The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995, replacing the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as the only international body with the global rules of trade between
nations. The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the result of it.
The turbulent history of the formation of an international body responsible for international trade gives reasons for the WTO not being a specialized agency, but instead having cooperative arrangements and practices with the United Nations.
At its heart, there are the some 60 WTO agreements, the legal ground rules for international commerce and trade policy: negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world's trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. All these agreements are essentially contracts, binding governments to keep their trade policies within agreed limits. Although negotiated and signed by governments, the goal is to boost international trade based on internationally approved rules, while allowing governments to meet social and environmental objectives. One of WTO's main objectives was and still is reduction of protectionism and trade distortions.
Decisions are made by the entire membership, typically by consensus. Majority vote is in general possible, but has never been used.
The purpose of WTO is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers to conduct their business; to help trade flow smoothly, in a system based on rules by:
It is a common mistake to perceive the WTO as a law-making and enforcement institution similar to a domestic legal system. It is not. It is an international organization that countries voluntarily agree to join. It has no coercive powers and all the countries that have chosen to become members have voluntarily accepted its rules. The WTO is therefore a political compromise.
There are three central principles of the WTO ruling all commitments. Probably the most important of all principals is the accepted retaliation which consists in the cost of ignoring WTO commitments. It means that if a country chooses to ignore its WTO commitments, then those other members of the WTO whose trade has been negatively impacted can seek compensation.
The second central WTO principle is non-discrimination. It means that members of the WTO must treat all other members equally. The most common example of this principle is the extension of most-favoured nation tariff rates to all members of the WTO. A country that joins the WTO therefore agrees to extend the lowest tariff rate it charges any country on a particular customs category of goods to all other members.
The third major principle of the WTO is transparency. This means that there can be no secret deals. All trading arrangements negotiated between countries must be brought to the WTO where other members are allowed to scrutinize them.
Currently, the WTO is the host to new negotiations, under the "Doha Development Agenda"
launched in November 2001, at the 4th WTO ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar. The so called
"Doha Development Round" is dealing with a wide range of issues concerning developing countries
and will end on May 1st 2005.
The negotiations include those on agriculture and services, which began in early 2000.
Organizational Structure
Topmost is the ministerial conference which has to meet at least once every two years. The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements.
The head of the WTO is the Director general, currently this office is held by Supachai Panitchpakdi.
Day-to-day work in between the ministerial conferences is handled by three bodies. All three are in fact the same. The Agreement Establishing the WTO states they are all the General council, although they meet under different terms of reference.
Three more councils, each handling a different broad area of trade, report to the General Council:
As their names indicate, the three are responsible for the workings of the WTO agreements dealing with their respective areas of trade. Again they consist of all WTO members.
The WTO Secretary is located in Geneva. It does not have the decision making role that other international bureaucracies are given, since decisions are taken by the members themselves.
Current Member StatesWTO member states and their date of admission:
| Albania (8 September 2000) | Kuwait (1 January 1995) |
| Angola (23 November 1996) | Kyrgyz Republic (20 December 1998) |
| Antigua and Barbuda (1 January 1995) | Latvia (10 February 1999) |
| Argentina (1 January 1995) | Lesotho (31 May 1995) |
| Armenia (5 February 2003) | Liechtenstein (1 September 1995) |
| Australia (1 January 1995) | Lithuania (31 May 2001) |
| Austria (1 January 1995) | Luxembourg (1 January 1995) |
| Bahrain, Kingdom of (1 January 1995) | Macao, China (1 January 1995) |
| Bangladesh (1 January 1995) | Madagascar (17 November 1995) |
| Barbados (1 January 1995) | Malawi (31 May 1995) |
| Belgium (1 January 1995) | Malaysia (1 January 1995) |
| Belize (1 January 1995) | Maldives (31 May 1995) |
| Benin (22 February 1996) | Mali (31 May 1995) |
| Bolivia (12 September1995) | Malta (1 January 1995) |
| Botswana (31 May 1995) | Mauritania (31 May 1995) |
| Brazil (1 January 1995) | Mauritius (1 January 1995) |
| Brunei Darussalam (1 January 1995) | Mexico (1 January 1995) |
| Bulgaria (1 December 1996) | Moldova (26 July 2001) |
| Burkina Faso (3 June 1995) | Mongolia (29 January 1997) |
| Burundi (23 July 1995) | Morocco (1 January 1995) |
| Cameroon (13 December 1995) | Mozambique (26 August 1995) |
| Canada (1 January 1995) | Myanmar (1 January 1995) |
| Central African Republic (31 May 1995) | Namibia (1 January 1995) |
| Chad (19 October 1996) | Nepal (23 April 2004) |
| Chile (1 January 1995) | Netherlands - for the Kingdom in Europe and for the Netherlands Antilles (1 January 1995) |
| China (11 December 2001) | New Zealand (1 January 1995) |
| Colombia (30 April 1995) | Nicaragua (3 September 1995) |
| Congo (27 March 1997) | Niger (13 December 1996) |
| Costa Rica (1 January 1995) | Nigeria (1 January 1995) |
| Côte d'Ivoire (1 January 1995) | Norway (1 January 1995) |
| Croatia (30 November 2000) | Oman (9 November 2000) |
| Cuba (20 April 1995) | Pakistan (1 January 1995) |
| Cyprus (30 July 1995) | Panama (6 September 1997) |
| Czech Republic (1 January 1995) | Papua New Guinea (9 June 1996) |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo (1 January 1997) | Paraguay (1 January 1995) |
| Denmark (1 January 1995) | Peru (1 January 1995) |
| Djibouti (31 May 1995) | Philippines (1 January 1995) |
| Dominica (1 January 1995) | Poland (1 July 1995) |
| Dominican Republic (9 March 1995) | Portugal (1 January 1995) |
| Ecuador (21 January 1996) | Qatar (13 January 1996) |
| Egypt (30 June 1995) | Romania (1 January 1995) |
| El Salvador (7 May 1995) | Rwanda (22 May 1996) |
| Estonia (13 November 1999) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (21 February 1996) |
| European Communities (1 January 1995) | Saint Lucia (1 January 1995) |
| Fiji (14 January 1996) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1 January 1995) |
| Finland (1 January 1995) | Senegal (1 January 1995) |
| Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) (4 April 2003) | Sierra Leone (23 July 1995) |
| France (1 January 1995) | Singapore (1 January 1995) |
| Gabon (1 January 1995) | Slovak Republic (1 January 1995) |
| The Gambia (23 October 1996) | Slovenia (30 July 1995) |
| Georgia (14 June 2000) | Solomon Islands (26 July 1996) |
| Germany (1 January 1995) | South Africa (1 January 1995) |
| Ghana (1 January 1995) | Spain (1 January 1995) |
| Greece (1 January 1995) | Sri Lanka (1 January 1995) |
| Grenada (22 February 1996) | Suriname (1 January 1995) |
| Guatemala (21 July 1995) | Swaziland (1 January 1995) |
| Guinea (25 October 1995) | Sweden (1 January 1995) |
| Guinea Bissau (31 May 1995) | Switzerland (1 July 1995) |
| Guyana (1 January 1995) | Chinese Taipei (1 January 2002) |
| Haiti (30 January 1996) | Tanzania (1 January 1995) |
| Honduras (1 January 1995) | Thailand (1 January 1995) |
| Hong Kong, China (1 January 1995) | Togo (31 May 1995) |
| Hungary (1 January 1995) | Trinidad and Tobago (1 March 1995) |
| Iceland (1 January 1995) | Tunisia (29 March 1995) |
| India (1 January 1995) | Turkey (26 March 1995) |
| Indonesia (1 January 1995) | Uganda (1 January 1995) |
| Ireland (1 January 1995) | United Arab Emirates (10 April 1996) |
| Israel (21 April 1995) | United Kingdom (1 January 1995) |
| Italy (1 January 1995) | United States of America (1 January 1995) |
| Jamaica (9 March 1995) | Uruguay (1 January 1995) |
| Japan (1 January 1995) | Venezuela (1 January 1995) |
| Jordan (11 April 2000) | Zambia (1 January 1995) |
| Kenya (1 January 1995) | Zimbabwe (5 March 1995) |
| Korea, Republic of (1 January 1995) |
Observer Governments:
| Algeria | Lybia |
| Andorra | Russian Federation |
| Azerbaijan | Samoa |
| Bahamas | Sao Tome and Principe |
| Belarus | Saudi Arabia |
| Bhutan | Serbia and Montenegro |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Seychelles |
| Cambodia | Sudan |
| Cape Verde | Tajikistan |
| Equatorial Guinea | Tonga |
| Ethiopia | Ukraine |
| Holy See (Vatican) | Uzbekistan |
| Iraq | Vanuatu |
| Kazakhstan | Viet Nam |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | Yemen |
| Lebanese Republic |