IMPLICATIONS OF THE ACCESSION TO THE WTO OF ENERGYEXPORTING COUNTRIES

Introduction
The Uruguay Round, which led to the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO), GATT
1994, and various other agreements and Ministerial Decisions, resulted in strengthened and more
comprehensive rules to deal with traditional international trade concerns. New rules were set up for
areas of international economic relations previously not addressed by the GATT, including trade in
services and protection of intellectual property rights. Many of the countries which became contracting
parties to the GATT shortly before the conclusion of the Uruguay Round, or which are currently in the
process of acceding to the WTO, are petroleum-producing and exporting countries, some of which are
also Member countries of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) . This fact
underlines the need to explore the 1 implication that the WTO Agreements will have for the flexibility
of such countries in framing and implementing their petroleum-related
policies. There is also a need to consider the consequences of this new international trade regime
more generally for international trade in, and market access opportunities for, petroleum
-based products and derivatives, including opportunities for export diversification. Conversely,
these issues are equally important to developing and developed countries that rely on petroleum
imports to power their economies.