, advancing its application for membership at a snail’s pace.
While the government says it is very interested in becoming a WTO member, it has done next to nothing to advance its application.
Six years ago, the WTO told Iran its next step was to name its member for the Working Group that will meet to work out what Iran needs to do to become member. Iran has yet to name anyone to the Working Group, however.
The WTO has been a controversial issue within the Islamic Republic, with many people opposed to dismantling Iran’s trade barriers to gain membership while others argue Iran must join the WTO if it seriously wants to boost its non-oil exports. Eighty percent of the world’s countries are WTO members and most of the non-members are ministates.
Dismantling trade barriers would be a major step economically as it would open Iran to much more competition. It would also be major step politically as it would mean Iran was dismantling much of the ideological structure its put in place after the revolution to keep Iran apart from the rest of the world.
After years of debate after the revolution, Iran filed a membership application with the WTO July 19, 1996, under President Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who was firm on the need for WTO membership. But Iran then did nothing about the application for years.
In 2001, some WTO members proposed taking up Iran’s application, but the Bush Administration vetoed that every quarter until May 2005. With the US opposition, Iran suddenly became vocal on its desire for membership. It regularly complained about the Americans for blocking its membership. Other countries took up Iran’s case and criticized the United States. Much of Europe argued that the problems with Iran would be solved if the Americans only showed less hostility and pressed President Bush to start that process by lifting his block at the WTO.
The then newly appointed secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, agreed and convinced Bush to allow the Iranian application to advance in May 2005. A formal working party was established that month. Iran was told to name a member to the Working Party. More than six years have passed and Iran has named no one to the Working party, which, as a result, has never met.
Iran was also required to submit a memorandum describing its current trade regime so the WTO could see what needed to be changed to bring Iran in line with WTO rules. Iran finally submitted that memo November 24, 2009, a total of 4 1/2 years after the Bush Administration veto was lifted.
The WTO has sent Iran a series of questions about the facts in its 2009 memorandum. It is those questions that Iran now says it is about to answer.
The Islamic Republic regularly and bitterly complained about the Bush veto, but has been silent on why it has delayed acting on its application for longer than the Bush veto held up the application.
The WTO told the Iran Times the Islamic Republic must appoint a member to the Working Party before the Working Party can meet and start active negotiations for Iran’s membership.
