The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade between nations. It has 164 member nations and facilitates trade in goods, services, and intellectual property. The WTO was established in 1995 after the Uruguay Round negotiations to further liberalize international trade beyond previous agreements under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO aims to reduce trade barriers and resolve disputes between members through principles of non-discrimination, transparency, reciprocity, and binding commitments.

1. WORLDTRADE ORGANIZATION
B y : P u n e e t C h a n n i
1 0 1 8 8 8 0 2 1
4 M E 8

2. What isWTO?
• T h e W o r l d T r a d e O r g a n i z a t i o n ( W T O ) i s a
I n t e r g o v e r n m e n t a l O r g a n i z a t i o n t h a t r e g u l a t e s a n d
f a c i l i t a t e s I n t e r n a t i o n a l T r a d e b e t w e e n N a t i o n s .
• W o r l d ' s l a r g e s t I n t e r n a t i o n a l E c o n o m i c O r g a n i z a t i o n w i t h
1 6 4 M e m b e r N a t i o n s & c o m p r i s e s 9 6 % o f g l o b a l t r a d e .
• W T O f a c i l i t a t e s t r a d e i n :
• Goods (Agriculture, Banking, Industrial etc)
• Services And Intellectual Property.
• I t p r o v i d e s a f r a m e w o r k f o r n e g o t i a t i n g t r a d e a g r e e m e n t s ,
w h i c h u s u a l l y a i m t o r e d u c e o r e l i m i n a t e t a r i f f s , q u o t a s ,
a n d o t h e r r e s t r i c t i o n s .

3. History
F r o m t h e e a r l y d a y s o f t h e S i l k R o a d t o t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e
G e n e r a l A g r e e m e n t o n Ta r i f f s a n d Tr a d e ( G AT T ) a n d t h e b i r t h
o f t h e W T O , t r a d e h a s p l a y e d a n i m p o r t a n t r o l e i n s u p p o r t i n g
e c o n o m i c d e v e l o p m e n t a n d p r o m o t i n g p e a c e f u l r e l a t i o n s
a m o n g n a t i o n s .
G AT T N e g o t i a t i o n s :
• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), was established by a
multilateral treaty of 23 countries in 1947 after World War II.
• The purpose of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
was to make international trade easier.
• The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) held eight rounds
in total from April 1947 to December 1993, each with significant
achievements and outcomes.
• The Tokyo Round during the seventies represented the first major
attempt to tackle trade barriers that do not take the form of tariffs, and to
improve the system, adopting a series of agreements on non-tariff
barriers.

4. History
U r u g u a y R o u n d : 1 9 8 6 – 1 9 9 4
T h e U r u g u a y R o u n d w a s t h e 8 t h r o u n d o f m u l t i l a t e r a l
t r a d e n e g o t i a t i o n s ( M T N ) c o n d u c t e d w i t h i n t h e
f r a m e w o r k o f t h e G e n e r a l A g r e e m e n t o n Ta r i f f s a n d
Tr a d e ( G AT T ) , s p a n n i n g f r o m 1 9 8 6 t o 1 9 9 3 a n d
e m b r a c i n g 1 2 3 c o u n t r i e s .
T h e m a i n o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e U r u g u a y R o u n d w e r e :
• To reduce Agricultural Subsidies
• To lift restrictions on foreign investment
• To begin the process of opening trade in services
like banking and insurance.
• to include the protection of intellectual property
T h e R o u n d l e d t o t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e W o r l d Tr a d e
O r g a n i z a t i o n o n 1 J a n u a r y 1 9 9 5 .

5. Fact File
Established: 1 January 1995
Head: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Director-
General)
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Secretariat staff: 623
Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations
(1986-94)
Budget: 197 million Swiss francs for 2020
Membership: 164 members representing 98
per cent of world trade

6. Pictures

7. Pictures

8. Functions
of
WTO
Administering
WTO trade
agreements
Technical
assistance and
training for
developing
countries
Monitoring national
trade policies
Handling trade
disputes
Forum for trade
negotiations

9. Principlesof the
Trading System
The WTO establishes a framework for trade policies; it does
not define or specify outcomes. That is, it is concerned with
setting the rules of "trade policy." Five principles are of
particular importance in understanding both the pre-1994
GATT and the WTO:
• Non-discrimination
• Reciprocity
• Binding and enforceable commitments
• Transparency
• Safety values

10. WTOStructure
The highest authority of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which
must meet at least every two years.
In between each Ministerial Conference, the daily work is handled by
three bodies:
• The General Council
• The Dispute Settlement Body
• The Trade Policy Review Body

11. WTOStructure
The General Council has the following subsidiary bodies which oversee committees in different
areas:
• Council for Trade in Goods: There are 11 committees under the jurisdiction of the Goods Council
each with a specific task. All members of the WTO participate in the committees. The Textiles
Monitoring Body is separate from the other committees but still under the jurisdiction of the Goods
Council.
• Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Right: Information on intellectual
property in the WTO, news and official records of the activities of the TRIPS Council, and details of
the WTO's work with other international organizations in the field.
• Council for Trade in Services: The Council for Trade in Services operates under the guidance of
the General Council and is responsible for overseeing the functioning of the General Agreement on
Trade in Services (GATS). It is open to all WTO members and can create subsidiary bodies as
required.
• Trade Negotiations Committee: The Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) is the committee that
deals with the current trade talks round

12. Advantagesof
PromotingFree
Trade
Lower prices for consumers. Removing tariffs
enables us to buy cheaper imports
Free trade encourages greater competitiveness.
Through free trade, firms face a higher incentive to
cut costs. For example, a domestic monopoly may
now face competition from foreign firms
The law of comparative advantage states that
free trade will enable an increase in economic
welfare. This is because countries can
specialise in producing goods where they have
a lower opportunity cost
Economies of scale . By encouraging free trade,
firms can specialise and produce a higher quantity.
This enables more economies of scale, this is
important for industries with high fixed costs

13. Charts

14. Disadvantages of
WTO
Free trade may prevent developing economies
develop their infant industries.
The WTO has often been criticised for trade rules
which are still unfavourable towards developing
countries.
Difficulty of making progress. WTO trade deals
have been quite difficult to form consensus. Various
rounds have taken many years to slowly progress.
It results in countries seeking alternatives such as
TIPP or local bilateral deals.

15. Reference
• https://www.wto.org
• https://en.wikipedia.org
• https://econ.economicshelp.org
• https://www.britannica.com
• Investopedia: Sharper insight, better investing

16. Thank You