World Trade Organization (WTO)The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established on 1 January 1995, as a result of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations concluded in 1994. The predecessor of the WTO is the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Show
The WTO is the only international body dealing with the rules of trade among states and separate customs territories. The WTO agreements provide the legal ground-rules for international commerce, binding governments to conduct their trade and trade policies according to the principles and rules. Although negotiated and signed by governments, the goal is to help producers and providers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. The WTO's main objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably. To this end, the WTO:
MembershipThe WTO currently has 164 members, accounting for over 95% of world trade. Overview on Doha Development Agenda (DDA)The Ministerial Conference is the highest decision-making body of the WTO. It brings together all members of the WTO and makes decisions on all matters under the multilateral trade agreements. At the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC4) held in Doha, Qatar in November 2001, ministers agreed to launch a new Round of multilateral trade negotiations on the basis of a broad and balanced work programme set out in the Doha Ministerial Declaration. It includes negotiations in the areas of agricultural products, services, market access for non-agricultural products, certain environment-related issues, and negotiations which aimed at clarifying and improving existing WTO rules. It also includes future work on e-commerce, trade facilitation, transparency in government procurement, trade and competition policy, trade and investment, as well as improvements and clarification of the Dispute Settlement Understanding. This new Round of negotiations is generally referred as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). The Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC6) held in December 2005 in Hong Kong set a launching pad for the negotiations of the DDA to intensify and move forward. After MC6, negotiations continued but the progress in the trade talk, with a short suspension in 2006, remained slow as the different positions of major players persisted. At the Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC8) held in December 2011, WTO Members decided to seek to reach agreements on areas where negotiations had been more advanced, ahead of full conclusion of the DDA negotiations, notwithstanding the fact that there is an original understanding among WTO Members that all the agreements reached under various components of the DDA after conclusion of the negotiations should be approved by the WTO as a single undertaking. WTO Members concluded a multilateral trade package, the Bali Package, at the Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference (MC9) held in Bali, Indonesia in December 2013. The Bali Package comprises a new Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) and 9 decisions on agriculture and development issues. The TFA is the first multilateral trade agreement concluded by the WTO since its establishment in 1995. Hong Kong, China's Participation in the WTOHong Kong became a separate contracting party to the GATT in 1986, and is a founding member of its successor, the WTO. Hong Kong is a member of the WTO in its own right. After the return of Hong Kong to the Mainland of China, the HKSAR continues to participate in the WTO as a full and separate member, using the name "Hong Kong, China". The Mainland of China became a member of the WTO on 11 December 2001. Hong Kong, China continues to participate in the WTO as a separate customs territory which enjoys a high degree of autonomy in the conduct of its external commercial relations. As a small and externally oriented economy, a strong and credible multilateral trading system is of great importance to Hong Kong. Hong Kong, China takes its rights and obligations in the WTO seriously and has all along been participating actively and constructively in the WTO. In addition to the hosting of the MC6 in December 2005, representatives from Hong Kong, China have taken up appointments as chairman or vice chairman of bodies under the WTO:
Hong Kong, China is a free and open economy which sets good examples to other WTO members in the implementation of various WTO obligations. As soon as the WTO was established, Hong Kong, China implemented its Uruguay Round tariff commitments fully. We have implemented many of our Uruguay Round commitments well ahead of the agreed timetable. We are also the first WTO Member to join the TFA on 8 December 2014. Contact UsComments and suggestions on Hong Kong's participation in WTO are welcome, and they can be sent to Trade and Industry Department via . Which is the international organization promoting free trade that grew out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade?Trade negotiations. 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.
What do we mean by WTO?The WTO (World Trade Organization) is an international organization. It enacts the rules governing trade between countries of goods, services, agricultural and industrial goods, and intellectual property.
What is the role of GATT in international trade?The GATT was established in 1948 to regulate world trade. It was created to boost economic recovery after the Second World War by reducing or eliminating trade tariffs, quotas and subsidies.
Which international organizations founded in 1995 facilitate trade disputes between nations quizlet?The international trade organization, in existence from 1947 to 1995, that set many of the rules governing international trade. A trade treaty among the United States, Canada, and Mexico to lower and eliminate tariffs among the three countries.
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