WORLD TRADE

ORGANIZATION
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the principal international
organization governing world trade.

It was established in 1995 as a successor institution to the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which was a post-World War II
institution.

WTO has 153 member countries, representing 95% of world trade

Head quarters Geneva , Switzerland
Created in uruguay round negotiation (1986-1994)
Members 153

Goal is to improve the welfare of the peoples of the member
countries.


AIM OF WTO

It aims to provide fair and stable conditions for the
conduct of international trade with a view to
encouraging trade and investment that will raise living
standards worldwide.

WTO is a forum where countries continuously
negotiate exchanges of trade concessions to further
lower the trade barriers all over the world.
Current director general(Head)Pascal lamy
Decisions within the WTO are made by member countries,
not by staff and by consensus, not by formal vote.

High-level policy decisions are made by the Ministerial
Conference, which is a body of political representatives (trade
ministers) which meet at least every two years.

Operational decisions are made by the General Council (
representative from each member country) which meets
monthly and chair rotates annually.




DECISIONS


GATT came into force in1948 with 23 founding
members.

It was intended to promote nondiscrimination in
trade among countries, with the view that open
trade was crucial for economic stability and peace.

Different trade rounds were held so as to
liberalize the trade.
GATT(General agreement between trade and tariff)
GATT and WTO Trade Rounds
1
st
Round - Geneva in 1947
23 Countries participated
Decided to cut 45,000 trade tariffs

2
nd
Round - France in 1949
13 Countries participated
Proposed further reductions in 5,000 tariffs

3
rd
Round - Britain in 1950-51
38 Countries participated
Proposed further reductions in 8,700 tariffs

4
th
Round - Geneva in 1955-56
26 Countries participated
Proposed to Cut Custom Tariffs with a total value of US$2.5 bn

5
th
Round - (Dillion Round) in Geneva in 1960-62
26 Countries participated
Proposed to cut 4,400 tariffs covering US$.9 bn worth of trade

6
th
Round - (Kennedy Round) in Geneva in 1964-67
62 Countries participated
Decided on substantial tariffs reductions on all industrial products
covering US$40bn of trade.
7
th
Round - (Tokyo Round) in Geneva in 1973-79
102 countries participated
-Customs cuts averaging 20% to 30% covering US$300 bn
- Improved framework for subsidies, customs rates and
technical obstacles to trade.

8
th
Round - (Uruguay Round) started in Uruguay ended in Morroco 1986-94
123 countries participated
The round led to the creation of WTO, and extended the range of
trade negotiations, leading to major reductions in tariffs (about 40%) and
agricultural subsidies, an agreement to allow full access for textiles and
clothing from developing countries, and an extension of intellectual property
rights.

9
th
Round - (Doha Round) started - in Doha in 2001 ( at forth Ministerial Conference)
- in Cancun in 2003 (at fifth Ministerial
Conference)
- in Hong Kong in 2005 (at sixth Ministerial
Conference)
- in Geneva in July 2006 (at seventh Ministerial
Conference Not yet concluded.

141 countries participated,
Subject covered are tariffs, non-tariffs measures, agriculture,,,
environment, competition, investment, transparency, patents, etc.
OBJECTIVES
Trade without discrimination
To set and enforce rules for international trade,
To provide forum for negotiating and monitoring the
international trade
To resolve trade disputes,
To increase the transparency of decision-making processes
To cooperate with other major international economic
institutions involved in global economic management
To help developing countries benefit fully from the global
trading system.


FUNCTIONS OF WTO
WTO shall facilitate the implementation, Administration and operation of the plurilateral
trade agreement.
WTO shall provide a forum for the negotiation among its members concerning their
multilateral trade relations
WTO shall administer the understanding on rules and procedures governing the
settlement of disputes
WTO shall administer the trade policy review mechanism and
WTO shall co operate as appropriate with IMF AND IBRD and with the affiliated
agencies
WTO administers the 28 agreements contained in the final act and the no of plurilateral
agreements and the government procurement through various councils and committees
It oversees the implementations of issues related to tariff cut an non tariff measures
agreed to in the trade negotiations



It examines the trade regimes of the individual member countries
WTO provides dispute settlement courts and panel
It acts as a management consultant for world trade
It provides technical co-operations and training
It can be used as a forum for continuous negotiations
It co-opts with the international institutions like IMF,IBRD etc for making
global economic policy
And it oversees the national trade policies of member governments.
It oversees the implementations of issues related to tariff cut an non tariff
measures agreed to in the trade negotiations


PRINCIPLES OF TRADING SYSTEM
First Principle: Non-discrimination
Second principle: Free Trade
Third principle: Fair trade


9
th
Doha Round (started in 2001):
Agriculture, Services, TRIPS (Trade-
Related Aspects of Intellectual
Properties)
The WTO discussions should follow these
fundamental principles of trading.

1. A trading system should be free of discrimination in the sense that
one country cannot privilege a particular trading partner above
others within the system, nor can it discriminate against foreign
products and services.
2. A trading system should tend toward more freedom, that is, toward
fewer trade barriers (tariffs and non-tariff barriers).
3. A trading system should be predictable, with foreign companies
and governments reassured that trade barriers will not be raised
arbitrarily and that markets will remain open.
4. A trading system should tend toward greater competition.
5. A trading system should be more accommodating for less
developed countries, giving them more time to adjust, greater
flexibility, and more privileges.
MEMBERSHIP
Country wishing to join submits an application to the general council and has to
describe all the aspects of trade and economic policies that have a bearing on WTO
agreements.
Application is examined by the working party open to all interested WTO members.
Working party determines the terms and conditions of entry into the WTO for the
applicant nation .
Final Phase bilateral negotiations between the applicant nation and other member
countries regarding the concessions and commitments on tarrif levels and market access
for goods and services.
After talks, working party sends to the ministerial conference on accession package.
Once the general council or ministerial conference approves of the terms of accession,
the applicant's parliament must ratify the Protocol of Accession before it can become a
member.

MINISTERIAL CONFERENCES
The topmost decision-making body of the WTO.
It meets every two years.
The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all
matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements.
The inaugural ministerial conference was held in
Singapore in 1996.
The second ministerial conference was held in Geneva
in Switzerland.
The third conference in Seattle, Washington ended in
failure.
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCES
The fourth ministerial conference was held in Doha in
the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar
The Doha Development Round was launched at the
conference and it is upto date running.
The fifth ministerial conference was held in Mexico.
The sixth WTO ministerial conference was held in
Hong Kong from 13-18 December 2005.
The seventh WTO ministerial conference session was
held in Geneva from 30 November-3 December 2009.
Agreement on Agriculture

Agreement on Textiles & Clothing (ATC)

Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures

Agreement on Anti-Dumping

Agreement on Safeguards

Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMs)

Agreement on Custom Valuation

Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)

Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)

General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

Understanding on Dispute Settlement (DSU)

Special & Differential Treatment ( S& D )
WTO Agreements
The Uruguay Round agreements
The Agreement establishing the WTO
Its Annexes
Annex
1A - GATT 1994 , related agreements (e.g. Agreements on
Agriculture, Subsidies etc.) and texts
1B- General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and
Annexes
1C- Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS)

Annex 2 Understanding on the Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes (aka Dispute Settlement Understanding /DSU)

Annex 3 Trade Policy Review Mechanism
Annex 4 Plurilateral Agreements (e.g. Agreement on Trade in Civil
Aircraft)
TRIPS AGREEMENT
Of these agreements, Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS) is expected to have the greatest impact on the pharmaceutical sector
and access to medicines.
In becoming Members of the WTO, countries undertake to adhere to the
18 specific agreements annexed to the Agreement establishing the WTO.
The TRIPS Agreement has been in force since 1995 and is to date the most
comprehensive multilateral agreement on intellectual property.
The TRIPS Agreement introduced global minimum standards for protecting
and enforcing nearly all forms of intellectual property rights (IPR), including
those for patents.
International conventions prior to TRIPS did not specify minimum
standards for patents.
PATENT PROTECTION
The TRIPS Agreement requires WTO Members to
provide a patent protection for a minimum term of 20
years from the filing date of a patent application for any
invention including for a pharmaceutical product or
process.
Prior to the TRIPS Agreement, patent duration was
significantly shorter in many countries. For example, both
developed and developing countries provided for patent
terms ranging from 15 to 17 years, whilst in certain
developing countries, patents were granted for shorter
terms of 5 to 7 years.
The TRIPS Agreement also requires countries to provide
patent protection for both processes and products, in all
fields of technology.
KEY PROVISIONS OF
TRIPS