BEIRUT------February 20, 2014------ The Lebanese Businessmen Association, chaired by Dr. Fouad Zmokhol, organized a roundtable entitled “When will Lebanon Join the World Trade Organization?” and attended by HE Dr. Talal Abu- Ghazaleh, chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org) and member of the WTO Panel on defining the future of trade.
The roundtable was also attended by former ministers Jean Oghassabian and Dr. Adel Cortas, Dr. Shadi Karam, the Adviser to HE the President of the Republic of Lebanon, Board members of the Association and members of the Association.
Dr. Zmokhol said: “Trade openness is an option based on the need for peace and freedom that emerged after World War II, and on the belief that free trade enables optimal supply of goods and services and therefore creates a strong and robust economic growth”. He indicated that the World Trade Organization does not aim at free and irresponsible trade but rather at trade openness associated with the rules and assistance necessary to improve and develop the economy”. 
He added “I have been holding workshops on Lebanon’s accession to the WTO for several years, but unfortunately we are still away from completing the bilateral negotiations on goods and services within the same framework.”
He explained the advantages that WTO may provide to Lebanon, showing that WTO is subject to a set of agreements most of which were negotiated during Uruguay Round. These agreements constitute a set of rules that any member can use to highlight its rights and that can be interpreted in a coordinated and organized manner in order to anticipate the commercial conduct of others.
He assured that Lebanon can take advantage of Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) provisions which include wider distribution of trade advantages amongst partners, saying “this provision actually guarantees that the benefit granted by a WTO member to one of its partners shall immediately extend to all other members. Accordingly, this principle promotes non-discrimination amongst trade partners, as it really boosts trade exchange in an ideal competitive environment.”
He indicated that “WTO is the only multilateral international organization with a binding enforcement body: dispute settlement mechanism. The complexity of trade exchange is associated with the number of disputes to be settled. History is replete with examples of the trade disputes that escalated to mere conflicts”, stressing that “dispute settlement system of WTO is a methodological, binding and neutral tool that aims at finding realistic solutions with high degree of sovereignty or high economic bid”. 
He explained that decisions in WTO are taken by consensus, saying that: “It is true that voting is possible but rarely used, which ensures that the interests of small countries in terms of trade – such as Lebanon – are not hidden. Lebanon will indeed be able, immediately after accession, to participate in negotiations and thereby promote its own interests.”
He assured that “the WTO represents a real motivation for legislative and sectorial reform”, indicating that “many preconditions for WTO membership – such as standards, public health and intellectual property protection – are in fact reforms that are in the interest of any country when applied – whether it is a WTO member or not”.
He said: “All these advantages strongly justify the efforts that are still necessary for Lebanon to join the WTO”.
Dr. Zmokhol highlighted the conditions for Lebanon’s complete accession to the WTO, stating: “Lebanon has already decided to get involved in the dynamics of trade liberalization at the bilat
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