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World Trade Organization

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"WTO" redirects here. For other uses, seeWTO (disambiguation).

World Trade Organization (English)

Organisation mondiale du commerce

(French)

Organizacin Mundial del Comercio

(Spanish)

WTO founder members (January 1,

1995) WTO subsequent members

Formation January 1, 1995

Headquarters

Centre William

Rappard,Geneva,

Switzerland

Membership 153 member states

Official languagesEnglish,French,

Spanish[1]

Director-General Pascal Lamy
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Budget

189 millionSwiss francs

(approx. 182 million

USD) in 2009.[2]

Staff 625[3]

Website www.wto.int

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is aninternational organizationdesigned by its

founders to supervise andliberalizeinternational trade. The organization officially

commenced on January 1, 1995 under theMarrakech Agreement, replacing the

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT), which commenced in 1947.

The World Trade Organization deals with regulation of trade between participating

countries; it provides a framework for negotiating and formalising trade agreements,

and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO

agreements which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified

by theirparliaments.[4][5]

Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from

previous trade negotiations, especially from theUruguay Round(1986-1994).

The organization is currently endeavouring to persist with a trade negotiation called

theDoha Development Agenda(or Doha Round), which was launched in 2001 to

enhance equitable participation of poorer countries which represent a majority of the

world's population. However, the negotiation has been dogged by "disagreement

between exporters of agricultural bulk commodities and countries with large numbers

of subsistence farmers on the precise terms of a 'special safeguard measure' to protect

farmers from surges in imports. At this time, the future of the Doha Round is

uncertain."

[6]

The WTO has 153 members,[7]

representing more than 97% of total world trade[8]

and

30 observers, most seeking membership. The WTO is governed by a ministerial

conference, meeting every two years; a general council, which implements the

conference's policy decisions and is responsible for day-to-day administration; and a

director-general, who is appointed by the ministerial conference. The WTO's

headquarters is at theCentre William Rappard,Geneva,Switzerland.
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Contents

[hide]

1 History

1.1 ITO and GATT 1947

1.2 GATT rounds of negotiations

1.2.1 From Geneva to Tokyo

1.2.2 Uruguay Round

1.3 Ministerial conferences

1.3.1 First ministerial conference

1.3.2 Second ministerial conference

1.3.3 Third ministerial conference

1.3.4 Fourth ministerial conference

1.3.5 Fifth ministerial conference

1.3.6 Sixth ministerial conference

1.3.7 Seventh ministerial conference

1.4 Doha Round

2 Functions

3 Principles of the trading system

4 Organizational structure

4.1 Council for Trade in Goods

4.2 Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

4.3 Council for Trade in Services

4.4 Other committees
http://toggletoc%28%29/http://toggletoc%28%29/http://toggletoc%28%29/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Historyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#ITO_and_GATT_1947http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#ITO_and_GATT_1947http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#GATT_rounds_of_negotiationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#GATT_rounds_of_negotiationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#From_Geneva_to_Tokyohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#From_Geneva_to_Tokyohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Uruguay_Roundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Uruguay_Roundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Ministerial_conferenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Ministerial_conferenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#First_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#First_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Second_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Second_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Third_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Third_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Fourth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Fourth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Fifth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Fifth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Sixth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Sixth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Seventh_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Seventh_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Doha_Roundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Doha_Roundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Functionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Functionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Principles_of_the_trading_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Principles_of_the_trading_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Organizational_structurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Organizational_structurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade_in_Goodshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade_in_Goodshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade-Related_Aspects_of_Intellectual_Property_Rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade-Related_Aspects_of_Intellectual_Property_Rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade_in_Serviceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade_in_Serviceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Other_committeeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Other_committeeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Other_committeeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade_in_Serviceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade-Related_Aspects_of_Intellectual_Property_Rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Council_for_Trade_in_Goodshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Organizational_structurehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Principles_of_the_trading_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Functionshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Doha_Roundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Seventh_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Sixth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Fifth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Fourth_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Third_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Second_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#First_ministerial_conferencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Ministerial_conferenceshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Uruguay_Roundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#From_Geneva_to_Tokyohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#GATT_rounds_of_negotiationshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#ITO_and_GATT_1947http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Historyhttp://toggletoc%28%29/


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4.5 Trade Negotiations Committee

4.6 Voting system

5 Dispute settlement

6 Accession and membership

6.1 Accession process

6.2 Members and observers

7 Agreements

7.1 Agreement on Agriculture (AoA)

7.2 General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

7.3 Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs)

7.4 Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (SPS) Agreement

7.5 Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)

7.6 Agreement on Customs Valuation

8 See also

9 References and notes

10 External links

10.1 Official WTO pages

10.2 Government pages on the WTO

10.3 Media pages on the WTO

10.4 Non-governmental organization pages on the WTO

[edit] History

See also:Chronology of the World Trade Organization

[edit] ITO and GATT 1947
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Trade_Negotiations_Committeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Trade_Negotiations_Committeehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Voting_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Voting_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Dispute_settlementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Dispute_settlementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Accession_and_membershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Accession_and_membershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Accession_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Accession_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Members_and_observershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Members_and_observershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Agriculture_.28AoA.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Agriculture_.28AoA.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#General_Agreement_on_Trade_in_Services_.28GATS.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#General_Agreement_on_Trade_in_Services_.28GATS.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Trade-Related_Aspects_of_Intellectual_Property_Rights_Agreement_.28TRIPs.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Trade-Related_Aspects_of_Intellectual_Property_Rights_Agreement_.28TRIPs.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Sanitary_and_Phyto-Sanitary_.28SPS.29_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Sanitary_and_Phyto-Sanitary_.28SPS.29_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Technical_Barriers_to_Trade_.28TBT.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Technical_Barriers_to_Trade_.28TBT.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Customs_Valuationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Customs_Valuationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#References_and_noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#References_and_noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Official_WTO_pageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Official_WTO_pageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Government_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Government_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Media_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Media_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Non-governmental_organization_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Non-governmental_organization_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_World_Trade_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_World_Trade_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_World_Trade_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&section=2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronology_of_the_World_Trade_Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&action=edit&section=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Non-governmental_organization_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Media_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Government_pages_on_the_WTOhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Official_WTO_pageshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#External_linkshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#References_and_noteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#See_alsohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Customs_Valuationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Technical_Barriers_to_Trade_.28TBT.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Sanitary_and_Phyto-Sanitary_.28SPS.29_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Trade-Related_Aspects_of_Intellectual_Property_Rights_Agreement_.28TRIPs.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#General_Agreement_on_Trade_in_Services_.28GATS.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Agriculture_.28AoA.29http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreementshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Members_and_observershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Accession_processhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Accession_and_membershiphttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Dispute_settlementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Voting_systemhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Trade_Negotiations_Committee


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For more details on this topic, seeInternational Trade Organization.

Harry Dexter White(l) andJohn Maynard Keynesat 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).[9]

The WTO's predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), wasestablished afterWorld War IIin the wake of other new multilateral institutions

dedicated to international economic cooperation - notably theBretton Woods

institutionsknown as theWorld Bankand theInternational Monetary Fund. A

comparable international institution for trade, named theInternational Trade

Organizationwas successfully negotiated. The ITO was to be a United Nations

specialized agency and would address not only trade barriers but other issues

indirectly related to trade, including employment, investment, restrictive business

practices, and commodity agreements. But the ITO treaty was not approved by theUnited States and a few other signatories and never went into effect.

[10][11][12]

In the absence of an international organization for trade, the GATT would over the

years "transform itself" into ade factointernational organization.[13]

[edit] GATT rounds of negotiations

See also:General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
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The GATT was the onlymultilateralinstrument governing international trade from

1948 until the WTO was established in 1995.[14]

Despite attempts in the mid 1950s and

1960s to create some form of institutional mechanism for international trade, the

GATT continued to operate for almost half a century as a semi-institutionalized

multilateral treaty regime on a provisional basis.[15]

[edit] From Geneva to Tokyo

Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under the GATT. The first GATT trade rounds

concentrated on further reducingtariffs. Then, the Kennedy Round in the mid-sixties

brought about a GATTanti-dumpingAgreement and a section on development. The

Tokyo Round during the seventies was 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, which in some cases interpreted existing GATT

rules, and in others broke entirely new ground. Because theseplurilateral agreements

were not accepted by the full GATT membership, they were often informally called

"codes". Several of these codes were amended in the Uruguay Round, and turned into

multilateral commitments accepted by all WTO members. Only four remained

plurilateral (those on government procurement, bovine meat, civil aircraft and dairy

products), but in 1997 WTO members agreed to terminate the bovine meat and dairy

agreements, leaving only two.[14]

[edit] Uruguay Round

During the Doha Round, theUS governmentblamedBrazilandIndiafor being

inflexible, and the EU for impeding agricultural imports.[16]

ThePresident of Brazil,Luiz

Incio Lula da Silva, responded to the criticisms by arguing that progress would only be

achieved if the richest countries (especially the US and countries in the EU) make

deeper cuts in their agricultural subsidies, and further open their markets for

agricultural goods.[17]
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For more details on this topic, seeUruguay Round.

Well before GATT's 40th anniversary, its members concluded that the GATT system

was straining to adapt to a newglobalizingworld economy.[18][19]

In response to the

problems identified in the 1982 Ministerial Declaration (structural deficiencies, spill-

over impacts of certain countries' policies on world trade GATT could not manage

etc.), the eighth GATT round known as the Uruguay Round was launched in

September 1986, inPunta del Este,Uruguay.[18]

It was the biggest negotiating mandate on trade ever agreed: the talks were going to

extend the trading system into several new areas, notably trade in services and

intellectual property, and to reform trade in the sensitive sectors of agriculture and

textiles; all the original GATT articles were up for review.[19]The Final Act concluding

the Uruguay Round and officially establishing the WTO regime was signed during the

April 1994 ministerial meeting atMarrakesh,Morocco, and hence is known as the

Marrakesh Agreement.[20]

The GATT still exists as the WTO's umbrella treaty for trade in goods, updated as a

result of the Uruguay Round negotiations (a distinction is made between GATT 1994,

the updated parts of GATT, and GATT 1947, the original agreement which is still the

heart of GATT 1994).[18]GATT 1994 is not however the only legally binding agreementincluded via the Final Act at Marrakesh; a long list of about 60 agreements, annexes,

decisions and understandings was adopted. The agreements fall into a structure with

six main parts:

The Agreement Establishing the WTO

Goodsandinvestment the Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods including the

GATT 1994 and theTrade Related Investment Measures

Services theGeneral Agreement on Trade in Services

Intellectual property theAgreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual

Property Rights(TRIPS)

Dispute settlement (DSU)

Reviews of governments' trade policies (TPRM)[21]

[edit] Ministerial conferences
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[edit] First ministerial conference

The inaugural ministerial conference was held inSingaporein 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".

Singapore issues

Jump to: navigation, search

The "Singapore issues" refers to four working groups set up during the WTOMinisterial Conference of 1996 in Singapore, namely investment protection,

competition policy, transparency in government procurement and trade

facilitation.

Disagreements between largely developed and developing economies

prevented a resolution in these issues, despite repeated attempts to revisit

them, notably during the 2003 Ministerial Conference in Cancn, Mexico,

whereby no progress was made.

investment protection

Investment protection is a broadeconomicterm referring to any form of

guarantee or insurance thatinvestmentsmade will not be lost, this may be

throughfraudor otherwise.

competition policy

repression ofcartels.

banning abusive behaviour by a firm dominating a market

supervising themergers and acquisitionsof large corporations, including some

joint ventures

transparency in government procurement

Transparency is introduced as a means of holding public officials accountable

and fighting corruption. When government meetings are open to the press and
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the public, when budgets and financial statements may be reviewed by anyone,

when laws, rules and decisions are open to discussion, they are seen as

transparent and there is less opportunity for the authorities to abuse the system

in their own interest.

Government procurement, also called public tendering, or public procurement,

is the procurement ofgoods and services on behalf of a public authority, such

as a government agency. With 10 to 15% ofGDP in developed countries, and

up to 20% in developing countries, government procurement accounts for a

substantial part of the global economy.

Trade facilitation looks at how procedures and controls governing the

movement of goods across national borders can be improved to reduceassociated cost burdens and maximise efficiency while safeguarding legitimate

regulatory objectives

improve the regulatory interface between government bodies and traders at

national borders

the procedures applicable for making payments (e.g. via a commercial

bank)

[edit] Second ministerial conference

The Second WTO Ministerial Conference

The Second WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Geneva, Switzerland

between 18 and 20 May 1998.

The World Trade Organisation's second Ministerial Conference in Geneva in

May was meant to be a big birthday bash marking the 50th anniversary of thefounding of GATT, the predecessor of the WTO. However, the free-trade

system which the WTO represents came under attack from thousands of

demonstrators who turned Geneva into a city under siege. The free-trade

philosophy was also called into question by development, social and

environmental groups; and the meet was also overshadowed by the Asian crisis

and the dramatic events in Jakarta.
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the 50th-year celebrations and the closed-door discussions were conducted in

ironically seige-like conditions because of street protests against the WTO, free

trade and globalization. The protests reflected the growing unease and anger of

social movements, NGOs and the public worldwide over the destabilizing andoften destructive consequences of globalization and liberalization. Even in the

rich countries, there is growing social and job insecurity as well as concern over

increasing environmental damage caused by the intense competition between

giant firms and between nations in the great globalization race, and this has led

to growing public resistance in the North to the WTO. The next 12 months

before the next Ministerial will see developing countries facing tremendous

pressures as they will be pressed to accept further measures in the review of

existing WTO agreements, and to agree to start negotiations on new issuessuch as investment, competition policy, government procurement and electronic

commerce. The public must therefore pay even greater attention to the

developments in the WTO in the coming months and keep up their own

campaigns to make the WTO more accountable, to review its rules and to stop

taking on more new issues.

Gathered under the umbrella of 'Peoples' Global Action', the groups

represented farmers from both the South and the North who believe the

removal of trade barriers will cause multinational companies to take over theirmarkets and lands.

They also represented workers angered that the race for 'efficiency' and cost-

cutting is leading to massive job losses, and consumers concerned that the

profit motive has led corporations to push sales of harmful products such as

tobacco and genetically- engineered foods.

WTO party marred by anti-globalisation protests

The World Trade Organisation's second Ministerial Conference in Geneva in

May was meant to be a big birthday bash marking the 50th anniversary of the

founding of GATT, the predecessor of the WTO. However, the free-trade

system which the WTO represents came under attack from thousands of

demonstrators who turned Geneva into a city under siege. The free-trade

philosophy was also called into question by development, social and

environmental groups; and the meet was also overshadowed by the Asian crisis

and the dramatic events in Jakarta.


11/41

Martin Khor reports from Geneva.

IT was planned as a grand birthday celebration to mark the 50th year of thefree-trade system.

But the second Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation held in

Geneva from 18-20 May will instead be remembered as a turning point in the

rush towards globalisation.

As world leaders and trade ministers gathered here, half a century after the

birth of GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), the predecessor

of the WTO, the public backlash against rapid liberalisation was all too clear.

On the eve of the Conference, 10,000 people from many parts of the world

staged a peaceful demonstration that paralysed Geneva's streets. They were

protesting against the social dislocation caused by free trade and the holding of

the WTO meeting.

Gathered under the umbrella of 'Peoples' Global Action', the groups

represented farmers from both the South and the North who believe the

removal of trade barriers will cause multinational companies to take over theirmarkets and lands.

They also represented workers angered that the race for 'efficiency' and cost-

cutting is leading to massive job losses, and consumers concerned that the

profit motive has led corporations to push sales of harmful products such as

tobacco and genetically- engineered foods.

In the evening, a small part of the crowd, reportedly made up of frustrated town

youth, smashed and overturned cars and broke shop windows.

In the next few days, as small demonstrations continued, Geneva was like a

city under siege. Barricades manned by helmeted police blocked the roads

leading to the United Nations and WTO buildings, causing traffic jams.

Participants of the WTO Conference had to walk for miles because of the

diversions. Those in cars faced delays.


12/41

Police warned the delegates not to display their Conference badges in public

and to remove the official sticker on their cars, so as to avoid being identified

and attacked in the city.

On the second night, when President Clinton paid a one-hour visit to the

Conference, security in the city and in the UN building was so tight that

participants and city dwellers alike made snide

Was held inGenevainSwitzerland.

[edit] Third ministerial conference

The Third WTO Ministerial Conference

The Third WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Seattle, Washington State,

US between 30 November and 3 December 1999. The WTO Ministerial

Conference of 1999 was a meeting of theWorld Trade Organization,

convened inSeattle,Washington,USAover the course of three days,

beginningNovember 30,1999. Intended as the launch of a new millennial

round oftradenegotiations that would have been called "The Seattle Round",

the negotiations were overshadowed bylarge street protestsoutside the

venues where the conference was taking place. Because of the disruptions in

the Seattle rounds, the negotiations were not formally begun until the next

meeting which was held atDoha,Qatar, a locale easier to control and police.

Thus the current round is called "TheDoha Round"

The third conference inSeattle, Washingtonended in failure, with massive

demonstrations and police and National Guard crowd control efforts drawing

worldwide attention.

[edit] Fourth ministerial conference

Main article:WTO Ministerial Conference of 2001

Was held inDohaInPersian Gulfnation ofQatar. TheDoha Development Roundwas

launched at the conference. The conference also approved the joining of China, which

became the 143rd member to join.
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The Doha Declaration explained

The November 2001 declaration of the Fourth Ministerial Conference in Doha,

Qatar, provides the mandate for negotiations on a range of subjects, and

other work including issues concerning the implementation of the present

agreements.

The negotiations take place in theTrade Negotiations Committee and its

subsidiaries. Other work under the work programme takes place in other WTO

councils and committees.

The work programme

The 21 subjects listed in the Doha Declaration (and the paragraphs that

refer to them). Most of these involve negotiations; other work includes

actions under implementation, analysis and monitoring:

Implementation-related issues and concerns

(par 12) >back to top

Implementation is short-hand for problems raised particularly by

developing countries about the implementation of the current WTO

Agreements, i.e. the agreements arising from the Uruguay Roundnegotiations.

In Doha this important question was handled in two ways. First, ministers

agreed to adopt around 50 decisions clarifying the obligations of developing

country member governments with respect to issues including agriculture,

subsidies, textiles and clothing, technical barriers to trade, trade-related

investment measures and rules of origin.

Agreement on these points required hard bargaining between negotiators
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over the course of nearly three years.

Many other implementation issues of concern to developing countries have

not been settled, however. For these issues, Ministers agreed in Doha on afuture work programme for addressing these matters.

In paragraph 12 of the Ministerial Declaration, ministers underscored that

they had taken a decision on the 50 or so measures in a separate ministerial

document (the 14 November 2001 decision on Implementation-Related

Issues and Concerns) and pointed out that negotiations on outstanding

implementation issues shall be an integral part of the Work Programme in

the coming years.

The ministers established a two-track approach. Those issues for which

there was an agreed negotiating mandate in the declaration would be dealt

with under the terms of that mandate.

Those implementation issues where there is no mandate to negotiate, would

be the taken up as a matter of priority by relevant WTO councils and

committees. These bodies are to report on their progress to the Trade

Negotiations Committee by the end of 2002 for appropriate action.

Agriculture

(par 13, 14) >back to top

Negotiations on agriculture began in early 2000, under Article 20 of the

WTO Agriculture Agreement. By November 2001 and the Doha Ministerial

Conference, 121 governments had submitted a large number of negotiating

proposals.

These negotiations will continue, but now with the mandate given by the

Doha Declaration, which also includes a series of deadlines. The declaration

builds on the work already undertaken, confirms and elaborates the

objectives, and sets a timetable. Agriculture is now part of the single

undertaking in which virtually all the linked negotiations are to end by

1 January 2005.
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The declaration reconfirms the long-term objective already agreed in the

present WTO Agreement: to establish a fair and market-oriented trading

system through a programme of fundamental reform. The programme

encompasses strengthened rules, and specific commitments on governmentsupport and protection for agriculture. The purpose is to correct and

prevent restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets.

Without prejudging the outcome, member governments commit themselves

to comprehensive negotiations aimed at:

market access: substantial reductions

exports subsidies: reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms ofthese

domestic support: substantial reductions for supports that distort trade

The declaration makes special and differential treatment for developing

countries integral throughout the negotiations, both in countries' new

commitments and in any relevant new or revised rules and disciplines. It

says the outcome should be effective in practice and should enable

developing countries meet their needs, in particular in food security and

rural development.

The ministers also take note of the non-trade concerns (such as

environmental protection, food security, rural development, etc) reflected

in the negotiating proposals already submitted. They confirm that the

negotiations will take these into account, as provided for in the Agriculture

Agreement.

Services


Negotiations on services were already almost two years old when they were

incorporated into the new Doha agenda.

The WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commits member

governments to undertake negotiations on specific issues and to enter into
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successive rounds of negotiations to progressively liberalize trade in

services. The first round had to start no later than five years from 1995.

Accordingly, the services negotiations started officially in early 2000 underthe Council for Trade in Services. In March 2001, the Services Council

fulfilled a key element in the negotiating mandate by establishing the

negotiating guidelines and procedures.

The Doha Declaration endorses the work already done, reaffirms the

negotiating guidelines and procedures, and establishes some key elements

of the timetable including, most importantly, the deadline for concluding

the negotiations as part of a single undertaking.

The negotiations take place in special sessions of the Services Council

and regular meetings of its relevant subsidiary committees or working

parties.

Market access for non-agricultural products


The ministers agreed to launch tariff-cutting negotiations on all non-

agricultural products. The aim is to reduce, or as appropriate eliminate

tariffs, including the reduction or elimination of tariff peaks, high tariffs,

and tariff escalation, as well as non-tariff barriers, in particular on products

of export interest to developing countries. These negotiations shall take

fully into account the special needs and interests of developing and least-

developed countries, and recognize that these countries do not need to

match or reciprocate in full tariff-reduction commitments by other

participants.

At the start, participants have to reach agreement on how (modalities) to

conduct the tariff-cutting exercise (in the Tokyo Round, the participants

used an agreed mathematical formula to cut tariffs across the board; in the

Uruguay Round, participants negotiated cuts product by product). The

agreed procedures would include studies and capacity-building measures

that would help least-developed countries participate effectively in the

negotiations. Back in Geneva, negotiators decided that the modalities
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should be agreed by 31 May 2003. When that date was missed, members

agreed on 1 August 2004 on a new target: the Hong Kong Ministerial

Conference in December 2005.

While average customs duties are now at their lowest levels after eight

GATT Rounds, certain tariffs continue to restrict trade, especially on

exports of developing countries for instance tariff peaks, which are

relatively high tariffs, usually on sensitive products, amidst generally low

tariff levels. For industrialized countries, tariffs of 15% and above are

generally recognized as tariff peaks.

Another example is tariff escalation, in which higher import duties are

applied on semi-processed products than on raw materials, and higher stillon finished products. This practice protects domestic processing industries

and discourages the development of processing activity in the countries

where raw materials originate.

The negotiations take place in a Market Access Negotiating Group.

Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)

(pars 1719) >back to top

TRIPS and public health. In the declaration, ministers stress that it is

important to implement and interpret the TRIPS Agreement in a way that

supports public health by promoting both access to existing medicines and

the creation of new medicines. They refer to their separate declaration on

this subject.

This separate declaration on TRIPS and public health is designed to respond

to concerns about the possible implications of the TRIPS Agreement for

access to medicines.

It emphasizes that the TRIPS Agreement does not and should not prevent

member governments from acting to protect public health. It affirms

governments right to use the agreements flexibilities in order to avoid any

reticence the governments may feel.

The separate declaration clarifies some of the forms of flexibility available,

in particular compulsory licensing and parallel importing. (For an
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explanation of these issues, go to the main TRIPS pages on the WTO

website)

For the Doha agenda, this separate declaration sets two specific task. TheTRIPS Council has to find a solution to the problems countries may face in

making use of compulsory licensing if they have too little or no

pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity, reporting to the General Council on

this by the end of 2002.(this was achieved in August, 2003, seeintellectual

propertysection of the Agreements chapter.) The declaration also

extends the deadline for least-developed countries to apply provisions on

pharmaceutical patents until 1 January 2016.

Geographical indications the registration system. Geographicalindications are place names (in some countries also words associated with a

place) used to identify products with particular characteristics because they

come from specific places. The WTO TRIPS Council has already started work

on a multilateral registration system for geographical indications for wines

and spirits. The Doha Declaration sets a deadline for completing the

negotiations: the Fifth Ministerial Conference in 2003.

These negotiations take place in special sessions of the TRIPS Council.

Geographical indications extending the higher level of protection to

other products. The TRIPS Agreement provides a higher level of protection

to geographical indications for wines and spirits. This means they should be

protected even if there is no risk of misleading consumers or unfair

competition. A number of countries want to negotiate extending this higher

level to other products. Others oppose the move, and the debate in the

TRIPS Council has included the question of whether the relevant provisions

of the TRIPS Agreement provide a mandate for extending coverage beyondwines and spirits.

The Doha Declaration notes that the TRIPS Council will handle this under

the declarations paragraph 12 (which deals with implementation issues).

Paragraph 12 offers two tracks: (a) where we provide a specific negotiating

mandate in this Declaration, the relevant implementation issues shall be

addressed under that mandate; (b) the other outstanding implementation

issues shall be addressed as a matter of priority by the relevant WTO
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bodies, which shall report to the Trade Negotiations Committee [TNC],

established under paragraph 46 below, by the end of 2002 for appropriate

action.

In papers circulated at the Ministerial Conference, member governments

expressed different interpretations of this mandate.

Argentina said it understands there is no agreement to negotiate the

other outstanding implementation issues referred to under (b) and that,

by the end of 2002, consensus will be required in order to launch any

negotiations on these issues.

Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, EU, Hungary, India, Liechtenstein, Kenya,Mauritius, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sri Lanka,

Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey argued that there is a clear mandate to

negotiate immediately.

Reviews of TRIPS provisions. Two reviews have been taking place in the

TRIPS Council, as required by the TRIPS Agreement: a review of Article

27.3(b) which deals with patentability or non-patentability of plant and

animal inventions, and the protection of plant varieties; and a review of the

entire TRIPS Agreement (required by Article 71.1).

The Doha Declaration says that work in the TRIPS Council on these reviews

or any other implementation issue should also look at: the relationship

between the TRIPS Agreement and the UN Convention on Biodiversity; the

protection of traditional knowledge and folklore; and other relevant new

developments that member governments raise in the review of the TRIPS

Agreement. It adds that the TRIPS Councils work on these topics is to be

guided by the TRIPS Agreements objectives (Article 7) and principles

(Article 8), and must take development fully into account.

Relationship between trade and investment


This is a Singapore issue i.e. a working group set up by the 1996 Singapore
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Ministerial Conference has been studying it.

In the period up to the 2003 Ministerial Conference, the declaration

instructs the working group to focus on clarifying the scope and definitionof the issues, transparency, non-discrimination, ways of preparing

negotiated commitments, development provisions, exceptions and balance-

of-payments safeguards, consultation and dispute settlement. The

negotiated commitments would be modelled on those made in services,

which specify where commitments are being made positive lists

rather than making broad commitments and listing exceptions.

The declaration also spells out a number of principles such as the need to

balance the interests of countries where foreign investment originates andwhere it is invested, countries right to regulate investment, development,

public interest and individual countries specific circumstances. It also

emphasizes support and technical cooperation for developing and least-

developed countries, and coordination with other international

organizations such as the UN Conference on Trade and Development

(UNCTAD).

Since the 1 August 2004 decision, this subject has been dropped from the

Doha agenda.

Interaction between trade and competition policy


This is another Singapore issue, with a working group set up in 1996 to

study the subject.

In the period up to the 2003 Ministerial Conference, the declaration

instructs the working group to focus on clarifying:

core principles including transparency, non-discrimination and procedural

fairness, and provisions on hardcore cartels (i.e. cartels that are formally

set up)

ways of handling voluntary cooperation on competition policy among WTO
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member governments

support for progressive reinforcement of competition institutions in

developing countries through capacity buildingThe declaration says the work must take full account of developmental

needs. It includes technical cooperation and capacity building, on such

topics as policy analysis and development, so that developing countries are

better placed to evaluate the implications of closer multilateral cooperation

for various developmental objectives. Cooperation with other organizations

such as the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is also

included.


Doha agenda.

>

Transparency in government procurement

(par 26) >back to topA third Singapore issue that was handled by a working group set up by

the Singapore Ministerial Conference in 1996.

The Doha Declaration says that the negotiations shall be limited to the

transparency aspects and therefore will not restrict the scope for countries

to give preferences to domestic supplies and suppliers it is separate

from the plurilateral Government Procurement Agreement.

The declaration also stresses development concerns, technical assistanceand capacity building.


Doha agenda.

Trade facilitation
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A fourth Singapore issue kicked off by the 1996 Ministerial Conference.

The declaration recognizes the case for further expediting the movement,

release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit, and the need for

enhanced technical assistance and capacity building in this area.

In the period until the Fifth Ministerial Conference in 2003, the WTO Goods

Council, which had been working on this subject since 1997, shall review

and as appropriate, clarify and improve relevant aspects of Articles 5

(Freedom of Transit), 8 (Fees and Formalities Connected with Importation

and Exportation) and 10 (Publication and Administration of TradeRegulations) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994)

and identify the trade facilitation needs and priorities of Members, in

particular developing and least-developed countries.

Those issues were cited in the 1 August 2004 decision that broke the Cancn

deadlock. Members agreed to start negotiations on trade facilitation, but

not the three other Singapore issues.

WTO rules: anti-dumping and subsidies


The ministers agreed to negotiations on the Anti-Dumping (GATT Article 6)

and Subsidies agreements. The aim is to clarify and improve disciplines

while preserving the basic, concepts, principles of these agreements, and

taking into account the needs of developing and least-developed

participants.

In overlapping negotiating phases, participants first indicated which

provisions of these two agreements they think should be the subject of

clarification and improvement in the next phase of negotiations. The

ministers mention specifically fisheries subsidies as one sector important to

developing countries and where participants should aim to clarify and

improve WTO disciplines.
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Negotiations take place in the Rules Negotiating Group.

WTO rules: regional trade agreements


WTO rules say regional trade agreements have to meet certain conditions.

But interpreting the wording of these rules has proved controversial, and

has been a central element in the work of the Regional Trade Agreements

Committee. As a result, since 1995 the committee has failed to complete its

assessments of whether individual trade agreements conform with WTO

provisions.

This is now an important challenge, particularly when nearly all membergovernments are parties to regional agreements, are negotiating them, or

are considering negotiating them. In the Doha Declaration, members agreed

to negotiate a solution, giving due regard to the role that these agreements

can play in fostering development.

The declaration mandates negotiations aimed at clarifying and improving

disciplines and procedures under the existing WTO provisions applying to

regional trade agreements. The negotiations shall take into account the

developmental aspects of regional trade agreements.

These negotiations fell into the general timetable established for virtually

all negotiations under the Doha Declaration. The original deadline of 1

January 2005 was missed and the current unofficial aim is to finish the talks

by the end of 2006. The 2003 Fifth Ministerial Conference in Mexico was

intended to take stock of progress, provide any necessary political

guidance, and take decisions as necessary.

Negotiations take place in the Rules Negotiating Group.

Dispute Settlement Understanding


The 1994 Marrakesh Ministerial Conference mandated WTO member

governments to conduct a review of the Dispute Settlement Understanding

(DSU, the WTO agreement on dispute settlement) within four years of the
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entry into force of the WTO Agreement (i.e. by 1 January 1999).

The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) started the review in late 1997, and held

a series of informal discussions on the basis of proposals and issues

Documents

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