WTO

(proper noun)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. It officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. It deals with regulation of trade between participating countries and provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements and for resolving disputes.

Related Terms

Examples of WTO in the following topics:

  • The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

    • One of the most significant changes was the creation of the WTO.
    • Of the original GATT members, Syria and SFR Yugoslavia (SFRY) have not rejoined the WTO.
    • The General Council of WTO, on 4 May 2010, agreed to establish a working party to examine the request of Syria for WTO membership.
    • GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.
    • This map shows membership in the WTO in 2005.

  • The World Trade Organization (WTO)

    • As a result, the WTO was formed in the final Uruguay Round of GATT in 1994.
    • The WTO has 157 members and 27 observer governments.
    • WTO members do not have to be full sovereign nation-members.
    • Iran is the biggest economy outside the WTO.
    • Review the purpose and status of the World Trade Organization (WTO)

  • A Summary of International Trade Agreements

    • The core of the WTO is the most-favored nation (MFN) rule, which states that each WTO member must be charged the lowest tariffs that an importer places on any country.
    • For example, if the US charges Brazil a 5% tariff on imported clothes, and this is the lowest tariff it has placed on any country in the WTO, all other WTO members must also be charged a 5% tariff.
    • Every WTO member gets charged the lowest tariff that an importer charges any other member.
    • Agriculture is not included in this agreement, and is often a tough point of discussion for the WTO as well.
    • The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization designed to oversee and enable international trade.

  • Technological Barriers

    • Standards-related trade measures, known in WTO parlance as technical barriers to trade play a critical role in shaping global trade.
    • These standards-related trade measures, known in World Trade Organization (WTO) parlance as "technical barriers to trade," play a critical role in shaping the flow of global trade.
    • The European Union is its own bloc within the W.T.O.

  • The International Monetary Structure

    • The most prominent international institutions are the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
    • This map depicts the member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
    • Dark green states are members; light green are members of the EU and thus members of the WTO as well; blue states are observer states; and gray states have no official interaction with the WTO.
    • Notice the global reach of organizations like the WTO.

  • Trade and Globalization

    • The World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed to supervise and liberalize international trade on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement.
    • It provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements.
    • The WTO is attempting to complete negotiations on the Doha Development Round, which was launched in 2001 with an explicit focus on addressing the needs of developing countries.
    • These points of contention have hindered any progress toward launching new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round.
    • The WTO was founded in 1995 with 123 member countries.

  • Ethical Barriers

    • Other common targets of anti-corporate and anti-globalization movements include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the WTO, and free trade treaties like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI), and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
    • On November 30, 1999, close to fifty thousand people gathered to protest the WTO meetings in Seattle, Washington.
    • Demonstrations such as the mass protest at the 1999 WTO meeting in Seattle, highlight ethical questions on the effects of international trade on poor and developing nations.

  • Trade

    • The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that was formed in 1995 to supervise and liberalize international trade .
    • The organization deals with regulation of trade between participating countries; it provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing 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 their parliaments.
    • Common targets include the World Bank (WB), International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and free trade treaties like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the Trans Pacific Trade Agreement (TPPA), the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
    • The WTO, succeeding GATT in 1995, is an organization that seeks to liberalize international trade.

  • Globalization and the U.S.

    • GATT's successor was the World Trade Organization (WTO), which provided a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements and a dispute resolution process.
    • Particular initiatives carried out as a result of GATT and the WTO have included:
    • Supranational institutions such as the European Union, the WTO, the G8 ("Group of Eight"), and the International Criminal Court serve to replace or extend national functions to facilitate international agreement.

  • Offshoring

    • After its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, the People's Republic of China emerged as a prominent destination for production offshoring.