2. Content
• Basic Information
• Historical Facts
• Structure
• Main Task
• Decision Making
• Examples of Case Studies (statistics)
• Sources
• Questions & Discussion
3. What is WTO ??
1. the only global international organization
dealing with the rules of trade between
nations
2. Specialized agency if UN (United Nations)
portfolio
4. Basic information
• Established Jan 1, 1995 (Marrakech agreement)
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Logo:
• Members: 159
• Most recent: Including: China (2001), Russia
• Not including:
Iraq, Iran N. Korea
5.
6. Historical facts
• Beginnig in early 1940s:
• 1948 - Meeting in Bretton Woods, New
Hampshire, Created IMF and World Bank
• US tried to create ITO = International Trade
Organization (not approved afterwards)
• GATT = General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade
• 1995 - WTO
9. Main Tasks
• Controll trade agreements between member
states
• Organize and ensure trade talks between
member states
• Monitoring of the trade policies of the
member states & resolve trade disputes
between them
10. 3 parts of WTO
• GATT (Still exists, as largest part of WTO)
• GATS = General Agreement on Trade in
Services
• TRIPs Agreement = Trade Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights
11. Decision making
• Decisions by consensus: all 149 countries
must agree, at ministerial meetings
• Consensus definition:
an acceptable resolution, one that can be
supported, even if not the "favorite" of each
individual.