Bilateral Trade Agreement
The United States is working closely with Laos to implement the terms of the 2005 Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), normalizing trade relations between the two countries, and to support its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Under the BTA, the United States extended Normal Trade Relations status (NTR) (formerly referred to as "most favored nation" or MFN) to products of Laos. Laos agreed to implement a variety of reforms to its trade regime, including most favored nation and national treatment for products of the United States, transparency in rule-making, establishment of a regime to protect intellectual property rights, and implementation of WTO-compliant customs regulations and procedures.
The United States is working closely with Laos to implement the terms of the BTA and to support Laos' efforts to accede to the WTO. The fourth meeting of the WTO Working Party for Laos' accession took place in July 2008.