The World Trade Organization (WTO) has approved Saudi Arabia’s membership, bringing the world’s largest oil producer into the global trading organization. Saudi Arabia will become the 149th member of the WTO on Dec. 11, 2005.

The details of the agreement are complicated, with the legal texts running to some 600 pages. As a result of the negotiations, Saudi Arabia has agreed to undertake a series of important commitments to further liberalize its trade regime and accelerate its integration into the world economy, while offering a transparent and predictable environment for trade and foreign investment in accordance with WTO rules.

Among the commitments undertaken by Saudi Arabia are:

• Saudi Arabia will eliminate any non-tariff measures that cannot be justified under WTO rules while maintaining the right to restrict the importation and exportation of a certain number of goods and services.

• Saudi Arabia will ensure that its producers and distributors of natural gas liquids (NGLs) will operate on the basis of normal commercial considerations, based on the full recovery of costs and a reasonable profit.

• In areas such as the protection of intellectual property rights, the application of technical regulations and standards, as well as the protection of food safety and human, animal and plant life and health, Saudi Arabia will implement the relevant WTO agreements in full from the date of accession

• With the conclusion of market access negotiations on goods, Saudi Arabia has committed to gradually lowering trade barriers and expanding market access for foreign goods.

• Foreign insurance companies will be permitted to open and operate direct branches in Saudi Arabia.

• Commercial presence of banks will be permitted in the form of a locally incorporated joint-stock company or as a branch of an international bank.

• Within three years from accession, Saudi Arabia’s commitments will allow up to 70 percent foreign equity ownership in the telecommunications sector.

• While Saudi Arabia will maintain some restrictions on the distribution of goods inside the country, these restrictions will be phased out over a three-year transition period.

Everyone in the Kingdom will be affected by the new regulations. For full texts of the “Schedule of Concessions and Commitment of Goods,” “Schedule of Specific Commitments in Services” and “List of Article MFN Exemptions,” see www.wto.org. The website also offers complete information on the WTO trading system and the organization itself.