1. The World Trade Organization

2. WTO: World Trade Organization
WTO replaced GATT as the organization overseeing the multilateral trading system.
Location: Geneva, Switzerland Established: 1 January 1995 as a new avatar of GATT Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations ( )    Membership:  157 countries on 24 August 2012 Secretariat staff:  640 Head:  Pascal Lamy (Director-General)
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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3. What Is the WTO?
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
WTO agreements are negotiated and signed by the trading nations and ratified in their parliaments.
The goal: ‘to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct and grow their business’.

4. Background Roots: GATT, 1948 by 23 members. India too
8th round in Uruguay: came up with idea of WTO
: WTO came up
It included agreements on goods, services and IPR

5. Two important principles
MFN: no discrimination among members
National treatment clause: ensures equal treatment to imported and domestic products

6. Difference b/w GATT and WTO
WTO includes:
Goods services and IPR
WTO and its agreements are permanent, GATT was adhoc
WTO has trade policy review
Dispute settlement body
More democratic: ministerial body

7. Decision making process: Levels
Ministerial Conference: designated members of member countries
General council: dispute settlement and trade policy review body
3 more councils: on goods, services and IPR
3 above have statutory bodies: on goods have 11 bodies..

8. The Organization Chart

9. Ministerial Conference
The Organization
General Council
Council for Trade
in Goods
Council for Intellectual
Property Rights in Trade
In Services
GC: Dispute
Settlement Body
GC: Trade Policy
Review Body
Ministerial Conference
Committees
Committees
Committees on
Trade and Environment
Trade and Development…
Textiles Monitoring Body
Working parties on
Working parties on Accessions
Working groups

10. The WTO must teach the world the benefits of trade
We have seen what Ricardo had to say about comparative advantage, and the strong consensus among those who seriously consider trade issues.
Trade provides a large proportion of an economy’s jobs.
Global trade provides a large and growing share of these jobs.

11. Principles of WTO Members make decision.. No veto power..
4 principles are:
Extending trade concessions equally to all members
Aiming for freer global trade with lower tariffs everywhere
Making trade more predictable through rules
Bringing about more competition by cutting subsidies

12. Major WTO 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 

13. How to Join the WTO: the Accession Process
First, “tell us about yourself”.
Second, “work out with us individually what you have to offer.” (Country to country negotiations bilaterally.)
Third, “let’s draft membership terms.”
Finally, “the decision.”

14. Criticisms of the WTO The WTO undermines state sovereignty
It undermines representative democracy
Member nations are prevented from protecting the environment
Members are unable to uphold laws guaranteeing workers’ rights
The WTO is controlled by the larger nations
The WTO represents the interests of large corporations and wealthy citizens

15. The Doha, Qatar Initiatives
A new trade round was launched November, 2001
For the first time, developing countries demanded capacity-building and technical assistance to take part meaningfully.

16. The Doha, Qatar Initiatives
The Pledging Conference was convened in accordance with the December 2001 decision of the WTO General Council.
In that decision, the General Council set a target for core funding of CHF 15 million plus support in kind, including training courses for trade officials.