Ethiopias Accession To The Wto And The Telecom Sectorcan Ethiopia Accede Without Liberalization

Ethiopia has applied for membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) andrnits accession process is currently in progress. Despite this, the country is referringrnsome service sectors, like the telecom, as untouchable and, as a result, theirrnliberalization seems improbable. This dissertation is therefore intended to inspectrnthe county’s policy position on telecom liberalization and the implications suchrnpolicy has at the WTO fora. Concerning service liberalization, there are in factrnWTO laws that allow flexibility for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to maintainrntheir domestic policy autonomy to certain extent. However, a careful look atrnaccession processes and telecom commitments experience of some recentlyrnacceded countries are antithesis to these WTO credos. Though Ethiopia has notrnsubmitted its initial service offer and a bilateral negotiation has not commencedrnyet, it has been told by some WTO Member countries to reconsider its policy on therntelecom sector. The research, thus, examines the possibility for Ethiopia to accedernto the organization while still sticking to its current policy position. To such end, itrncame to conclusion that it is hardly possible for the country to join thernorganization while keeping the status quo.rnKey words: Ethiopia, World Trade Organization (WTO), Telecommunication,rnLiberalization, Least Developed Countries (LDCs)

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