World Trade Organisation

WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION

Nobody will deny if I say that in our modern world it is very important to control the relationship between different countries. There are different organizations nowadays. They control different aspects of our everyday life. I would like to speak about world trade organization. It deals with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.

First of all I would like to give some facts about the creation and location of WTO.

Location: Geneva, Switzerland

Established: 1 January 1995

Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)

Membership: 134 countries (as of February 1999)

Budget: 122 million Swiss francs for 1999

Secretariat staff: 500

Head: Director-general

Functions:

* Administering WTO trade agreements

* Forum for trade negotiations

* Handling trade disputes

* Monitoring national trade policies

* Technical assistance and training for developing countries

* Cooperation with other international organizations

The World Trade Organization came into being in 1995. One of the youngest of the international organizations, the WTO is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War. So while the WTO is still young, the multilateral trading system that was originally set up under GATT is already 50 years old. The system celebrated its golden jubilee in Geneva on 19 May 1998, with many heads of state and government leaders attending. The past 50 years have seen an exceptional growth in world trade. Merchandise exports grew on average by 6% annually. Total trade in 1997 was 14-times the level of 1950. GATT and the WTO have helped to create a strong and prosperous trading system contributing to unprecedented growth. The system was developed through a series of trade negotiations, or rounds, held under GATT. The first rounds dealt mainly with tariff reductions but later negotiations included other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures. The latest round--the 1986-94. Uruguay Round--led to the WTO's creation. The negotiations did not end there. Some continued after the end of the Uruguay Round. In February 1997 agreement was reached on telecommunications services, with 69 governments agreeing to wide-ranging liberalization measures that went beyond those agreed in the Uruguay Round. In the same year 40 governments successfully concluded negotiations for tariff-free trade in information technology products, and 70 members concluded a financial services deal covering more than 95% of trade in banking, insurance, securities and financial information. At the May 1998 ministerial meeting in Geneva, WTO members agreed to study trade issues arising from global electronic commerce. The next ministerial conference is due to be held in the United States in late 1999. In 2000, new talks are due to start on agriculture and services and possibly a range of other issues.

FUNCTIONS

The WTO's overriding objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably. It does this by:

* Administering trade agreements

* Acting as a forum for trade negotiations

* Settling trade disputes

* Reviewing national trade policies

* Assisting developing countries in trade policy issues, through technical assistance and training programs

* Cooperating with other international organizations

STRUCTURE

The WTO has more than 130 members, accounting for over 90% of world trade. Over 30 others are negotiating membership. Decisions are made by the entire membership. This is typically by consensus. A majority vote is also possible but it has never been used in the WTO, and was extremely rare under the WTO's predecessor, GATT. The WTO's agreements have been ratified in all members' parliaments. The WTO's top level decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference which meets at least once every two years. Below this is the General Council (normally ambassadors and heads of delegation in Geneva, but sometimes officials sent from members' capitals) which meets several times a year in the Geneva headquarters. The General Council also meets as the Trade Policy Review Body and the Dispute Settlement Body. At the next level, the Goods Council, Services Council and Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Council report to the General Council. Numerous specialized committees, working groups and working parties deal with the individual agreements and other areas such as the environment, development, membership applications and regional trade agreements. The first Ministerial Conference in Singapore in 1996 added three new working groups to this structure. They deal with the relationship between trade and investment, the interaction between trade and competition policy and transparency in government procurement. At the second Ministerial Conference in Geneva in 1998 ministers decided that the WTO would also study the area of electronic commerce, a task to be shared out among existing councils and committees.

SECRETARIAT

The WTO Secretariat, based in Geneva, has around 500 staff and is headed by a director-general. It does not have branch offices outside Geneva. Since decisions are taken by the members themselves, the Secretariat does not have the decision-making role that other international bureaucracies are given. The Secretariat's main duties are to supply technical support for the various councils and committees and the ministerial conferences, to provide technical assistance for developing countries, to analyze world trade, and to explain WTO affairs to the public and media.

The Secretariat also provides some forms of legal assistance in the dispute settlement process and advises governments wishing to become members of the WTO.

The annual budget is roughly 122 million Swiss francs. How can you ensure that trade is as fair as possible, and as free as