WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Presented By Amee Nagar Sachin Dhanke Satabdi Mandal

What is WTO?
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the worlds trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.

About 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: Pascal Lamy (Director-General)

GATT

GATT was formed in 1947 and lasted until 1994 On 1st January, 1948 the agreement was signed by 23 countries. It was used to refer both General agreement on tariffs & trade and the framework in which the multilateral trade negotiation took place. GATT held a total of 8 rounds. The purpose was to facilitate international bargaining and to reduce barriers to trade.

Year Place/name
1947 1949 1951 1956 Geneva Annecy Torque Geneva

Subjects covered
Tariffs Tariffs Tariffs Tariffs Tariffs Tariffs and anti-dumping measures Tariffs, non-tariff measures, framework agreements Tariffs, non-tariff measures, rules, services, intellectual property, dispute settlement, textiles, agriculture, creation of WTO, etc

Countries
23 13 38 26 26 62 102

1960- Geneva 61 Dillon Round 1964- Geneva 67 Kennedy Round 1973- Geneva 79 Tokyo Round 1986- Geneva 94 Uruguay Round

123

GATT vs. WTO

GATT

WTO

It was ad hoc and provisional

It is permanent. It has legal basis because member nations have verified the WTO agreement. More authority than GATT. It doesn't allow any contradictions in local law.

It has no provision for creating an organization.

It allowed contradiction in local law and GATT agreement.

Purpose

To help trade flow as freely as possible.

Forum for trade negotiation

Dispute settlement

Functions:
To administer WTO trade agreements To provide a forum for trade negotiations To handle trade disputes

To monitor national trade policies

To provide technical assistance and training for developing countries To cooperate organizations with other international

Objectives
Main- to promote and ensure the international trade in the member countries with Liberalization Privatization and Globalization. Some other key objectives are: Trade without discrimination

To set and enforce rules for international trade

To provide forum for negotiating and monitoring the international trade.

Objectives

To resolve trade disputes To increase the transparency of decision-making process.

To cooperate with other major international economic institutions involved in global economic management
To help developing countries benefit fully from the global trading system.

Main Activities:
Negotiating the reduction or elimination of obstacles to trade Administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules Monitoring and reviewing the trade policies Building capacity of developing country government officials in international trade matters Conducting economic research

Functions of WTO Secretariat:

It include around 625 Staff and headed by its Director General and 4 Deputy Directors.
To servicing of WTO delegate bodies with respect to negotiations and the implementation of agreement. To provide technical support to developing countries and the least developed countries.

Functions of WTO Secretariat:

WTO economist and statistician provide trade performance and trade policy analysis. Its legal staff assist in resolution of trade disputes involving the interpretation of WTO rules and precedents. Others work is concerned with accession negotiations for new members and providing advice to governments considering membership.

Single Undertaking:

Under GATT had option to join 1 agreement and leave the others. Under WTO rules, countries have to accept obligations and enjoy rights to all multilateral agreement- Whole package Single Undertaking In case plurilateral agreements such as Trade in Civil Aircraft and Government Procurementapplicable for countries who become signatory to these agreement.

MFN- Most Favored Nation

Meaning- Favor one favor all

If a country extended any concession or privilege to any country, it would automatically and unconditionally be available to all WTO members on non-discriminatory basis. If any 1 country is member of WTO then also it is applicable.

National Treatment:
If goods from one country have entered the territory of an other country through normal trading channels, the importing country shall accord treatment no less favorable than accorded to like products of national origin.

Trade round:
IT is a conscious decision by trade ministers of WTO members to undertake consultation on issues considered important in order to draw a multilateral framework to govern the trade.

WTO Agreement:

It is the legal instrument through which all countries participating in the Uruguay Round decided to create the WTO. It includes provisions on establishment, scope, function and structure, relations with other organizations, secretariat, budget & contributions, legal status, decision-making procedures.

Different Agreements:
i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii.

Agreement on Agriculture (AOA) Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Investment Measures (TRIMS) Agreement on Implementation of Article VI (Anti Dumping) Agreement on Implementation of Article VII (Custom Valuation)

Different Agreements:
Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI) viii. Agreement on Rules of Origin ix. Agreement on Subsidies and countervailing Measures x. Agreement on Safeguards xi. General Agreement on Trade in Services xii. Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Including Trade Counterfeit Goods
vii.

Conclusion
The World Trade Organization regulation of trade between countries. deals with participating

It provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments.

Thank You