Name - Avneesh Saraswat

Roll no - 2k17/co/084

Batch - A2

Project on
WTO (World Trade Organisation)
The WTO
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international
organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the
WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading
nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to ensure that trade flows as
smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.

 The WTO has many roles: it operates a global system of trade rules, it acts as a
forum for negotiating trade agreements, it settles trade disputes between its
members and it supports the needs of developing countries.

 All major decisions are made by the WTO's member governments: either by
ministers (who usually meet at least every two years) or by their ambassadors or
delegates (who meet regularly in Geneva).

 A number of simple, fundamental principles form the foundation of the

multilateral trading system.

 The primary purpose of the WTO is to open trade for the benefit of all.
Theoretically WTO can...

1 ... cut living costs and raise living standards

2 ... settle disputes and reduce trade tensions

3 ... stimulate economic growth and employment

4 ... cut the cost of doing business internationally

5 ... encourage good governance

6 ... help countries develop

7 ... give the weak a stronger voice

8 ... support the environment and health

9 ... contribute to peace and stability

10 ... be effective without hitting the headlines

But is it really working up to its standard norms without any type of discrimination. Well
that’s quite a debatable topic, since developed countries contribute more in WTO therefore
they often manipulate the decisions of organisation in their favour.

DECISION MAKING
 The WTO's top decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference. Below this is
the General Council and various other councils and committees.

 Ministerial conferences usually take place every two years.

 The General Council is the top day-to-day decision-making body. It meets a

number of times a year in Geneva.
There have been eleven ministerial conferences from 1996 to 2017, usually
every two years.

 Astana, Kazakhstan, 8-11 June 2020

 Buenos Aires, 10-13 December 2017
 Nairobi, 15-19 December 2015
 Bali, 3-6 December 2013
 Geneva, 15-17 December 2011
 Geneva, 30 November - 2 December 2009
 Hong Kong, 13-18 December 2005
 Cancun, 10-14 September 2003
 Doha, 9-13 November 2001
 Seattle, November 30 – December 3, 1999
 Geneva, 18-20 May 1998
 Singapore, 9-13 December 1996
MEMBERS
The WTO has 164 members and 23 observer governments. Liberia became the 163rd
member on 14 July 2016, and Afghanistan became the 164th member on 29 July 2016. In
addition to states, the European Union, and each EU country in its own right, is a member.
WTO members do not have to be fully independent states; they need only be a customs
territory with full autonomy in the conduct of their external commercial relations. Thus Hong
Kong has been a member since 1995 (as "Hong Kong, China" since 1997) predating the
People's Republic of China, which joined in 2001 after 15 years of negotiations. The
Republic of China (Taiwan) acceded to the WTO in 2002 as "Separate Customs Territory of
China: Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" (Chinese Taipei) despite its disputed status. The
WTO Secretariat omits the official titles (such as Counsellor, First Secretary, Second
Secretary and Third Secretary) of the members of Chinese Taipei's Permanent Mission to the
WTO, except for the titles of the Permanent Representative and the Deputy Permanent
Representative.

As of 2007, WTO member states represented 96.4% of global trade and 96.7% of global
GDP. Iran, followed by Algeria, are the economies with the largest GDP and trade outside the
WTO, using 2005 data. With the exception of the Holy See, observers must start accession
negotiations within five years of becoming observers. A number of international
intergovernmental organizations have also been granted observer status to WTO bodies. 12
UN member states have no official affiliation with the WTO.
Developing countries comprise a majority of the WTO membership. They are grouped as
“developing countries” and “least developed countries”

SELECTION MAKING
There are no WTO definitions of “developed” and “developing” countries. Members
announce for themselves whether they are “developed” or “developing” countries. However,
other members can challenge the decision of a member to make use of provisions available to
developing countries.

BENEFITS
Developing country status in the WTO brings certain rights. There are for example provisions
in some WTO Agreements which provide developing countries with longer transition periods
before they are required to fully implement the agreement and developing countries can
receive technical assistance.

Developing countries

WTO also proposed a list of items and issues which are going to be discuss in
the next Ministerial conference which is going to be held on 25 February 2019.
Which I have attached with the mail. (ATTACHMENT)
Key events in WTO history.
1947 October - 23 countries sign the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in
Geneva, Switzerland, to try to give an early boost to trade liberalisation.

1947 November - Delegates from 56 countries meet in Havana, Cuba, to start negotiating the
charter of a proposed International Trade Organisation.

European farmers protest in Strasbourg, France, in 1992 over GATT agricultural proposals

GATT proposals on agriculture inflamed European farmers' anger

1948 1 January - GATT agreement comes into force.

1948 March - Charter of International Trade Organisation signed but US Congress rejects it,
leaving GATT as the only international instrument governing world trade.

1949 - Second GATT round of trade talks held at Annecy, France, where countries
exchanged some 5,000 tariff concessions.

1950 - Third GATT round held in Torquay, England, where countries exchanged some 8,700
tariff concessions, cutting the 1948 tariff levels by 25%.

1955-56 - The next trade round completed in May 1956, resulting in $2.5bn in tariff
reductions.

1960-62 - Fifth GATT round named in honour of US under Secretary of State Douglas Dillon
who proposed the negotiations. It yielded tariff concessions worth $4.9bn of world trade and
involved negotiations related to the creation of the European Economic Community.

1964-67 - The Kennedy Round, named in honour of the late US president, achieves tariff cuts
worth $40bn of world trade.

1973-79 - The seventh round, launched in Tokyo, Japan, sees GATT reach agreement to start
reducing not only tariffs but trade barriers as well, such as subsidies and import licensing.
Tariff reductions worth more than $300bn dollars achieved.London anti-WTO protest, held
during the 1999 WTO ministerial meeting in Seattle

Anti-WTO protest in London: opponents say the organisation is an enemy of the poor

1986-93- GATT trade ministers launch the Uruguay Round in Punta Del Este, Uruguay,
embarking on the most ambitious and far-reaching trade round so far. The round extended the
range of trade negotiations, leading to major reductions in agricultural subsidies, an
agreement to allow full access for textiles and clothing from developing countries, and an
extension of intellectual property rights.

1994 - Trade ministers meet for the final time under GATT auspices at Marrakesh, Morocco
to establish the World Trade Organization (WTO) and complete the Uruguay Round.
1995 - The World Trade Organization is created in Geneva.

1999 - At least 30,000 protesters disrupt WTO summit in Seattle, US; New Zealander Mike
Moore becomes WTO director-general.

2001 November - WTO members meeting in Doha, Qatar, agree on the Doha Development
Agenda, the ninth trade round which is intended to open negotiations on opening markets to
agricultural, manufactured goods, and services.

The forerunner of the World Trade Organisation, GATT, was also based here. WTO
headquarters in Geneva

2001 December - China formally joins the WTO. Taiwan is admitted weeks later.

2002 August - WTO rules in favour of the EU in its row with Washington over tax breaks for
US exporters. The EU gets the go-ahead to impose $4bn in sanctions against the US, the
highest damages ever awarded by the WTO.

2002 September - Former Thai deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi begins a three-
year term as director-general. He is the first WTO head to come from a developing nation.

2003 September - WTO announces deal aimed at giving developing countries access to
cheap medicines, hailing it as historic. Aid agencies express disappointment at the deal.

2003 September - World trade talks in Cancun, Mexico collapse after four days of wrangling
over farm subsidies, access to markets. Rich countries abandon plans to include so-called
"Singapore issues" of investment, competition policy and public procurement in trade talks.

Cotton pickers-Many cotton producing nations have lobbied the WTO to eliminate subsidies

2003 December - WTO rules that duties imposed by the US on imported steel are illegal. US
President Bush repeals the tariffs to avoid a trade war with the EU.

2004 April - WTO rules that US subsidies to its cotton farmers are unfair.

2004 August - Geneva talks achieve framework agreement on opening up global trade. US
and EU will reduce agricultural subsidies, while developing nations will cut tariffs on
manufactured goods.

2005 March - Upholding a complaint from Brazil, WTO rules that US subsidies to its cotton
farmers are illegal.

2005 May - WTO agrees to start membership talks with Iran.

2005 September - Frenchman Pascal Lamy takes over as WTO director-general. He was
formerly the EU's trade commissioner.

2005 October - US offers to make big cuts in agricultural subsidies if other countries,
notably in the EU, do the same. EU responds, but France opposes more concessions.
2005 November - WTO approves membership for Saudi Arabia.

2005 December - World trade talks in Hong Kong begin amid widespread belief that they
will not succeed in making a breakthrough.

2007 December - WTO clears way for Cape Verde's membership by approving a package of
agreements which spell out the terms of its accession. Cape Verde is expected to ratify the
deal by June 2008.

2008 July - Ministerial talks aimed at resuscitating the Doha Round of talks break down on
ninth day of meeting after the US and India fail to find a compromise on measures intended
to help poor countries protect their farmers against import surges.

2008 November - G20 leaders meeting in Washington agree to "strive" for a major
breakthrough in Doha talks by the end of the year.

2008 December - Pascal Lamy drops plans to hold a ministerial meeting to seek
breakthrough on Doha citing the "unacceptably high" risk of failure.

2009 March - WTO says global trade flows are set to shrink by 9% during 2009. Hardest hit
will be developed nations, where trade is set to fall 10%. Poorer countries will see exports fall
by 2-3%.

2010 March - Pascal Lamy predicts that the worst of global trade recession is over and WTO
economists foresee 2010 world economic growth of 9.5%.

2010 June - The WTO rules that the European Union paid illegal subsidies to aircraft giant
Airbus after the US lodged a complaint in a long-running dispute between the EU and US.

2010 September - Leaks of WTO report say it will order more than $20bn of cuts in US
government subsidies to the Boeing aircraft manufacturer.

2010 November - G20 meeting of major economic powers in Seoul sees 2011 "window of
opportunity" for the conclusion of the WTO Doha Round.

2010 December - The European Union expresses support for Russia's bid to join the WTO
after Moscow agreed to cut timber export tariffs and rail freight fees. Russia is the only major
economy outside the WTO. China says it plans to appeal against a WTO ruling that the US
was entitled to impose extra duties on Chinese tyre imports.

2011 January - Former WTO director-general Peter Sutherland joins British Prime Minister
David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in demanding the conclusion of the
Doha talks by the end of 2011.

2011 May - Both the US and Europe Union claim victory after the WTO partly overturned an
earlier ruling that Airbus received billions of euros in illegal subsidies.

2011 July - WTO upholds complaints by the US, European Union and Mexico that China
had broken global free trade rules by imposing quotas and taxes on exports of certain key
materials, including minerals like bauxite, magnesium and zinc. China complains.
2011 August - WTO rules that a tax levied in the Philippines on imports of alcohol breaks
global rules on free trade on the grounds that it grants domestic producers who use local cane
and palm sugar an unfair advantage. The US has previously urged the Philippines to open its
market to foreign alcoholic drinks.

2011 December - Russia finally joins the WTO after 18 years negotiating its membership.
Switzerland brokered a deal to persuade Georgia to lift its veto, which it had imposed after
the 2008 Russo-Georgian war.

WTO agrees terms for Samoa and Montenegro to join in 2012.

2012 January - The WTO rejects China's appeal against a ruling that it broke free trade rules
by imposing quotas and taxes on exports of key materials.

Overall WTO tries to maintain peace and flow of trade freely and within the
trade rules set by two nations it helps to maintain the overall economy.

In recent trade wars between US and China WTO start to investigate the matter into President
Donald Trump’s tariffs on $250 billion of Chinese goods, which builds up the tension
between two biggest economies of the world.

The WTO is already facing an existential threat over a hold the U.S. has placed on new
appellate judge nominations. Absent any reforms, the decision-making wing of the
organization will have too few judges to rule on cases by the end of the year. This new
investigation could further antagonize the U.S., which sees the WTO as overstepping its
authority.