Wto

W.T.O.(World Trade Organization)Formation January 1, 1995

Headquarters Centre William Rappard, Geneva,Switzerland

Membership 157[1] member states

Official languages English, French, Spanish[2]

Director-General Pascal Lamy

Budget 196 million Swiss francs (approx. 209 million USD) in 2011.[3]

Staff 640[4]

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I) From G.A.T.T to W.T.O.A/ History and backgroundB/ The case for open trade

II) W.T.O.: an organization with principles and valuesA/ Organization and membershipB/ Principles & values

III) W.T.O.: what it does nowadaysA/ 10 things the WTO wants to doB/ Doha development agenda

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I) From G.A.T.T to W.T.O.A/ History and background

Bretton Woods

I.M.F World Bank(I.B.R.D.) I.T.O.

G.A.T.T. in 1947Why was G.A.T.T. created?

-Learning the lessons from WWII and the Great Depression: reduce and bind customs tariffs, trade liberalization! and correcting the legacy of protectionist measures which remained in place from the early 1930s.

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- GATT & trade negotiation rounds

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When the G.A.T.T. evolved to the W.T.O.

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• B/ The case for open trade-Economic theories since the XIX century (from Ricardo to Paul Krugman)

based on the comparative advantage !

-Statistics:

World trade and production have acceleratedBoth trade and GDP fell in the late 1920s, before bottoming out in 1932. After World War II, both have risen exponentially, most of the time with trade outpacing GDP.(1950 = 100. Trade and GDP: log scale)

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- G.A.T.T.’s outcome : Exports grew on average by 6% annually !Total trade in 2000 was 22-times the level of 1950.

But G.A.T.T. specialized on goods => services? Non tariffs barriers? Agriculture? Textile? Intellectual property?

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Chart 1 — World merchandise trade volume, 2005Q1-2013Q4Seasonally adjusted index, 2005Q1=100

Source: WTO Secretariat.

-In 1995 : W.T.O. At the Marrakesh declarationThe Secretariat budget for 2012 is: 196 million Swiss francs for a staff of 640 persons (economic analysis and advices based on trade data they gather)

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• Basically: It’s an organization for liberalizing trade.

It’s a set of rules … it’s a negotiating forum… And it helps to settle disputes …

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II) W.T.O.: an organization with principles and values A/ Organization and membership

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- 157 nations (2012) participate of a member-driven organization => CONSENSUS

- D.S.B.: equitable, fast, effective, mutually acceptable

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B/ Principles & values

• The trading system should be ...

• without discrimination — a country should not discriminate between its trading

partners (giving them equally “most-favoured-nation” or MFN status); and it should not discriminate between its own and foreign products, services or nationals (giving them “national treatment”);

• freer — barriers coming down through negotiation;• predictable — foreign companies, investors and governments should be confident

that trade barriers (including tariffs and non-tariff barriers) should not be raised arbitrarily; tariff rates and market-opening commitments are “bound” in the WTO;

• more competitive — discouraging “unfair” practices such as export subsidies and dumping products at below cost to gain market share;

• more beneficial for less developed countries — giving them more time to adjust, greater flexibility, and special privileges.

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III) W.T.O.: what it does nowadays

A/ WTO's main activities are:

— negotiating the reduction or elimination of obstacles to trade (import tariffs, other barriers to trade) and agreeing on rules governing the conduct of international trade (e.g. antidumping, subsidies, product standards, etc.)— administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules for trade in goods, trade in services, and trade-related intellectual property rights

— settling disputes among our members regarding the interpretation and application of the agreements — building capacity of developing country government officials in international trade matters

— conducting economic research and collecting and disseminating trade data in support of the WTO's other main activities

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B/ Doha development agenda

• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): Agriculture, goods and services (GATS-on trade and services)• Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures • Textiles and clothing • Technical barriers to trade (Technical assistance for least-developed countries)• Trade-related investment measures (TRIMs) (“to consider positively” requests from least-developed countries to extend the seven-year transition period)• Anti-dumping (GATT Article 6) • Subsidies and countervailing measures • Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)

These negotiations are on standby… 15

Conclusion

• Political, economic and historical background.• Member-driven and pro-trade institution.• Trade flows as smoothly, predictably and

freely as possible.

• http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/acc_internship_e.htm

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