WORLD TRADE WT/L/181
18October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4335)
Original: English
COMMUNICATION FROM THE REPUBLIC OFSLOVENIA
Thefollowing communication, dated 8October 1996, hasbeenreceived fromthePermanent
Mission oftheRepublic ofSlovenia withtherequest thatitbecirculated toMembers andObservers
totheWTO.
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RegardingthecommunicationoftheFederalRepublicofYugoslavia(WT/L/176of30September
1996) which contains itsrequest foraspecial retroactive clause enabling ittobecome amember of
theWorld Trade Organization, without anaccession process, theposition oftheGovernment ofthe
Republic ofSlovenia isthefollowing:
1. Anaccession onthebasis ofArticle XIIoftheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade
Organization istheonlyacceptable basisfortheFederal Republic ofYugoslavia tobecome amember
country;
2. There isnolegalbasisforexceptional orspecial orprivileged treatment oftheFederal Republic
ofYugoslavia compared tootheracceding countries, especially thosethathaveemerged fromtheformer
Socialist Federal Republic ofYugoslavia, which wasacontracting party ofGATT 1947;
3. Therequest oftheFederal Republic ofYugoslavia isanattempt tocircumvent legalobligations
intheWorld Trade Organization andiscontrary tothetradition ofacceptance ofnewcontracting parties
totheGATT andmembers totheWTO onthebasis ofanegotiating process. Newmembers tothe
WTO areexpected tomeet itsrules andobligations. Anyprocess other thanthenormal accession
process would mean adilution oftheprocess andobligations stemming from it;
4. TheFederal Republic ofYugoslavia mayaccede onlyonterms acceptable toallMembers of
theWorld Trade Organization.
Werequest thatthiscommunication would becirculated toallMembers oftheWorld Trade
Organization andobserver states.