[{"bbox": [93, 153, 1163, 206], "category": "Text", "text": "regularly and frequently, through an established coordination/consultation mechanism to ensure transparency and accountability."}, {"bbox": [93, 222, 1163, 408], "category": "Text", "text": "It takes a lot of efforts to build the trade-related capacity of a country. As a least-developed country, many development partners are encouraged to provide trade-related assistance to Timor-Leste. They should do more to build the medium and long-term trade capacity. It is not enough to rely on the international or regional consultants/experts to do the work through various projects funded by donors. Timorese trade negotiators, policy makers, Parliamentarians and civil society and private sector representatives need to be fully engaged in those project activities in order to build their own trade-related skills and knowledge. In the end, only those expertise and capacities built in the country will sustain and contribute to long-term trade capacity building for the country."}, {"bbox": [93, 424, 448, 451], "category": "Text", "text": "Other specific lessons learned include:"}, {"bbox": [131, 467, 1163, 654], "category": "List-item", "text": "* The gains from WTO Accession depend on the extent and scope of a country's commitments. It is important to take a strategic approach for well-articulated negotiations that create a growth conducive environment. Evidence shows that WTO Members with commitments across a larger range of services sectors have integrated more deeply into global value chains, partly due to the intensification of services in global value chains, including those for manufactured goods. Furthermore, accession-related reductions in trade barriers and improvements in the business climate have helped enable developing countries achieve deeper levels of integration into global value chains."}, {"bbox": [131, 654, 1163, 786], "category": "List-item", "text": "* The gains to be made from WTO Accession are also conditional upon domestic reforms. Unless Timor-Leste undertakes domestic reforms, it is unlikely to reap the full benefits of WTO Accession. Furthermore, a continuing reform process is likely to lead to substantial benefits. In other words, while Timor-Leste can enjoy part of the benefits from its implementation of WTO commitments, it can further enhance the gains by, at its own will, undertaking domestic reforms to create a conducive business environment."}, {"bbox": [131, 786, 1163, 946], "category": "List-item", "text": "* WTO Accession is likely to have a positive impact on Timor-Leste's economy, in terms of growth, exports, and investment. These positive impacts are largely driven by improved access to foreign markets, technology transfer, business linkages with foreign investors, and institutional reforms and improvement of the policymaking sphere, including economic management. However, not all sectors of the economy and the population may benefit from the WTO Accession and, as such, it is important to undertake mitigation measures to limit the impact of any negative effects."}, {"bbox": [131, 946, 1163, 1078], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Timor-Leste will need to ensure that negotiations are conducted according to their domestic development needs and objectives, and that the country's private sector is prepared for the reforms. Therefore, the country needs to establish trade objectives based on private sector competitiveness, negotiate policy space to cushion the blow of important competition in sensitive, labour-intensive sectors, and build the political and economic case for reforms while ensuring coherence between existing and emerging regional commitments."}, {"bbox": [131, 1078, 1163, 1132], "category": "List-item", "text": "* Capacities and thus expectations of local stakeholders (associations, farmers groups, consumer organisations, NGOs etc.) need to be well integrated in order not to cause frustration at an early stage of the reform process."}, {"bbox": [1027, 1680, 1143, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 13 of 22"}]