Which organization was the predecessor of the WTO? WTO (World Trade Organization). There are three types of activities in this direction

The Tokyo Round is the first attempt to reform the international trading system

The Tokyo Round, which took place from 1973 to 1979, involved 102 countries. This round continued GATT efforts to gradually reduce tariffs. Among the results achieved are a reduction by an average of one third customs duties on industrial products, as a result of which the average rate of customs duties on industrial products decreased to 4.7 percent. The tariff reductions, which took place gradually over eight years, included an element of harmonization, with the result that the highest tariffs were reduced more than the lowest tariffs. However, the reduction in tariffs was soon offset by rising prices and changes in exchange rates.

In other areas, the results of the Tokyo Round were more significant. This round marked a turnaround in efforts to modernize trade rules. As a result of the negotiations, a number of new agreements were reached. Some of these agreements were related to the application of certain existing GATT rules, while others covered completely new areas. These agreements were joined primarily by industrialized countries and some developing countries. Agreements were reached on issues such as:

Agreement on the Application and Interpretation of Articles VI, XVI and XXIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (subsidies and countervailing measures);

Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade;

Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures;

Government Procurement Agreement;

Agreement on the Application of Article VII of GATT (Customs Valuation);

Agreement on the Application of Article VI of the GATT (anti-dumping measures);

Beef Agreement;

International Dairy Agreement;

Agreement on Trade in Civil Aviation Equipment.

Each of us regularly hears about the WTO in the news. Information about this organization can also be found in textbooks on geography and economics. Its activities are very important for European countries, but our compatriots know little about it. Recently, such a topic as “Russia and the WTO” has been very actively discussed. And in the wake of increased interest, let's try to understand this complex economic and political issue.

Structure and organization

So, WTO - what is it? as a "world trade organization". It was founded in 1995 to expand freedom of trade relations throughout the world, as well as between countries that have joined the WTO. The basis was the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs, created in 1947.

The headquarters of the organization is located in Switzerland (Geneva). Currently, the general director of the structure is Pascal Lamy, and as of mid-2013 it included 159 countries. Subordinate to the General Director is the General Council or Secretariat, which in turn manages several commissions.

The main official body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference. It meets at least once every two years. Over the entire history of the structure’s existence, six such conferences were organized, and almost each of them was accompanied by a number of protest actions by enemies of globalization. We think we have answered the question: “WTO, what is it?” Now let's move on to consider the goals of this organization.

Three main goals

1. Unimpeded facilitation of international trade and the removal of barriers that impede this. The WTO organization does not allow negative consequences and various abuses. For individual entrepreneurs, enterprises and departmental organizations, international trade standards do not change without warning. Their meaning is clear and understandable, and their application is consistent.

2. Since many countries are involved in signing the texts of agreements, debates constantly arise between them. The WTO acts as a mediator in negotiations, introducing a number of regulatory restrictions and creating reliability that helps avoid conflicts.

3. The third important aspect of the organization's work is dispute resolution. After all, the parties involved in negotiations usually have different goals. Contracts and agreements brokered by the WTO often require further interpretation. It is better to resolve all controversial issues in the manner established by the organization, based on mutually agreed upon legal aspects that provide the parties with equal opportunities and rights. That is why all agreements signed within the organization include a clause on the terms of dispute resolution.

Five principles

Currently, there are five principles that the world trading system must comply with.

1. No discrimination

No state has the right to infringe on another by imposing restrictions on goods. Ideally, national and foreign products should be sold in the country's domestic market under the same conditions.

2. Reducing protectionist (trade) barriers

Trade barriers are factors that prevent the entry of foreign goods into the domestic market of a country. First of all, these include customs duties. Also influenced by the policy of establishing exchange rates and administrative obstacles.

3. Predictability and stability of trading conditions

Governments, investors and foreign companies there must be confidence in immutability trading conditions(tariff and non-tariff barriers) in a sudden and arbitrary manner.

4. Stimulating the competitive component

In order for competition between firms from different countries to be equal, it is necessary to stop unfair methods of struggle - export subsidies (state support for exporting firms) and the use of dumping (specially reduced) prices to enter new export markets.

5. Benefits for countries with low levels of development

As a rule, WTO countries have strong economies, but there are also underdeveloped countries to which the organization provides special privileges. This principle conflicts with others, but it is needed to draw countries with a low level of development into international trade.

Functions

• monitoring compliance with the terms of the basic WTO agreements;
• settlement of disputes on foreign trade issues;
• assistance to both developing and underdeveloped countries;
• cooperation with various ;
• creating favorable conditions for negotiations between WTO members;
• control of countries' policies in the field of international trade.

Joining procedure

We have practically solved the question “WTO - what is it?” It remains to consider its most important part - the accession procedure, worked out over the many years of the organization’s existence. Judging by the experience of applicant countries, the process takes approximately 5-7 years.

At the first stage, special working groups conduct a multilateral analysis of the trade and political regime and economic mechanism of the acceding state for their compliance with the rules and regulations of the WTO. Then negotiations begin on the terms of entry into the organization of the candidate country. Moreover, interested states included in the working groups can also participate in them.

The main topic of the negotiations is “commercially significant” concessions that WTO countries will receive on access to its markets after the candidate state officially joins the organization. An equally important issue for discussion is the timing of accepting obligations arising from membership.

In turn, the acceding state will receive the rights that other WTO members have. This will stop its discrimination in foreign markets. If any member of the organization commits illegal acts, any country can file a complaint with the DSB (Dispute Resolution Authority). At the national level, each WTO participant is obliged to implement its decisions.

The final stage consists of ratification by the legislative body of the candidate state of all documents agreed upon by the Working Group and approved by the General Council. After this procedure, the candidate country receives the appropriate status.

Russia and the WTO

Since the economy of our country (since the collapse of the USSR) has become increasingly integrated into international trade, the need to enter the world stage began to arise. For the first time, accession to the WTO was discussed by the Russian leadership back in 1995, and negotiations were held at the same time. There will be many benefits for a country to join this organization. And given the pace of globalization, obtaining them becomes a strategic priority. Bonuses that Russia will receive after joining the WTO:

In 2012, the 16-year negotiation process on Russia's accession to the WTO. An international treaty was sent to the Constitutional Court to verify its compliance with Russian legislation. In July 2012, the court recognized the terms of the WTO agreement spelled out in the agreement as legal, as well as the entire agreement. After 11 days, President Putin V.V. signed a corresponding decree on Russia's entry into this organization.

Criticism

We hope that we have described this organization in sufficient detail, and you will no longer have the question: “WTO - what is it?” In conclusion, a few words about criticism.

Many people disagree with the WTO's principles; they believe that rather than creating a more prosperous life for the majority of citizens, these principles only lead to the enrichment of already wealthy countries (and individuals). WTO treaties have also been accused of giving unfair priority to wealthy states and multinational corporations.

Critics believe that small WTO member countries have no influence in the organization, while developed ones concentrate solely on their own commercial interests. Also, according to experts, environmental protection and health issues are always relegated to the background in favor of additional benefits for business.

International trade negotiations in the WTO, as in the GATT, are held in rounds. First, the participants agree on the agenda for the future round, then the highest body of the WTO - the Ministerial Conference - makes a decision to launch the round, and negotiations begin on all items on its agenda. Traditionally, the WTO follows the “package principle”, according to which a round does not end until solutions are found on all issues on its agenda.

The results of the last, Uruguay round of GATT (1986-1994, which, in fact, resulted in the creation of the WTO) were largely incomplete. Many WTO members were interested in further improvement trading system.

The new (current) round of multilateral trade negotiations was launched during the Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference, held in November 2001 in the capital of Qatar, Doha. It was called the Doha Round. WTO members managed to agree on an agenda for multilateral negotiations that was very broad in scope and ambitious in terms of its stated results - the so-called Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

The stated objective of the round is to continue the reform process and further liberalize trade policies, while paying particular attention to the development needs of developing and least developed countries.

The round's agenda is based on three documents:

Ministerial Declaration containing the program for the round (Doha Ministerial Declaration);

Declaration of Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights and Health Issues;

Decision on the application of existing WTO agreements and existing problems in this area.

In accordance with the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the “single package” of the round included the following negotiation tracks:

· services,

· Agriculture,

· access to industrial goods markets (NAMA – non-agricultural market access),

· trade and environment,

· WTO rules regarding subsidies and anti-dumping,

· regional trade agreements, as well as

· so-called “Singapore issues” (issues on which the decision to launch negotiations was made at the WTO Ministerial Conference in Singapore in 1998 - investment regulation, competition, transparency in government procurement and trade facilitation).

In addition, as part of the round, negotiations are being held to improve the dispute settlement system. However, this area is not part of the “single package”, since WTO members did not want to make the solution to this key issue dependent on agreements on other elements of the negotiating agenda.

Technical negotiations on key topics - agriculture, NAMA, services - are organized in such a way as to first agree on the modalities - the parameters of the final agreements in each of the areas. Modalities are the basis for discussing specific numbers and formulations.

In accordance with the Doha Declaration, the round was planned to be completed by January 2005, however, this deadline was never met. Due to the wide scope of the agenda and the sensitivity of the negotiating topics, the round stalled. The main stumbling block was agriculture - one of the most sensitive sectors of the economy for both developed and developing countries.

Developing countries see one of the key objectives of the round to be reducing the support and level of protection for agriculture in developed countries. In turn, developed countries want to achieve improved access to markets for goods and services of developing countries, primarily the most developed of them (China, Brazil, India).

In February 2008, the Action Plan prepared by then WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy was approved. The plan set the next deadline for completing the Doha Round negotiations - the end of 2008, and also proposed completing the agreement on modalities on agriculture and NAMA.

The draft modalities, which were the subject of intensive negotiations during 2008, included, among other things, the following important elements of the agreement.

→ Reduction of tariffs on industrial goods according to the Swiss harmonization formula, according to which higher tariff rates are primarily subject to reduction (for developed and developing countries, the reduction coefficients are different, suggesting more preferential conditions for developing countries);

→ The volume of benefits for developing countries directly depends on the tariff reduction coefficient they choose (countries that make larger reductions according to the formula will be able to remove sensitive tariff lines from reduction obligations to a greater extent or reduce tariffs for these goods to a lesser extent) ;

→ Decrease in overall support to agriculture in the US (by about 70% - from 48.2 billion US dollars to about 14.5 billion US dollars) and the EU (by about 80% - 110.3 billion euros to about 24.3 billion euros);

→ Abolition of export subsidies by 2013 (for developing countries - by 2016);

→ Reducing tariffs on sensitive goods by a smaller amount in exchange for expanding tariff quotas.

P. Lamy estimates that by the end of 2008, about 80% of modalities were agreed upon. However, the issues of creating a special protective mechanism (SPM) for developing countries, cotton trade and sectoral initiatives (primarily on industrial equipment, electronics and electrical products, chemical industry).

After 2008, the negotiating activity of WTO members decreased noticeably. Current trade problems related to the global financial and economic crisis have come to the fore. 17 countries from the Group of 20 have taken measures aimed at restricting trade. The number of anti-dumping and special protective measures has increased sharply.

Among the main reasons for the situation created in the Doha Round is the discrepancy between the approaches of developed and developing countries regarding the concept of the “Development Round”. For the former, the current round remains a tool for implementing a new wave of liberalization of world markets, especially the markets of leading developing countries. Developing countries, in turn, seek to use the Round to change the balance of power in the system of international trade and economic relations, eliminate discrimination against their goods, and protect national industry.

The composition of the key participants in the negotiations has changed. The “authorship” of the results of the Uruguay Round belongs to a limited group of countries, primarily the so-called. Quad group - USA, EU, Japan and Canada. The rest, including most developing countries, were left to tacitly approve of these results. Now many dynamically developing economies are loudly defending their interests in negotiations. A “new quad group” has emerged - the USA, the EU, Brazil, India. The balance of power was radically changed by the entry into active negotiations of China, which for several years after joining the WTO in 2001 maintained a passive position in the organization.

There was and is no unity among the developed countries themselves on many key issues. As a result, WTO members found themselves, in a certain sense, “hostage” to the principle of consensus – fundamental principle WTO. Every step along the path of liberalization faces opposition from one or another interest group. Even the positions of those countries that are aimed at further liberalization are not always clear.

We must not forget that many of the topics of the New Round are aimed at eliminating “gray areas” and controversial issues in the WTO agreements. However, countries are often more comfortable with the existing uncertainty, which allows them to circumvent WTO rules in their own interests.

The deadlock at the Doha round of negotiations began to be mentioned more and more often in the context of the thesis about the general crisis of multilateralism in the system international relations. Experts understood that the WTO’s “credit of trust,” as well as its “credit of time,” was becoming less and less. Great hopes were associated with the 9th Ministerial Conference of the Organization in December 2013 on the island. Bali, which was seen by many as critical to the future development of the multilateral trading system and the fate of the WTO itself.

During 2012-2013 the WTO continued to search for any opportunities to move from “ dead center» multilateral trade negotiations. Discussions were held around the concept of the so-called. “early harvest”, which implies reaching compromises on individual issues of the Doha Agenda and implementing these agreements “on a temporary or permanent basis” until the end of the round as a whole, as provided for in the Doha Declaration itself (paragraph 47).

The position of the former WTO Director General P. Lamy was that it is necessary to conduct a cautious forward movement on those tracks where the result is visible in principle, in order to then try to spread the progress to other negotiating areas. Over the course of these two years, negotiators concentrated their efforts on finding compromise solutions on trade facilitation, special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries, as well as on certain agricultural issues. These areas were considered as the main candidates for the formation of the “basket of early agreements” that WTO members tried to prepare for the Bali Conference.

As a result, during the December 2013 Ministerial Conference, WTO members managed to agree on the text of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, as well as a number of decisions on agriculture and facilitating market access for least developed countries. But the most important achievement of the Bali Conference was that it gave political impetus to intensify further negotiations. With the adoption of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, the WTO demonstrated that the multilateral trade system remained viable. The Ministerial Declaration instructed to develop a post-Bali WTO agenda on the remaining issues of the Doha Round within twelve months.

However, currently the situation at the Doha round of WTO trade negotiations continues to remain tense. Against the background of many years of lack of real progress in achieving package agreements of the round, there is growing confidence in the impossibility of reaching an agreement on the entire set of trade liberalization measures envisaged by the ambitious Doha Plan more than 10 years ago. As before, the “critical mass” of positivity necessary to reach substantive agreements on the Doha agenda is not visible.

In July 2015, WTO members stated the impossibility of fulfilling the mandate of the 9th Ministerial Conference to develop a post-Bali work program. Groupings of developed and developing countries continue to occupy radically different positions on the volume and distribution of commitments that should be the outcome of the Doha Round. Demands from developing countries to fully realize the development assistance potential laid down in the Doha Round are met with increasingly persistent calls from the West to recalibrate elements of the agreements.

Externally, this contradiction manifested itself, in particular, in the form of disagreements between the United States and China on the issue of reducing state support Agriculture. The Americans declare their unwillingness to extend to China the preferential conditions for reducing subsidies provided for developing countries.

In the context of preparations for the next WTO Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in December 2015, members of the Organization are trying to decide on approaches to two key issues: whether a “minimum package” is possible within Doha, and whether it can lead to the completion of the round.

The United States is insisting on a “minimum package” for the 10th Doha Ministerial Conference, with the adoption of which the “Development Round” can be considered officially completed. The Americans believe that such a “minimum package” could include limiting the conditions of export competition (export subsidies, export credits, state-owned enterprises and food aid) and strengthening provisions in the WTO agreements on transparency. At the same time, Washington is demanding preferential terms for reducing export credit terms. At the same time, there is still no unity among developed countries on many key issues. Thus, Brussels demands that the United States reduce the terms of export credits. In the EU's understanding, it would also be highly desirable to agree in Nairobi on a “substantive package” for the Doha Round, including agriculture, NAMA and services.

Representatives of developing countries are concerned possible refusal developed countries from previously agreed arrangements. India is not ready to complete Doha without securing benefit for developing countries under the safeguard mechanism for agricultural products. Brazil - without WTO members cutting tariffs and domestic subsidies in agriculture. China took a special position. For him, the implementation of a new wave of liberalization of world markets is of secondary importance. Beijing’s task is to defend the concept of a “development round”, i.e. special benefits for developing countries, to which China considers itself. Completing Doha with a “minimum package” is unacceptable for Beijing.

Thus, in the year of its 20th anniversary, on the eve of the 10th Ministerial Conference, the WTO, as a platform for developing new rules of world trade and a driving force for liberalizing market access, once again found itself in a deep crisis, the prospects for its successful resolution look very doubtful.

The World Trade Organization (WTO; English World Trade Organization (WTO), French Organization mondiale du commerce (OMC), Spanish Organización Mundial del Comercio) is an international organization created on January 1, 1995 with the aim of liberalizing international trade and regulating trade -political relations of member states. The WTO was formed on the basis of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded in 1947 and for almost 50 years, which actually performed the functions of an international organization, but was not, however, an international organization in the legal sense.

The WTO is responsible for introducing new details, and also ensures that members of the organization comply with all agreements signed by most countries of the world and ratified by their parliaments. The WTO builds its activities based on decisions taken in 1986-1994. under the Uruguay Round and earlier GATT agreements.

Discussing problems and making decisions on global problems liberalization and prospects for the further development of world trade take place within the framework of multilateral trade negotiations (rounds). To date, 8 rounds of such negotiations have been held, including Uruguay, and in 2001 the ninth started in Doha, Qatar. The organization is trying to complete negotiations on the Doha Round, which was launched with a clear focus on meeting the needs of developing countries.

The World Trade Organization (WTO), created in 1995, replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as the sole international body dealing with the global rules of trade between nations. It is not a specialized agency, but it has mechanisms and practices for cooperation with the United Nations.

The objectives of the WTO are to help streamline trade within a rules-based system; objective settlement of trade disputes between governments; organizing trade negotiations. These activities are based on 60 WTO agreements - the main legal norms of policy international commerce and trade.

The principles on which these agreements are based include non-discrimination (most favored nation treatment and national treatment clause), freer terms of trade, promotion of competition and additional provisions for least developed countries. One of the goals of the WTO is to combat protectionism. The task of the WTO is not to achieve any goals or results, but to establish general principles international trade.

According to the declaration, the work of the WTO, like the GATT before it, is based on basic principles, including:

Equal rights. All WTO members are required to provide most favored nation (MFN) trade treatment to all other members. The MFN principle means that preferences granted to one of the WTO members automatically apply to all other members of the organization in any case.

Reciprocity. All concessions in easing bilateral trade restrictions must be reciprocal, eliminating the “free-rider problem.”

Transparency. WTO members must publish their trade rules in full and have authorities responsible for providing information to other WTO members.

Creating ongoing obligations. Countries' trade tariff obligations are regulated primarily by WTO bodies rather than by relationships between countries. And if the terms of trade in a country in a particular sector deteriorate, the aggrieved party may seek compensation in other sectors.

Safety valves. In some cases, the government is able to impose trade restrictions. The WTO Agreement allows members to take measures not only to protect environment, but also to support public health, animal and plant health.

There are three types of activities in this direction:

Articles allowing the use of trade measures to achieve non-economic objectives;

Articles aimed at ensuring “fair competition”;. Members should not use environmental protection as a means to disguise protectionist policies;

Provisions allowing interference with trade for economic reasons.

Exceptions to the MFN principle also include developing and least developed countries that have preferential treatment in the WTO, regional free trade areas and customs unions.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created as a result of years of negotiations as part of the Uruguay Round, which ended in December 1993.

The WTO was officially established at a conference in Marrakesh in April 1994 by the Agreement Establishing the WTO, also known as the Marrakesh Agreement.

In addition to the main text, the document contains 4 appendices:

Appendix 1A:

Multilateral agreements on trade in goods:

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1994, which defines the basis of the trade regime in goods, the rights and obligations of WTO members in this area.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 1947, which defines the basis of the trade regime in goods, the rights and obligations of WTO members in this area.

Agreement on Agriculture, which defines the specifics of regulating trade in agricultural goods and mechanisms for applying measures of state support for production and trade in this sector.

Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which defines the specifics of regulating trade in textiles and clothing.

Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards, which defines the conditions for the application of sanitary and phytosanitary control measures.

Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, which defines the conditions for the application of standards, technical regulations, and certification procedures.

Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures, which prohibits the use of a limited range of trade policy measures that could affect foreign investment and be qualified as contrary to Article III of the GATT (National Treatment) and Article XI (Prohibition of Quantitative Restrictions).

Agreement on the Application of Article VII of GATT 1994 (Customs Valuation of Goods), which defines the rules for assessing the customs value of goods.

Pre-Shipment Inspection Agreement, which defines the conditions for pre-shipment inspections.

Agreement on rules of origin, which defines rules of origin as the set of laws, regulations and rules for determining the country of origin of goods.

Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, which establishes import licensing procedures and forms.

Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, which defines the conditions and procedures for the application of subsidies and measures aimed at combating subsidies.

Agreement on the application of Article VI of GATT 1994 (anti-dumping), which defines the conditions and procedures for the application of measures to combat dumping.

Agreement on protective measures, which defines the conditions and procedures for applying measures to counter growing imports.

Appendix 1B:

The General Agreement on Trade in Services, which defines the basis of the regime for trade in services, the rights and obligations of WTO members in this area.

Appendix 1C:

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, which defines the rights and obligations of WTO members in the area of ​​intellectual property protection.

Appendix 2:

An understanding regarding the rules and procedures for dispute resolution, which sets out the terms and procedures for resolving disputes between WTO members in connection with their performance of obligations under all WTO agreements.

Appendix 3:

Trade Policy Review Mechanism, which defines the terms and general parameters of trade policy reviews of WTO members.

Appendix 4:

Non-binding multilateral trade agreements for all WTO members:

Agreement on Trade in Civil Aviation Equipment, which defines the parties' obligations to liberalize trade in this sector.

Agreement on Government Procurement, which establishes procedures for the admission of foreign companies to national procurement systems for government needs.

The WTO headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Organizational structure of the WTO.

The official supreme body of the organization is the WTO Ministerial Conference, which meets at least once every two years. During the existence of the WTO, eight such conferences were held, almost each of which was accompanied by active protests from opponents of globalization.

The Ministerial Conference is the highest body of the WTO, consisting of representatives of member states. Meetings of the Ministerial Conference are held in accordance with Article 4 of the Marrakesh Agreement establishing the World Trade Organization of April 15, 1994, every two years or more often.

To date, 9 conferences have been held:

1. First conference - Singapore (December 1996). 4 working groups were created - on government transparency. procurement; trade promotion (customs), trade and investment; trade and competition. These groups are also known as Singapore issues;

2. Second Conference - Geneva (May 1998);

3. Third conference - Seattle (November 1999). A week before the conference, there was no agreement on the list of issues to be discussed, and growing differences between developed and developing countries (agriculture) were also evident. The conference was supposed to be the start of a new round of negotiations, but plans were thwarted by poor organization and street protests. Negotiations broke down and were moved to Doha (2001);

4. Fourth Conference - Doha (November 2001). China's accession to the WTO was approved;

5. Fifth Conference - Cancun (September 2003). 20 developing countries, led by China, India and Brazil, opposed the demand of developed countries to accept the “Singapore issues” and called on them to refuse subsidies to national agricultural producers (primarily in the EU and the USA). The negotiations did not lead to success;

6. Sixth Conference - Hong Kong (December 2005). The conference was marked by numerous protests by South Korean farmers. The conference was intended to complete the Doha Round of agricultural subsidies by 2006. Conference agenda: Further reduction of customs duties; Demand to stop direct subsidies to agriculture; A separate requirement for the EU regarding the Unified Agricultural Products; Singapore issues - a requirement for developed countries to introduce more transparent legislation in the field of investment, competition, government. procurement and trade facilitation;

7. Seventh Conference - Geneva (November 2009). At this conference, ministers retrospectively reviewed the work done by the WTO. According to the schedule, the conference did not hold negotiations on the Doha Round of negotiations;

8. Eighth Conference - Geneva (December 2011). In parallel to the plenary session, three working sessions were held on “The Importance of the Multilateral Trading System and the WTO”, “Trade and Development” and “The Doha Development Agenda”. The conference approved the accession of Russia, Samoa and Montenegro;

9. Ninth Conference - Bali (December 2013). Yemen's accession approved.

The organization is headed by CEO with the corresponding secretariat subordinate to it. Subordinate to the Council is special commission on the trade policy of participating countries, designed to monitor the implementation of their obligations under the WTO. In addition to general executive functions, The General Council manages several more commissions created on the basis of agreements concluded within the WTO.

The most important of them are: the Council on Trade in Goods (the so-called GATT Council), the Council on Trade in Services and the Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. In addition, under the General Council there are many other committees and working groups designed to provide the highest bodies of the WTO with information on developing countries, fiscal policy, fiscal issues, etc.

In accordance with the adopted “Understanding on the Rules and Procedures Governing the Resolution of Disputes” arising between WTO member states, the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) is responsible for resolving disagreements. This quasi-judicial institution is designed to impartially and effectively resolve disputes between the parties. De facto, its functions are performed by the WTO General Council, which makes decisions based on reports of arbitration panels dealing with a particular dispute. In the years since the founding of the WTO, the OPC has been forced many times to resolve complex, often quite politicized, trade problems between influential WTO member states. Many decisions of the DSB over the past years are perceived ambiguously.

The WTO includes 159 members, including: 155 internationally recognized UN member states, 1 partially recognized state - Republic of China(Taiwan), 2 dependent territories - Hong Kong and Macau, as well as the European Union (EU). To join the WTO, a state must submit a memorandum through which the WTO reviews the trade and economic policies of the organization concerned.

Member States of the World Trade Organization: Australia, Austria, Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bahrain, Belize, Belgium, Benin, Bulgaria, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi , Vanuatu, UK, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, Gabon, Haiti, Guyana, Gambia, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Germany, Honduras, Hong Kong, Grenada, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, DRC, European Community, Egypt, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Israel, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Ireland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Cape Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, Kenya, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, China, Colombia, Congo , Republic of Korea, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Kuwait, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Mauritania, Madagascar, Macau, Republic of Macedonia, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Maldives, Malta, Morocco , Mexico, Mozambique, Moldova, Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Norway, UAE, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia , Rwanda, Romania, El Salvador, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland, Senegal, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Suriname, USA, Sierra Leone, Thailand , Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Fiji, Philippines, Finland, France, Croatia, Central African Republic, Chad, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden, Sri Lanka, Ecuador , Estonia, South Africa, Jamaica, Japan.

Observers to the WTO are: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vatican City, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Comoros, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia.

Countries that are neither members nor observers to the WTO: Abkhazia, Anguilla, Aruba, East Timor, Jersey, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Western Sahara, Cayman Islands, Kiribati, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kosovo, Cook Islands, Curacao, Monaco, Montserrat, Nauru, Niue, Palau , San Marino, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, Sint Maarten, Somalia, Tokelau, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, Turkmenistan, Federated States of Micronesia, Eritrea, South Ossetia, South Sudan.

The heads of the WTO were:

Robert Azevedo, since 2013

Pascal Lamy, 2005-2013

Supachai Panitchpakdi, 2002-2005

Mike Moore, 1999-2002

Renato Ruggiero, 1995-1999

Peter Sutherland, 1995

The heads of the WTO's predecessor, GATT, were:

Peter Sutherland, 1993-1995

Arthur Dunkel, 1980-1993

Oliver Long, 1968-1980

Eric Wyndham White, 1948-1968

World Trade Organization (WTO - English World Trade Organization (WTO))- an organization created in 1995 with the aim of establishing international trade and establishing regulation of trade and political relations of member states. The WTO began as a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded in 1947.

World Trade Organization WTO is a community of countries that recognize its Charter and adhere to the main agreements governing foreign trade. Currently, the WTO is not a UN body and has mechanisms for resolving trade issues between member states.

The WTO headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland. The organization includes both developed and developing countries from all continents. Initially, there were 77 countries participating in the World Trade Organization. It currently has 162 members (158 internationally recognized states, Taiwan, 2 dependent territories and the European Union).

What tasks does the WTO perform?

The tasks of the WTO include:

• monitoring the implementation of agreements and understandings of the Uruguay Round package of documents;
• conducting multilateral trade negotiations between interested member countries;
• resolution of trade disputes;
• monitoring national trade policies of member countries;
• cooperation with international specialized organizations.

WTO rules regulate only trade and economic issues. In general, the WTO promotes the ideas of free trade, seeking to remove any protectionist barriers.

What does joining the WTO give a country?

The main benefits of WTO membership are:

• assistance in creating favorable conditions on the international trade market in the form of the development of stable, strong trade relations between participating countries (including assistance in creating favorable conditions in foreign economic policy);
• elimination of all discrimination, protection of interests, both national and common, of WTO member countries if they are infringed upon by other partner countries;
• assistance in the implementation of planned plans, the emergence of new trade and economic interests.

All countries that have joined the World Trade Organization undertake to comply with the terms of agreements, legal documents, which are combined under the single term “Multilateral Trade Agreement” (MTA). In other words, the organization provides a package of agreements (contracts), rules, and certain norms that govern all global trade.

From international organizations The World Bank, the UN and the IMF received observer status.

Is Russia a member of the WTO?

Negotiations on Russia's accession to the WTO lasted 18 years. The Russian Federation became a full member of the organization on August 22, 2012. The most difficult negotiations were with the United States and the European Union. In particular, for a long time it was not possible to resolve issues with Washington regarding access to Russian market American pork and on the protection of intellectual property rights, with the EU - on export duties on timber, on agriculture, on the conditions for the industrial assembly of cars in the Russian Federation.

Useful articles on the topic

Fortrader Suite 11, Second Floor, Sound & Vision House, Francis Rachel Str. Victoria Victoria, Mahe, Seychelles

home » How to earn » Which organization was the predecessor of the WTO? WTO (World Trade Organization). There are three types of activities in this direction