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2 views

WTO

GGTUGHJN

Uploaded by

Rhicha Rawat
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE MULTILATERL TRADING SYSTTEM – PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

The World Trade Organization came into being in 1995. One of the youngest
of the international organizations, the WTO is the successor to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second
World War.
So, while the WTO is still young, the multilateral trading system that was
originally setup under GATT is well over 50 years old.
The past 50 years have seen an exceptional growth in world trade.
Merchandise exports grew on average by 6% annually. Total trade in 2000 was 22-
times the level of 1950. GATT and the WTO have helped to create a strong and
prosperous trading system contributing to unprecedented growth.

The system was developed through a series of trade negotiations, or rounds,


held under GATT. The first rounds dealt mainly with tariff reductions but later
negotiations included other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures.
The last round – the 1986-94 Uruguay Round – led to WTO’s creation.

The negotiations did not end there. Some continued after the end of the
Uruguay Round. In February 1997 an agreement was reached on
telecommunications services, with 69 governments agreeing to wide-ranging
liberalization measures that went beyond those agreed in the Uruguay Round.

In the same year, 40 governments successfully concluded negotiations for


tariff-free trade in information technology products, and 70 members concluded a
financial services deal covering more than 95% of trade in banking, insurance,
securities and financial information.

In 2000, new talks started on agriculture and services. These have now
been incorporated into a broader work programme, the Doha Development Agenda
(DDA), launched at the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in
November 2001
The agenda adds negotiations and other work on non-agricultural tariffs,
trade and environment, WTO rules such as anti-dumping and subsidies, investment,
competition policy, trade facilitation, transparency in government procurement,

2
THE ORGANIZATION

FUNCTIONS

The WTO’s overriding objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly
and predictably. It does this by:

• Administering trade agreements • Assisting developing countries

• Acting as a forum for trade in trade policy issue, through


negotiations technical assistance and

• Settling trade disputes training programmes


• Reviewing national trade • Cooperating with other
policies international organizations

STRUCTURE

The WTO has 153 members, accounting for almost 95% of world trade.
Around 30 others are negotiating membership.

Decisions are made by the entire membership. This is typically by


consensus. A majority vote is also possible but it has never been used in the WTO,
and was extremely rare under the WTO’s predecessor, the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

The WTO’s agreements have been ratified in all members’ parliaments.

The WTO’s top level decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference,


which meets at least once every two years.

Below this is the General Council (normally ambassadors and heads of


delegation in Geneva but sometimes officials sent from members’ capitals) which
meets several times a year in the Geneva headquarters. The General Council also
meets as the Trade Policy Review Body and also as dispute settlement body.

At the next level, the Goods Council, Services Council and Intellectual
Property (TRIPS) Council report to the General Council.

Numerous specialized committees, working groups and working parties deal


with the individual agreements and other areas such as the environment,
development, membership applications and regional trade agreements.

6
SECRETARIAT

The WTO Secretariat, based in Geneva, has around 625 staff and is headed
by a Director General. It does not have branch offices outside Geneva. Since
decisions are taken by the Members themselves, the Secretariat does not have the
decision-making role that other international bureaucracy are given.

The Secretariat’s main duties are to provide technical support for the various
councils, committees and the ministerial conferences, to provide technical
assistance for developing countries, to analyze world trade, and to explain WTO
affairs to the public and media.

The Secretariat also provides some form of legal assistance in the dispute
settlement process and advises governments wishing to become members of the
WTO. The annual budget is roughly 189 million Swiss francs.

FACT FILE
The WTO
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Established: 1 January 1995
Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)
Membership: 153 countries (on 23 July 2008)
Budget: 189 million Swiss francs for 2009
Secretariat staff: 625
Head: Director-General, Pascal Lamy
Functions:
Administering WTO trade agreements
Forum for trade negotiations
Handling trade disputes
Monitoring national trade policies
Technical assistance and training for developing countries
Cooperation with other international organizations

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