Introduction to the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental establishment that works towards maintaining peace in trade relations and practices among its 164 member countries. The objective of WTO is to ensure minimum interference and disruption in international trade and thus sets rules and regulations for countries to follow accordingly. It is largest international economic organization,
Understanding World Trade Organization
When World War 2 came to an end, a General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was born from a Bretton-Woods inspired family, in 1947 and was established in 1948. It also established ideas for the IMF and the World Bank. The goal was to ease and regulate trade tariffs and quotas. On January 1st, 1995, GATT was officially replaced by WTO, on the basis of the 1994 the Marrakesh Agreement as a pursuant.
The key goals of the WTO are to establish a uniform system and an infrastructure to trade in goods, services and intellectual property across continents and countries. This infrastructure is made up of a framework of trade regulations that requires the trading countries to adhere to, that usually aim to reduce the tariff, taxes, quota and other restrictions. When dispute arises, WTO is the organization that seeks to dissipate tensions and resolve them.
Highlights of the World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It convenes meetings biannually where representatives from each member country come to make agreements and discussions in the General Council.
When established as GATT, the goal was to make sure every member country was a most-favoured-nation (MFN), a status that gave the member trading rights.
Representing member countries agree to WTO policies by ratifying the agreements into their domestic legislature.
Decisions at the WTO meetings are made by consensus, and majority vote is very rare. The Ministerial Conference makes the top decisions and holds meetings at least every two years.
WTO policies have grown to criticism in recent years by virtue that the regulations are undemocratic, lack transparency and compromise national security. It tends to limit the country’s choices when it is made essential that all conventions of WTO are met without adjustment, and that leads to a severe conflict of interest.
