Energy Dual Pricing in Iran and Its Impact on Accession to the World Trade Organization

Abstract

Energy has been always the focus of attention since the establishment of the WTO.The significance of this issue was doubled when the major energy-producing countries states sought to join the WTO.To join the WTO,many energy-producing and energy-exporting states inevitably needed to modify and change their own laws.The adoption of a dual pricing policy by the applicant countries appears as one of the controversial issues in this regard.By determining lower energy prices for their domestic producers,the energy-rich countries provide them with a superior position relative to their international rivals.From the perspective of some energy-importing countries,such behaviors are seen as subsidizes.Iran as one of the largest energy-rich states,has been seeking about twenty years to join the WTO.Iran subsidizes its domestic producers to support its energy sector and infant industries.This article focused on examining the pricing policies,and in particular,the approach to determine the price of energy in Iran.In addition,we studied of the impact of the pricing method of the energy sector in Iran on the process of its accession to the WTO by a comparative evaluation of the accession process of the energy-producing countries such asRussia andSaudi Arabia to the WTO.Through studying the laws and regulations of the energy sector of Iran, one can realize that Iran has been distancing from DP in recent years and is striving to approach the price of its energy to the global price by benefiting fromthe experiences of the performance of the membercountries of the WTO aimed at accelerating the process of its accession to the WTO