WTO

1. An Introduction
to the WTO

2. What is the WTO?
• The World Trade Organisation (WTO)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only
body making global trade rules with binding
effects on its Members. It is not only an
institution, but also a set of agreements.
• At its simplest:
“A global organisation dealing with rules of trade
between nations”
(source: WTO)

3. What is the WTO? (Cont.)
Established on 1st January 1995
As a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-1994)
Located in Geneva, Switzerland
Head : Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo (Director-general)
Members: 160 countries (as of 26 June 2014)
Newly Joined: Yemen

4. Pascal Lamy
1 Sept. 2005 – 1 Sept. 2013
Roberto Azevêdo (Brazil)

5. The Trade Chiefs
The Directors-general of GATT and WTO
· Sir Eric Wyndham-White (UK) 1948-68
· Olivier Long (Switzerland) 1968-80
· Arthur Dunkel (Switzerland) 1980-93
· Peter Sutherland (Ireland) GATT 1993-94; WTO
1995
· Renato Ruggiero (Italy) 1995-1999
· Mike Moore (New Zealand) 1999-2002
· Supachai Panitchpakdi (Thailand) 2002-2005
· Pascal Lamy (France) 2005–2013

6. The objectives of the WTO
• Raising standards of living
• Ensuring full employment
• Realizing these aims consistently with
sustainable development and
environmental protection
• Ensuring that developing countries,
especially the least developed countries
(LDCs), secure a proper share in the
growth of international trade.

8. The WTO’s functions
• Administers the WTO Agreements and
facilitates their operation and
implementation
• Provides a forum for trade negotiations
among member states on matters covered
by the Agreements and for further
liberalisation of trade amongst members
• Responsible for the settlement of
differences and disputes between members

9. The WTO’s functions (Cont.)
• Responsible for periodic reviews of the
trade policies of members
• Also provides technical assistance and
training for developing countries
• Cooperates with other international
organisations on subjects of mutual
interest

10. • Harry Dexter White and John
Maynard Keynes at the
Bretton Woods Conference
— Both economists had been
strong advocates of a liberal
international trade
environment, and
recommended the
establishment of three
institutions: the IMF (fiscal
and monetary issues), the
World Bank (financial and
structural issues), and the
ITO (international economic
cooperation).

11. Principles of the WTO
• Transparency - Trade Policy Review Mechanism
• Non Discrimination
– MFN treatment
– National treatment country
• e.g. technical standards, security standards et al.
discriminating against imported goods
• Reciprocity.
• Safety valves
• Free trade principle -optimal utilization of resources.
• Dismantling trade barriers.
• Rule base trading system.
• Environment protection.
• Treatment for LDCs

13. Organisational structure of the WTO
• Ministerial Conference- The apex body for
decision making (meets every 2 years).
Composition:-ministerial representatives.
• General Council- performs the functions of
the Conference between meetings and has
specific duties assigned to it by the WTO
agreements. Composition:- governmental
representatives.
– The General Council also meets as the Dispute
Settlement Body and the Trade Policy
Review Body.

14. Organisational structure of the WTO (Cont.)
• Councils for Trade in Goods (oversees
GATT), Trade in Services (oversees GATS)
and TRIPS which report to and assist the
General Council.
• Committees on special subjects,
Committees functioning under the Councils
and Committees for the Plurilateral
Agreements.

15. Benefits of WTO
• GATT/WTO has made significant
achievments in reducing the tariff and non
tariff barriers to trade
• The liberalisation of investments has been
fostering the economic growth of a number
of countries
• The liberalisation of trade and investments
has been resulting in increase in competition,
efficiency of resource utilisation,
improvement in quality and fall in prices and
acceleration of economic growth

16. Benefits of WTO (cont.)
• WTO provides a forum for multilateral
discussion of economic relations between
nations
• It has a system in place to settle trade
disputes between nations
• WTO has a mechanism to deal with violation
of trade agreements
• WTO does considerable research related to
global trade and disseminates a wealth of
information

17. Drawbacks of WTO
• Negotiations and decision making in the WTO
are dominated by the developed countries
• Many developing countries do not have the
financial and knowledge resources to
effectively participate in the WTO discussions
and negotiations.
• Because of the dependence of developing
countries on the developed ones, the developed
countries are able to resort to arms-twisting
tactics

18. Drawbacks of WTO (Cont.)
• Many of the policy liberlisations are done
without considering the vulnerability of the
developing countries and possible adverse
effect on them
• The WTO has not been successful in
imposing the organisation’s disciplines on
the developed countries

19. WTO
Ministerial conferences
• First ministerial conference
The inaugural ministerial conference was held in
Singapore in 1996. Disagreements between largely
developed and developing economies emerged during this
conference over four issues initiated by this conference,
which led to them being collectively referred to as the
"Singapore issues".
• Second ministerial conference
Was held in Geneva in Switzerland.
• Third ministerial conference
The third conference in Seattle(1999), Washington ended
in failure, with massive demonstrations and police and
National Guard crowd control efforts drawing worldwide
attention.

20. WTO
Ministerial conferences (Cont.)
• Fourth ministerial conference
Was held in Doha In Persian Gulf nation of Qatar(2001).
The Doha Development Round was launched at the
conference. The conference also approved the joining of
China, which became the 143rd member to join.
• Fifth ministerial conference
The ministerial conference was held in Cancún(2003),
Mexico, aiming at forging agreement on the Doha round.
An alliance of 22 southern states, the G20 developing
nations (led by India, China and Brazil), resisted demands
from the North for agreements on the so-called "Singapore
issues" and called for an end to agricultural subsidies
within the EU and the US. The talks broke down without
progress.

21. WTO
Ministerial conferences (Cont.)
• Sixth ministerial conference
The sixth WTO ministerial conference was held in Hong
Kong from 13 December – 18 December 2005. It was
considered vital if the four-year-old Doha Development
Agenda negotiations were to move forward sufficiently to
conclude the round in 2006. In this meeting, countries
agreed to phase out all their agricultural export subsidies
by the end of 2013, and terminate any cotton export
subsidies by the end of 2006. Further concessions to
developing countries included an agreement to introduce
duty free, tariff free access for goods from the Least
Developed Countries, following the Everything But Arms
initiative of the European Union — but with up to 3% of
tariff lines exempted. Other major issues were left for
further negotiation to be completed by the end of 2010

22. WTO
Ministerial conferences (Cont.)
• Seventh ministerial conference
The Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference
in Geneva, Switzerland, took place from 30 November to 2
December 2009. The general theme for discussion was
“The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the
Current Global Economic Environment”.

23. WTO
Ministerial conferences (Cont.)
• Eighth Ministerial Conference
The Eighth Ministerial Conference was held in Geneva,
Switzerland, from 15 to 17 December 2011. In parallel to
the Plenary Session, where Ministers made prepared
statements, three Working Sessions took place with the
following themes: “Importance of the Multilateral Trading
System and the WTO”, “Trade and Development” and
“Doha Development Agenda”. The Conference approved
the accessions of Russia, Samoa and Montenegro. In the
final session, Ministers adopted a number of decisions and
the Chair made a concluding statement.

24. WTO
Ministerial conferences (Cont.)
• Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference
– At the Ninth Ministerial Conference, held in Bali,
Indonesia, from 3 to 7 December 2013, ministers
adopted the “Bali Package”, a series of decisions aimed
at streamlining trade, allowing developing countries
more options for providing food security, boosting
least-developed countries’ trade and helping
development more generally. They also adopted a
number of more routine decisions and accepted Yemen
as a new member of the WTO.

25. December 4, 2013 photo shows Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Anand
Sharma with WTO DG Roberto Azevedo at the 9th Ministerial Conference in Bali,
Indonesia.

26. • #Date[1]Host City1st9–13 December 1996
• Singapore
• 2nd18–20 May 1998 Geneva, Switzerland
• 3rd30 November – 3 December 1999 Seattle, United States
• 4th9–14 November 2001 Doha, Qatar
• 5th10–14 September 2003 Cancún, Mexico
• 6th13–18 December 2005 Hong Kong
• 7th30 November – 2 December 2009 Geneva, Switzerland
• 8th15–17 December 2011 Geneva, Switzerland
• 9th3–6 December 2013 Bali, Indonesia
• 10th15–18 December 2015 Nairobi, Kenya
• 11th10–13 December 2017 Buenos Aires, Argentina

27. • Kazakhstan to host WTO’s next Ministerial
Conference
• WTO members have accepted Kazakhstan’s
invitation to host, in Astana, the organization’s
Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) to be held
in 2020. The decision was taken by consensus at
today’s General Council meeting (26 July 2018)
and marks the first time a Ministerial Conference
is to be organized in Central Asia.
•

28. Doha Round
• The Doha Development Round started in 2001 and continues
today.
• The WTO launched the current round of negotiations, the Doha
Development Agenda (DDA) or Doha Round, at the fourth
ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. The
Doha round was to be an ambitious effort to make globalization
more inclusive and help the world's poor, particularly by
slashing barriers and subsidies in farming. The initial agenda
comprised both further trade liberalization and new rule-
making, underpinned by commitments to strengthen substantial
assistance to developing countries.
• The negotiations have been highly contentious and agreement
has not been reached, despite the intense negotiations at several
ministerial conferences and at other sessions. Disagreements
still continue over several key areas including agriculture
subsidies.

29. “Quadrilaterals” or the “Quad”:
– Canada
– European Union
– Japan
– United States
“the new Quad” the “Quint” and the “G-6.”
• Australia
• Brazil
• European Union
• India
• Japan
• United States

30. Agreements
The WTO oversees about 60 different agreements which have
the status of international legal texts. Member countries must
sign and ratify all WTO agreements on accession. A discussion
of some of the most important agreements follows.
• Agreement on Agriculture (AoA)
The Agreement on Agriculture came into effect with the
establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995. The AoA
has three central concepts, or "pillars": domestic support, market
access and export subsidies.
• Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade is an
international treaty of the World Trade Organization. It was
negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade, and entered into force with the
establishment of the WTO at the end of 1994.
The object ensures that technical negotiations and standards, as
well as testing and certification procedures, do not create
unnecessary obstacles to trade".

31. Agreements (Cont.)
• General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
The General Agreement on Trade in Services was created to extend the
multilateral trading system to service sector, in the same way the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a system for
merchandise trade. The Agreement entered into force in January 1995
• Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement
(TRIPs)
The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property
Rights sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual
property (IP) regulation. It was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay
Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994.
• Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) Agreement
The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures - also known as the SPS Agreement was negotiated during the
Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and
entered into force with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of
1995.
Under the SPS agreement, the WTO sets constraints on members' policies
relating to food safety (bacterial contaminants, pesticides, inspection and
labelling) as well as animal and plant health (imported pests and diseases).

32. GATT
Predecessor of the WTO – The GATT ‘47
• The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
1947
– the first major effort to establish international rules governing trade
in goods.
– Though initially conceived as a provisional legal instrument, it
endured for almost 50 years.
• It functioned without a formal organisational framework
• the proposed International Trade Organisation (ITO) never
came into being
• GATT’s primary focus was the reciprocal reduction of
tariffs

33. Objectives of GATT
• To raise standard of living
• To ensure full employment
• To develop the full use of the resources of
the world
• To expand production and international
trade

34. Differences between WTO & GATT
GATT WTO
•It is a set of rules and multilateral
agreement
•It was designed with an attempt to
establish ITO
•It was applied on a provisional
basis
•Its rules applicable to trade in
merchandise goods
•Originally multilateral, but
plurilateral agreements were added
at later stage.
•Its dispute settlement system was
not faster and automatic
•It is a permanent instituition
•It is established to serve its own
purpose
•Its activities are full and permanent
•Its rules are applicable to trade in
merchandise goods and trade in
services and IPs
•Its agreements are almost
multilateral
•Its dispute settlement system is fast
and automatic

35. GATT Rounds
GATT and WTO trade rounds[27]
Name Start Duration Countries
Subjects
covered
Achievements
Geneva
April
1947
7 months 23 Tariffs
Signing of GATT, 45,000 tariff concessions
affecting $10 billion of trade
Annecy
April
1949
5 months 13 Tariffs
Countries exchanged some 5,000 tariff
concessions
Torquay
Septemb
er 1950
8 months 38 Tariffs
Countries exchanged some 8,700 tariff
concessions, cutting the 1948 tariff levels by
25%
Geneva
II
January
1956
5 months 26
Tariffs,
admission of
Japan
$2.5 billion in tariff reductions

36. GATT Rounds (Cont.)
Dillon
Septemb
er 1960
11 months 26 Tariffs
Tariff concessions worth $4.9 billion of
world trade
Kennedy
May
1964
37 months 62
Tariffs, Anti-
dumping
Tariff concessions worth $40 billion of
world trade
Tokyo
Septemb
er 1973
74 months 102
Tariffs, non-
tariff
measures,
"framework"
agreements
Tariff reductions worth more than $300
billion dollars achieved
Uruguay
Septemb
er 1986
87 months 123
Tariffs, non-
tariff
measures,
rules, services,
intellectual
property,
dispute
settlement,
textiles,
agriculture,
creation of
WTO, etc
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.

37. The Uruguay Round (1986-1994)
• The results of the Uruguay Round (UR) were signed
in Marrakesh, Morocco on 15 April 1994 .
• The WTO came into being on 1 January 1995 by
virtue of the Agreement establishing the WTO.
• The scope of the multilateral trading system was
broadened from trade in goods (GATT) to encompass
trade in services (GATS) and trade related aspects of
intellectual property rights (TRIPS). It was a rule-
based global trading system complete with its own
dispute resolution procedures .
• Dunkel Proposal 1991- TRIMS
• The “Single Undertaking” concept

38. • Informal meeting of TRADE
NEGOTIATIONS COMMITTEE held
on 27 July 2010

39. WTO ANTI-DUMPING MEASURES:
• Dumping is the means of selling the product
at below the on-going market price.
• Type of Dumping:
• Intermittent
• Persistent
• Predatory

40. Objectives of Dumping
• To enter the foreign market
• To sell surplus production
• To develop trade relations

41. Anti-Dumping
• In view of the negative effects of dumping,
the importing country impose anti dumping
duties such as
• Tariff duty
• Import Quota
• Import embargo
• Voluntary export restraint.

48. For further information
•The WTO Website : www.wto.org
Some related websites of interest
•OECD www.oecd.org
•ITC www.intracen.org
•World Bank www.worldbank.org

49. Thank you