Why our government try to negotiate to be the member of WTO ? What WTO means to small country like Laos who has not so many products to export. If we enter WTO, our economic will be better? What will happen if we fail to enter ? There are many countries in the world that do not join WTO, and they still can survive. So why we need to follow the fashion to enter WTO
i also do not very understand, so far as i know, when you are not the member of WTO is similar to when you are selling thing outside the market ( ta lat ) so you do not have to follow the regulations of the market, so if you are a member of WTO you have to try your best to improve your self to meet international standard, means you have a good chance to develop your self
First question why LAO have to negotiate? because WTO has Protocol, or regulations if you like. So if LAO wants to join this organisation then LAO must follow guidelines of this organisation. There are more than 100 countries belonged to WTO, that's why Lao government has to sit down and talk to each member, that's also mean Lao must talk from 1 country to the next one....until Lao finish with all countries in WTO. We can look at VIETNAM Lao's neighbour. VIETNAM spent more than 10 years to finish the negotiation, and now Vietnam was a member of WTO about 8 months since the date this country join WTO.
You are right in the matters of if LAO is not a member of WTO that means Lao trade is restricted not fully intergrated, example if now LAO wants to sell COFFEE to South Africa, then South Africa might say 'SORRY but we do not have trade connection with LAO' But if LAO was a member of WTO LAO may just ask South Africa in easy way....such as WE HAVE COFFEE we want to sell to you simple as that, South Africa inturn just say OK. On the issue of compete and improve Lao's products that's obviously a MUST the more lao people improve lao's products the more chance we can sell them, simple as that.
If one day LAO becomes WTO member I am afraid many things must change, particularly with Copyright law, we won't see illegal or pirate CD,VCD,DVD selling everywhere like we see now in LAO, because of what they call Intellectual Protection, and Copyright Protocol. LAO must follow the guideline, otherwise they can take LAO to international court for bridge the rules or Protocols.
Somehow there must be more positive outcome for any country which decided to join WTO, because the history of countries which joined this organisation is like this, we saw countries joined WTO and stayed with this organisation we did not see any member pulling out of WTO, we saw country went into but not got out. The benefit is that after LAO became WTO's member then there will be more communications wih LAO from member, more country will come and invest and do the business with LAO, at the moment it's a kind of restricted, or narrow not wide.
