PH Becomes First ASEAN Member to Sign Bilateral Market Access Agreement with Timor-Leste
From left to right: WTO Secretariat and Deputy Permanent Representative of Portugal witnessing the signing of the bilateral agreement. (Geneva WTO PM photo)
GENEVA, 06 March 2023 – The Philippines became the first ASEAN Member State to sign a bilateral market access agreement with Timor-Leste as part of the latter’s accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on 25 January 2023.
Timor-Leste's Working Party was established on 7 December 2016 which kickstarted its WTO accession process. At present, there are forty (40) Members in the Working Party (counting EU as a bloc), seven (7) of which are ASEAN Members (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam).
The Philippines joined the Working Party on Timor-Leste’s accession on 27 July 2021 and registered its interest to engage in bilateral market access negotiations given its historical relations and potential improvements in its bilateral trade and investment relations with Timor- Leste.
During the signing ceremony, Philippine Mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Chargé d'Affaires, a.i. Gabriel Bautista noted that both countries are closely aligned in terms of culture and values, and demographically, Philippine and Timorese workforces are some of the most youthful in the region. He noted that “the Philippines remains ready to support Timor Leste in strengthening and diversifying its economy – there is strong potential for collaboration across a broad range of sectors from energy, agriculture, construction, education to retail services. As our political commitment endures we now must redouble efforts to enhance private sector engagement.”
The event also marks the Philippines as the third country, after New Zealand and Australia, and first within ASEAN, to conclude and sign the bilateral market access agreement with Timor- Leste. Deputy Permanent Representative Mário Martins of the Permanent Mission of Portugal also witnessed the signing on behalf of Ambassador and Permanent Representative Rui Macieira, who chairs Timor-Leste’s Working Party. Following the signing, the document containing agreement on both goods and services sectors was deposited with the WTO Secretariat, who maintains a Register of Bilateral Market Access Agreements.
In the WTO accession process, a Working Party is established to examine the application in accordance with Article XII of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization (WTO Agreement) and to submit recommendation to the WTO’s General Council or Ministerial Conference. Following the establishment of a Working Party, the bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral negotiations subsequently take place simultaneously. Negotiations on tariff concessions and services are conducted bilaterally on the basis of offers and requests between the acceding government and the interested Member. The successful conclusion of these negotiations leads to the drafting of an accession package (“terms of accession/entry”), which needs to be adopted by the accession Working Party and approved by the General Council or Ministerial Conference. Subsequently, the acceding government must accept the “terms of entry” — either through signature or ratification — and becomes a full-fledged WTO member 30 days after it notifies the acceptance of its Protocol of Accession to the WTO Director-General.
Among the 24 ongoing accessions in the WTO, Timor-Leste is considered to have one of the fastest-advancing processes.
Timor-Leste is also the first Observer Country to express its intent to join plurilateral agreements in the WTO, specifically the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the ITA Expansion Agreement (ITA-II).
Concurrent to its accession to the WTO, Timor-Leste is also applying for membership to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). During the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits and Related Summits held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 11 November 2022, the ASEAN Member States in-principle agreed to admit Timor-Leste to be the 11th member of ASEAN.
In 2021, TL ranked as PH’s 169th trading partner (out of 224), 159th export market (out of 206), and 160th import supplier (out of 211). END
From left to right: Philippine Mission to the World Trade Organization (PM WTO) Chargé d'affaires Gabriel Bautista and Timor-Leste Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva Lurdes Bessa. (Geneva WTO PM photo)