WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION AND RELATED AGREEMENTS Group Members: Aveek Bose (08) D’Costa Rohan (12) Easakku Shiva (17) Menon Pramod (35) Pirwani Laxman (45) Shah Saurabh (54) Shetty Suraj (57) Chhawchharia Kamal (64)

Trade without Discrimination Promoting Fair Competition Introduction Functions of WTO Negotiating Forum Set of Rules Dispute settlement Principles of Trading Trade without Discrimination Promoting Fair Competition Encouraging development and economic reform  Freer Trade Predictability Most Favoured Nation National Treatment

History of WTO Established in 1995 GATT is well over 50 years old GATT trade rounds Year Place/name Subjects covered Countries 1947 Geneva Tariffs 23 1949 Annecy 13 1951 Torquay 38 1956 26 1960-1961 Dillon Round 1964-1967 Tariffs and anti-dumping measures 62 Kennedy Round 1973-1979 Tariffs, non-tariff measures, “framework” 102 Tokyo Round Agreements 1986-1994 Tariffs, non-tariff measures, rules, services, intellectual property, dispute settlement, textiles, agriculture, creation of WTO, etc 123

Organization Structure of WTO 150 members 97% world trade 30 other negotiating membership

Benefits of WTO The system helps promote peace Disputes are handled constructively Rules make life easier for all Freer trade cuts the costs of living It provides more choice of products and qualities Trade raises incomes Trade stimulates economic growth The basic principles make life more efficient Governments are shielded from lobbying The system encourages good government

Overview of WTO Agreements Often called as WTO trade rules. Commitments to lower customs tariffs and other trade barriers, and to open and keep open services markets Six main parts: The basic structure of the WTO agreements: how the six main areas fit together — the umbrella WTO Agreement, goods, services, intellectual property, disputes and trade policy reviews. Umbrella AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING WTO Goods Services Intellectual property Basic principles GATT GATS TRIPS Additional details Other goods agreements and annexes Services annexes Market access commitments Countries’ schedules of commitments Countries’ schedules of commitments (and MFN exemptions) Dispute settlement DISPUTE SETTLEMENT Transparency TRADE POLICY REVIEWS

Tariff Agreements Tariff Cuts Developed Countries Tariff cuts in first five years from 1st January 2005 40% cut in Industrial tariff from an average of 6.35 to 3.8% Value of duty-free imported industrial products developed countries will jump from 20% to 44%. On 26 March 1997, 40 countries in information technology products agreed to eliminate import duties More Bindings Imports restriction converted in tariff – tariffication First step – to replace these restrictions with tariffs that represented about the same level of protection Six years from 1995-2000, these tariffs were gradually reduced. Elimination of previous import bans.

Agriculture Agreements Original GATT contained Loopholes The Uruguay Round produced the first multilateral agreement Fair competition and a less distorted sector New Rules and commitments Market access Domestic support Export subsidies The least-developed and those depending on food imports

Standards and Safety Agreement Article 20 of GATT - Protect human, animal or plant life or health The Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Agreement or SPS Setting of own standards Article 5.7 – temporary “precautionary” measures. Technical regulations and standards: The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement (TBT) Discourages any methods that would give domestically produced goods an unfair advantage

Textiles Agreements One of the hardest-fought issues in the WTO From 1974 to the end of the Uruguay Round – The Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) The WTO’s Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) – 1995 Fully integrated sector by 1st January 2005 End of Quota system Textiles Monitoring Body (TMB) – Supervisory Body

Services Agreements The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Three elements: General obligations and disciplines; Annexes dealing with rules for specific sectors; Movement of natural persons Financial services Telecommunications Air transport services Individual countries’ specific commitments Most-favoured-nation (MFN) treatment   11

Intellectual property Agreements Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Five broad issues: Basic principles Protection to intellectual property rights The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (patents, industrial designs, etc) The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (copyright). Enforcement of Rights Enforced under member countries’ laws, and penalties for infringement Fair and equitable procedure Review of an administrative decision or to appeal a lower court’s ruling Settlement of Disputes Special transitional arrangements – 1, 5 or 11 years or more Willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy – Criminal offence 12

Anti-dumping, subsidies, safeguards Agreements Anti – Dumping actions: Anti-Dumping Agreement. GATT (Article 6) allows countries to take action against dumping Margin of dumping is less than 2% of the export price of the product – investigations are to be end immediately. Subsidies and special “countervailing” duties to offset the subsidies Prohibited subsidies Actionable subsidies Emergency measures to limit imports temporarily, designed to “safeguard” domestic industries 13

Non-tariff barriers Agreements Import licensing The Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures Rules for the valuation of goods at customs Preshipment inspection The Preshipment Inspection Agreement  Rules of origin The Rules of Origin Agreement Investment measures The Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) Agreement  14

Plurilaterals Agreements Trade in civil aircraft Government procurement Dairy products Bovine meat The bovine meat and dairy agreements were terminated in 1997. 15

Trade policy reviews Governments have to inform about specific measures, policies or laws through regular “notifications” WTO conducts regular reviews of individual countries’ trade policies — the trade policy reviews Objectives: Increase in transparency Improvement in the quality of public and intergovernmental debate Enable the multilateral assessment of the effects of policies The frequency of the reviews depends on the country’s size: The four biggest traders – once every two years. The next 16 countries – every four years. The remaining countries – every six years 16

Dispute Settlement 17

Dispute Settlement The main stages are: Before the first hearing Rebuttals:  Experts First draft  Interim report Review Final report The report becomes a ruling Appeals Compliance of with WTO ruling and Penalties for Non compliance 18

Dispute Settlement Cases 1st CASE: Hormone-Treated Beef Case Complaints by: U.S. and Canada Complaints against: European Union WTO Cases WT/DS26 (U.S.) and WT/DS48 (Canada) 2nd CASE : Automobile Fuel-Efficiency Case Complaint by: E.U. Complaint against: U.S. GATT Case DS31 19

Dispute Settlement Cases 3RD Case: Baby-Food Trademark Controversy Raised by: U.S. Directed against: Guatemala Discussed: 1993 - 1995. No formal WTO dispute-settlement procedure was initiated 4th case: Longhorn Beetle Controversy Complaints by: Hong Kong Complaints against: U.S. & Canada Complaints to WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. Formal WTO dispute-settlement procedure not initiated 20

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