About WTO:
- WTO is an international organization aimed at opening trade for global benefit.
- Established: January 1995
- Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
- Members: 166 (includes Timor-Leste, 2024)
- India is a founding member of WTO
Objective: To help its members use trade as a means to raise living standards, create jobs and improve people’s lives.
Organizational Structure:
- Ministerial Conference: Highest decision-making body, meets every two years.
- General Council:
- WTO’s decision-making body in Geneva, meeting regularly
- Also meets as the Dispute Settlement Body and Trade Policy Review Body
Functions: Administering WTO trade agreements
- Forum for trade negotiations
- Settling trade disputes
- Monitoring national trade policies
- Technical assistance and training for developing countries
Reports published by WTO:
- World Trade Report
- World Trade Statistical Review
- Global Trade Outlook
- WTO Annual Report
Key contemporary milestones:
- 2014: The revised Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) entered into force.
- 2015: Conclusion of landmark $1.3 trillion Information Technology Agreement.
- 2017:
- Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement amended to ease poor countries’ access to affordable medicines.
- WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement entered into force.
last 5 Ministerial Conferences (MC) of the World Trade Organization:
- MC 9 – Bali, 2013
- MC 10 – Nairobi, 2015
- MC 11 – Buenos Aires, 2017
- MC 12 – Geneva, 2022
- MC 13 – Abu Dhabi, 2024 (Latest)
Challenges facing the World Trade Organization (WTO):
- Consensus between developing and developed countries: WTO members have not been able to agree on new rules on agricultural goods, highlighting the conflicting interests between developing and developed countries.
- Dysfunctional Dispute Settlement System (DSS): The Appellate Body is now inoperative and the DSS is impaired, as the US began blocking appointments in 2016.
- US-China Trade War: Difficult trade relations between the two largest world economies and WTO members – the US and China – also puts a strain on the WTO.