World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO), based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a key intergovernmental body that oversees and promotes international trade. As part of the United Nations System, it works with governments to develop, adjust, and apply the rules that govern global trade. With 164 member states, the WTO represents more than 98% of both global trade and GDP, making it the largest international economic organization worldwide.
The WTO's main role is to facilitate the exchange of goods, services, and intellectual property by creating a structured environment for negotiating and implementing trade agreements aimed at reducing or eliminating trade barriers like tariffs and quotas. These agreements are endorsed by member states' representatives and need to be ratified by their respective legislatures. Moreover, the WTO provides an independent dispute resolution process to ensure members adhere to agreements and to settle trade disputes. While it enforces non-discrimination in trade practices, it allows for exceptions in cases of environmental protection, national security, and other significant objectives.
Name
World Trade Organization
Description
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
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The WTO’s creation on 1 January 1995 marked the biggest reform of international trade since the end of the Second World War.
US Politics
Whereas the GATT mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements also cover trade in services and intellectual property.
US Politics
On 18 March 2004, the United States requested consultations with China concerning China’s preferential value-added tax (“VAT”) for domestically-produced or designed integrated circuits (“IC”). The United States claims that, although China provides for a 17 percent VAT on ICs, enterprises in China are entitled to a partial refund of the VAT on ICs that they have produced, resulting in a lower VAT rate on their products. In the US view, China thus appears to be subjecting imported ICs to higher taxes than applied to domestically produced ICs and to be according less favourable treatment to imported ICs.
US Politics