WTO Revised

8/8/2019 WTO Revised

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raising standards of living, ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing

volume of real income and effective demand, and expanding the production of and trade in

goods and services


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Brief History

Officially Established on January 1, 1995

Replacing the GATT

153 members

97% of total world trade

Headquarters - Centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland

Official languages English, French, Spanish

Director-General Pascal Lamy

Budget 189 million Swiss francs (approx. 182 million USD) in 2009

Staff 625

Meeting in every two years

Website www.wto.int


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GATT Vs WTO

GATT WTO

Ad hoc and provisional Permanent & Legal

Contracting parties Members

Trade in goods Trade, services & IPRS

Dispute based on consensusFaster, binding and permanent

mechanism


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FEW MEMBERS OF WTO

Developed

countries

Developing

countries

Transitional

Economy

Least

Developed

County

Observer

USA India Bulgaria Bangladesh Russia

EC Egypt Hungary Uganda Saudi Arabia

Japan UAE Latvia Guinea Nepal

Korea Jordan Maldives Vietnam

Canada Angola Bhutan


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Functions


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Principles Of WTO


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WTO-Structure

Ministerial Conference

General Council

Dispute Settlement Body

Trade Policy Review Body

Councils

Council for Trade in Goods

Council for Trade in Services

Council for TRIPs

Committees and other subsidiary bodies

Decision-making


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Benefits of WTO

The system helps promote peace

Disputes are handled constructively

Rules make life easier for all

Freer trade cuts the costs of living

It provides more choice of products and qualities

Trade raises incomes

Trade stimulates economic growth

The basic principles make life more efficient

Governments are shielded from lobbying

The system encourages good government


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Why WTO membership so important ?


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WHAT THE WTO DOES NOT REQUIRE

Does not prevent member states from establishing their own

trade and non-trade policy objectives

Does not require them to eliminate all barriers to import of

goods and services Does not direct national administrative and procedural system

Does not require member states to have a uniform set of trade

regulations


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Important meetings Of WTO

Singapore 9-13 December 1996

Geneva 18-20 May 1998

Seattle 30 November- 3 December 1999

Doha 8-12 November 2001

Cancun September 2003


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Doha

History:

Launched at the fourth ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar in November

2001.

Succeeded the Uruguay round and the three ministerial conferences at

Singapore (1996), Geneva (1998) and Seattle (1999).

Objectives:

Lower trade barriers around the world.

Committing all countries to negotiations opening agricultural and manufacturingmarkets, as well as trade-in-services (GATS) negotiations and expanded

intellectual property regulation (TRIPS).

Make trade rules fairer for developing countries


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KEY ISSUES AT DOHA

Agriculture

Access to patented medicines

Special and differential treatment

Implementation issues

Key Interests for ASEAN

Greater market access for industrial goods. Trade facilitation. Anti dumping and subsidies. Technical Co-operation. Effective dispute settlement mechanism


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Cancun Conference 2003

The conference was aimed at forging agreement on the DDA.

Called for an end to agricultural subsidies within the EU and the

US.

Hong Kong Conference 2005

Countries agreed to phase out all their agricultural exportsubsidies by the end of 2013.

Agreement to introduce duty free, tariff free access for goods.

Geneva Conference 2008

Negotiation over the special safeguard mechanism. The negotiations collapsed on July 29 over issues of agricultural

trade between the United States, India, and China.

Geneva Conference 2009

On 26 May 2009, agreed to hold a seventh WTO ministerialconference session in Geneva from 30 November3 December 2009.

"The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global

Economic Environment"


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India in WTO

Background

India one of members (GATT) since 1948.

India joined WTO since inception in 1995.

Aim to participate in WTO rule based system with greater stability,transparency

Looking for

Greater trade opportunities Developmental issues

Agricultural trade boost


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Areas of Concerns for India


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WTO & SMEs

SMEsSMEs DevelopmentDevelopmentGlobalisationGlobalisation

Catalyser or Barrier ?

Role of WTO ?Role of WTO ?


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WTO rules: in interest of SMEs

Lower (and bound) tariffs for goods

Guaranteed access conditions for services, including right ofestablishment, cross border and movement of service

providers and consumers

Protection of intellectual property

Disciplines for subsidies and trade defence instruments

Effective system of dispute settlement


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What more can be done in WTO for

SMEs

Trade Facilitation

Documents

WTO Revised