right to challenge other member’s practice in the WTO dispute settlement procedures,” Reiter said. The Deputy Secretary General said, Liberia’s membership to the WTO can be used to stimulate policy changes in favor of increase trade investment, indicating that it can spur economic growth and development.

“The major benefit of the WTO accession process itself is that it provides an acceding government with a power instrument for domestic reforms to accelerate growth, modernize, strengthen institutional capacity and enshrine the rule of law.” Reiter said, WTO commitments help improve investor confidence and the domestic environment for doing business.

Services are essential for development. Telecommunications are essential for producing and distributing goods and services. Transport services contribute to the efficient distribution of goods within a country and are particularly important. The Director of Accession Division Dr. Cheidu Osakwe said, the accession is about the betterment of the Liberian people through private sector investment. Osakwe said the WTO package will provide better economic governance and atmosphere for investment. He said by December WTO gathering in Nairobi will make a determination in accepting Liberia as a member.

“We are going to have technical meeting in October, by December in Nairobi for Liberia to be a member, it will go to the legislature,” Osakwe said. The WTO official added, the delegation is impressed with level work been done in Liberia. Osakwe said the important of the package is to create a platform to reform to international market. Osakwe noted that reducing tariff and ensuring that transaction at ports is transparent and effective will help boost economic growth.

Minister Axel Addy said Liberia becoming a member of the WTO will not affect the Liberianazation policy. “The WTO package does not affect the Liberianazation policy. It is meant for a level playing field for everybody,” Addy said. The visit is a part of the standard protocol of accessions to the WTO for acceding countries that have reached a critical period in the process and are close to concluding their accession.

The team during the visit met with President Sirleaf and the heads of the legislative branch and the private sector. Liberia submitted its application in 2007 under the leadership of former commerce and Industry Minister Olubanke King Akerele. The process gathered momentum under the leadership of Minister Miatta Beyslow, Minister Axel Addy, Liberia’s current Minister of Commerce and Industry inherited the portfolio and has since been facilitating the process and leading the negotiations.

After seven years of work with technicians across several ministries and agencies with several studies and stakeholder engagements, in May of 2014 President Sirleaf in a letter to the Director General of WTO, Roberto Azevedo, expressed Liberia need of assistance to fast track its accession process in time for MC10.

President Sirleaf appointed the Minister of Commerce as the chief negotiator. The first of several critical meetings that will lead to the conclusion on bilateral negotiation and the drafting of the factual summary and draft working party report is currently underway in Geneva with the Liberian delegation.