October 14, 2016
The Obama Administration is quietly blocking efforts by Iran to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), reversing a decision by the George W. Bush Administration to support Iranian membership.
It isn’t clear that the American policy actually makes much difference. Iran has not yet done much that it needs to do before it can join the WTO. Furthermore, there is much opposition within the Iranian establishment to joining because it would force Iran to drastically lower its tariffs, which are among the highest in the world, and open Iran to competition from many foreign products.
Many fear the loss of its 100 percent tariff on imported cars would kill the Iranian auto industry.
The United States has effectively frozen Iran’s application by blocking the appointment of a chairman to lead the “Working Party” that will guide Iran to WTO membership.
This has not been publicized. However, last week, a “senior administration official” told The Wall Street Journal, “The WTO accession process is based on consensus and, as of now, there are a number of countries that oppose appointing a chair to Iran’s Working Party on accession. The US also does not currently support naming a chair.”
The official did not name any other countries opposing the naming of a chair. But it would not stretch credulity to suspect Saudi Arabia, Israel and Bahrain of being among other opponents.
The Bush Administration blocked the WTO from even considering Iranian membership in the early years of this century. Iran complained loudly and frequently. The US opposition was then criticized by many Europeans as an example of American hostility toward Iran that prevented an improvement in relations.
Under pressure from the EU, the Bush Administration dropped its opposition in May 2005. Despite all of Iran’s loud criticism of the US opposition, it did nothing to join the WTO then. In succeeding years, as the Obama Administration sought openings to Iran, the Europeans began to see that Iranian intransigence was the problem and not American harshness. Eventually, the Europeans shifted to the American view and backed tough sanctions on Iran.
The Iranian application to join the WTO went nowhere after Europe put Iran’s head on the sanctions block in 2012. But with the lifting of sanctions last January, WTO membership is now up again.
The Wall Street Journal reported the US opposition in a news story last Thursday that reported a group of Republican and Democratic congressmen, ignorant of the Obama Administration opposition, had written the US trade representative urging him to oppose Iran’s efforts to join.
The four letter signers said they were concerned that if Iran joined the WTO, that membership would limit the ability of the United States to impose new sanctions on Iran for terrorism, human rights violations, its ballistic missile program or other activity.
In Iran, the Tasnim news agency picked up the story from The Wall Street Journal, but curiously dropped the quote cited above: “The US also does not currently support naming a chair.”
Iran is the largest country that is not in the WTO. Only 19 countries are not inside the organization.
