World Trade

Organization

Fact File

Location : Geneva, Switzerland

Established :1January1995

Created By : Uruguay Round negotiations

Membership: 159 countries (March 2013)

The Budget : 196 millionSwiss France for 2011

Secretariat Staff: 640

Director General (Head): Pascal Lamy

Functions

It oversees the implementation,

administration and operation of the covered
agreements.
It provides a forum for negotiations and for
settling disputes.
It review and propagate the national trade
policies.
It provides assistance ofdeveloping, leastdeveloped and low-income countries in
transition.
It is the center of economic research and
analysis.

Principles of the trading

system
1.

2.

3.

4.

Non-discrimination: It has two major

components: themost favoured nation (MFN) rule,
& thenational treatment policy.
Reciprocity: It reflects both a desire to limit the
scope offree-riding & to obtain better access to
foreign markets.
Binding and enforceable commitments: The
tariff commitments made by WTO members in a
multilateral trade negotiation and on accession
are enumerated in a schedule (list) of
concessions.
Transparency: The WTO members are required
to publish their trade regulations.

Members of the WTO

The different Ministerial

Conferences

Singapore (1996) : Implementation of the Uruguay Round

Agreements
Geneva (1998) : E-commerce
Seattle (1999) : The negotiations were quickly overshadowed by
massive and controversial street protests (anti-globalization
movement)
Doha (2001) : To assist developing countries in implementing
WTO agreements, covering issues related to agriculture, industrial
tariffs, trade and competition policy
Cancun (2003) : Work under the Doha Development Agenda
Hong-Kong (2005) : Negotiations on agriculture and nonagricultural market access
Geneva(2009): The Multilateral Trading System and the Current
Global Economic Environment.
Geneva(2011): Trade & development, Doha development Agenda.

Disputes

What causes a dispute?

When a member country of the WTO believes
another member country is violating an
agreement or a commitment that has been set
within the WTO. Agreements are those
negotiated under the Rounds of WTO

How is it resolved?
The Dispute Settlement Body composed of
member governments (all WTO members) work
together to set an agreement.

Doha Round UnResolved

Least Developed Countries:

- want Special and Differentiated Treatment monitored and
enforced

- G-20 of LDCs (Brazil, China, India) call for end of EU and

U.S. agricultural export subsidies
- North promised technical assistance not enough

Developed Countries:
- want LDCs reduce barriers to nonagricultural imports.
- strengthen and extend agreements for services trade
and intellectual property trade.
-Major DCs ( ex.EU and Japan) want to expand WTO to
new areas: government procurement, trade facilitation,
competition policy.

Fast Track Authority expired 2007

WTOs Future

G-7: even with one nation one vote

system LDcs have less influence
Increase in Regional Trade
Agreements
Doha Round unresolved
Global Recession and Protectionism