The mandate, legal provisions and guidelines

• Browse the legal provisions on becoming a member of the WTO
   
• 2002 Guidelines on Least-developed country (LDC) accessions (WT/L/508 & WT/L/508/Add.1)
   
• Report on Chairperson-led Facilitation on the Accessions of Lao PDR and Yemen (WT/COMTD/LDC/W/54)
   
• For information on the WTO Sub-Committee on LDCs, click here
   
• Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration
   
• Accessions and the Doha Development Agenda

Information on the WTO accession process

• WTO Secretariat technical notes on accession procedures
   
• WTO accessions: the first steps
   
• For ?a href="javascript:linkdoldoc('WT/MIN11/3.pdf', '')" class="paracolourtext" data-content="pdf format; opens in a new window" data-toggle="tooltip">Best practices in WTO accession negotiations?see Section V of the 2011 Annual Report on Accessions by the Director-General
   
• WTO accession process at a glance
  > For an interactive diagram on the WTO accession process, click here
   
• Basic information on becoming a member of (“acceding to”) the WTO
  Links to the section of the WTO Guide “Understanding the WTO” on how to join the WTO
   
• An explanation on how to become a member of the WTO
  > Current list of WTO membership
   
• Architecture of an Accession Package/“Terms of Accession/Membership”

Technical explanations

• Accession Jargon Buster
  User guide to WTO accession jargon