Tonga joins WTO
30 Jul 2007
The Kingdom of Tonga, a part of the Commonwealth Family since 1970, has been adopted as a formal member of the WTO on 27th July, 2007. Tonga becomes the 151st member of the WTO. Tonga applied for accession to the WTO in June 1995, but negotiations effectively started in April 2001.
The terms of membership, which include the Report of the Working Party for the Accession of Tonga, the Protocol of Accession, and the Schedules of Tonga’s commitments on Market Access for Goods and Services, was adopted by the WTO at the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference in December 2005.
Tonga ratified its accession package on 27 June 2007 which was the final step in the accession process and finally as per the WTO rules became an official member after 30 days of national ratification. The Director General Pascal Lamy welcomed the new member and encouraged other such small economies to join the organization in order to facilitate a fuller integration process.
Tonga is one of the world's smallest economies with a population of approximately 116,000 and an area of 748 sq km. Trade accounts for 54% of GDP. Its annual growth reached 1.9% in 2006. The economy is largely based on agriculture (41% of GDP) and fisheries (20% of exports). Tonga's main trading partners are Japan, the United States, New Zealand and Australia.
Released: 30/07/07
Resource: www.wto.org
