Introduction

to the WTO
Visit to the WTO
Study Tour Russian Member Universities of
UNCTAD’s Vi Network
14 April 2010

Gerardo T. Thielen
Counsellor
Institute for Training
and Technical Cooperation
gerardo.thielen@wto.org
 From GATT to WTO

From a provisional agreement to an

Organisation:
 Havana Charter
 GATT (1 January 1948 – 31 December
1995)
 23 Contracting Parties  123
 8 Rounds of Negotiations
 WTO (1 January 1995)

2
 WTO: What is it?

An international Organization:

 Organization created by the

Marrakesh Agreement
 Sui generis organisation (independent
from the United Nation system)
 Replaces the GATT (created in 1947)

5
 WTO: What is its purpose?
WTO Objectives:
 Raising standards of living
 Ensuring full employment
 Ensuring growth of real income and
demand
 Expanding production and trade
 Sustainable development
 Protection of the environment

6
 WTO: What is its purpose?
WTO Functions:
 Administer and implement the WTO
agreements
 Forum for negotiations
 Administer Settlement of Disputes
 Administer Trade Policy Review Mechanism
 Technical Assistance to developing countries

7
 WTO: How does it work?
Set of rules
The negotiated legal rules included in
the various WTO agreements cover the
following topics:
 Trade in Goods
 Trade in Services
 Trade-related aspects of intellectual
property rights
 Dispute Settlement
 Trade Policy Reviews
9
 Marrakesh Agreement
Annex 1
Annex 1A Agreement on Trade in Goods
 General Interpretative Note
 GATT 1994
- 6 Understandings (on the interpretation of
various GATT provisions)
- Marrakesh Protocol to the GATT 1994
+ Schedules of Tariff Concessions
 Specific Agreements (11)
Annex 1B Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
 Schedules of specific commitments
 MFN exemptions
Annex 1C Trade-related aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights (TRIPS)
! Refer also to pertinent Convention on Intellectual
Property Rights (WIPO)
 10
 Marrakesh Agreement
Annex 2 Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing
the Settlement of Disputes
Annex 3 Trade Policy Review Mechanism
Annex 4 Plurilateral Trade Agreements

Decisions and Declarations adopted at Marrakesh

 Decisions and Declarations adopted

afterwards (-> Evolving legal framework)

 Agreements hierarchy

11
 WTO: How does it work?
WTO Structure
Appellate
Ministerial Conference
Body
TPRB General Council DSB Dispute
Settlement
Panels
Goods Council Services Council
CTD (Development)
Committees Committees CTE (Environment)
CRTA (Regionalism)
BOP
TRIPS Budget
Council WG (Accessions,
Investment, competition,
Director-General Government
Secretariat Procurement)
13
 WTO: How does it work?

Secretariat

 About 750 staff

 Headed by a Director-General (DG)

 Budget 2009: 190 millions Swiss

francs + extra-budgetary funds
(about 24 millions Swiss francs)

14
 WTO: How does it work?
Decision making
 Member-driven organisation
 Consensus (GATT practice), even if
voting procedures exist
 Consensus when no Member formally
object to a decision
 “Negative” consensus

16
 WTO: How does it work?
Meetings

 Type of meetings (formal, informal,

special sessions, consultations, multi-
/pluri- /bilateral)

 All WTO Bodies open to all Members

(specificities for panels and Appellate
Body)

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 WTO Coverage
GATT 1994 Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods
GATT 1947
Rectifications, amendments and modifications
which entered into force before 1.1.1995
(Protocols, Decisions of the CONTRACTING
PARTIES).
Protocols of Accession (to GATT)
Understandings on (Art. II:1b, XVII, XXIV, XXVIII,
BOP provisions, Waivers)
Marrakesh Protocol  Schedules of Tariff Concessions

Agreements on PSI
Rules of Origin
Agriculture Safeguards
Textiles and Clothing
Import Licensing
TRIMs Customs Valuation
Antidumping TBT
Subsidies and Countervailing Measures SPS
Decisions, Declarations

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 WTO Coverage
General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATS
PART I (Scope and Definitions)
PART II (General Obligations and Disciplines)
PART III (Specific Commitments)  Schedules on Specific Commitments
PART IV (Progressive Liberalization)
PART V (Institutional Provisions)
ANNEXES
Annex on Article II (MFN) exemptions)  Lists of Art. II (MFN) Exemptions
Annex on Movement of Natural Persons Supplying Services under the GATS
 3rd Protocol (1995)
Annex on Air Transport Services
Annex on Financial Services  2nd, 5th Protocol (1995, 1997)
Second Annex on Financial Services
Annex on Negotiations on Maritime Transport Services
Annex on Telecommunications
Annex on Negotiations on Basic Telecommunications  4th Protocol (1997)

Decisions, Declarations

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 WTO Coverage
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
TRIPS
PART I (General Provisions and Basic Principles)
PART II (Standards concerning the availability, scope and use of IPR)
Section 1: Copyright and Related Rights
Section 2: Trademarks
Section 3: Geographical Indications
Section 4: Industrial Designs
Section 5: Patents
Section 6: Layout-designs (Topographies) of Integrated Circuits
Section 7: Protection of Undisclosed Information (Trade Secrets)
Section 8: Control of Anti-competitive Practices in Contractual Licenses
PART III (Enforcement of IPR)
PART IV (Acquisition and Maintenance of IPR and related Inter Partes Procedures)
PART V (Dispute Prevention and Settlement)
PART VI (Transitional Arrangements)
PART VII (Institutional arrangements: Final Provisions)
Decisions, Declarations

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 Evolution of WTO framework
Decisions and Declarations (few examples)
 1996 Singapore ministerial conference
 Singapore Topics
 Trade Facilitation, Investments, Competition,
Transparency in Government Procurement
 « Information Technology » Initiative

 1998 Geneva ministerial conference

 Electronic Commerce

 1999 Seattle ministerial conference

 2001 Doha ministerial conference
 Doha Development Agenda
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 Doha Development Agenda
14 Nov. 2001: Doha Ministerial Declaration
Define the mandate for the negotiations on
various topics as well as other work
(implementation)
1 Feb. 2002: First TNC Meeting
Establish the structure and the main
principles for the negotiation

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 Doha Development Agenda

14 Nov. 2001: Doha Ministerial Declaration

Define the mandate for the negotiations on
various topics as well as other work
(implementation)
47. [...] the conduct, conclusion and entry into force
of the outcome of the negotiations shall be
treated as parts of a single undertaking. [...]
(DDA, paragraph 47)

Single undertaking: “Nothing is agreed until

everything is agreed”
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 Doha: Work Programme
Implementation (§12)
Agriculture (§13-14)
Services (§15)
Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products (§16)
TRIPS (§17-19)
Trade and Investment (§20-22)
Trade and Competition Policy (§23-25)
Transparency in Government Procurement (§26)
Trade Facilitation (§27)
WTO Rules (§28-29)
Dispute Settlement (§30)
Trade and Environment (§31-32)
Electronic Commerce (§34)
Small Economies (§35)
Trade, Debt and Finance (§36)
Trade and Transfer of Technology (§37)
Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building (§38-41)
Least-Developed Countries (§42-43)
Special and Differential Treatment (§44)
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 Doha Negotiations:
Negotiating groups meet
Structure
during special sessions of
existing WTO bodies, at the General Council
exception of (*) for which
new Negotiating Groups
have been created. Trade Negotiations Committee
Chairman: WTO DG (ex officio)

Goods Services TRIPS Other Issues

- Agriculture - Services - Geographical - Dispute

Indications Settlement
- NAMA (*)
- Development
- Trade Facilitation - Environment
(*) July Decision - Rules (*)
- Cotton
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 Doha Development Agenda
14 Sep. 2003: Cancun Ministerial «Statement»
« Mid-term review »: Existence of important
divergences and delays in relation with
program established at Doha
Dec. 2003: General Council Decision
Priority given to four issues:
 Agriculture (modalities)
 Non agricultural Market Access [NAMA]
(modalities)
 Singapore issues
 Cotton (initiative from 4 African countries) 26
 Doha Development Agenda
1 August 2004: Adoption of the «July
Package»
 Negotiations start again
(« framework »)
 Singapore issues clarified (only
trade facilitation included in Doha
Round).
 Cotton issue included in
agricultural negotiations
(Subcommittee) 27
 Doha Development Agenda
Dec. 2005: Hong Kong Ministerial
Declaration
Limited Progress but in the right direction…
 Deadline for all agricultural export subsidies
 Agreement on cotton
 Duty-free/quota-free access for the 32 LDC
Members
 Agriculture and NAMA: framework for full
modalities
 Progress in relation with services
negotiations…
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 Doha Development Agenda

June 2006: Decision on transparency for RTAs…

July 2006: Negotiations suspended…
December 2006: General Council Decision on
transparency for RTAs
February 2007: DG: “We have resumed
negotiations fully across the board”

29
 Doha Development Agenda
April 2008: DG signals start of “horizontal
process”
May 2008: Services Chair issues report and
draft text
Since July 2007: Draft texts, and revisions, on
modalities for Agriculture and NAMA
circulated by the chairmen
(2008...2009...2010)

30
 Doha Development Agenda
March 2010: “We are not where we wanted to be by now”

 Informal consultations (regional groups, small groups in variable geometry and

with individual Members)

 Members committed to the mandate of the Round and to its successful

conclusion.
Value of the system (e.g. global economic crisis- MTS has prevented a descent
into full scale protectionism.

 Sense of frustration at the slow pace of the negotiations, but there is a clear
catalogue of gaps
Picture is more blurred is regarding the size of some of these gaps (Blue Box in
agriculture or in Trade Facilitation). Size of gaps much less clear in NAMA or Fishery
Subsidies.

 Next steps: mix of technical and political preparations to start devising the
contours of a package
Need to build on what is already on the table (Chairs' texts), avoid backtracking,
and maintaining the development dimension of the Round.

 A "cocktail" approach: Chair-led processes within the Negotiating Groups,

maintaining an overview of the entire negotiating landscape (transparency and
inclusiveness), and smaller groups in variable geometry and bilateral contacts
remain necessary and essential –moving towards a more horizontal view of the
issues (negotiating groups and the TNC remaining the anchor of the negotiating
process)

 Ministerial involvement: make productive use of up-coming gatherings (e.g.

Cairns Group, APEC and OECD) , possible Ministerial engagement if needed 31