Introduction to the WTO,

Principles and Agreements

1
Outline of the presentation
Brief History: From the GATT to the WTO

What is the WTO?

Basic Principles

The Doha Development Agenda (DDA)

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Brief History: From the GATT
to the WTO
 Origins of the GATT: 1945

/ End of World War II

/ Effort to reconstruct world economy
/ Reorganisation of the international community 4
 GATT: 1947

/ The Havana - UN Conference on Trade and

Employment
/ Charter of the ITO (never entered into force)
/ General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade / GATT
(entered into force on 1 January 1948)
5
/ Tariff Negotiations (linked to the GATT)
 Tariffs negotiations
1948 Entry into force of the GATT (Provisional
Application)
1949 “Annecy Round” TARIFF

1951 “Torquay Round” TARIFF

1956 “Geneva Round” TARIFF

1960-62 “Dillon Round” TARIFF

1964-67 “Kennedy Round” NTMs - TARIFF

1973-79 “Tokyo Round” NTMs - TARIFF

1986-94 “Uruguay Round” NTMs, Tariff, TRIPS,

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Dispute settlement, rules, services...
Overall, import weighted tariff on
industrial products
≈ 40%

> 4%

7
Tariffs / Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade

% tari
ff s B s
N T
?

1947 2004
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What is the WTO?
 What is the WTO?
Location Geneva, Switzerland

Established 1 January 1995

Created by Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)

Membership 153 Members

Staff 700
Budget (2009) 190 millions Swiss francs
+ extra-budgetary funds
(about 25 millions Swiss francs)
Head Pascal Lamy (director-general)
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Website www.wto.org
 What is the WTO?

Trade in goods: GATT

Cornerstone of the Trade in services: GATS

multilateral trading system
Protection of intellectual
property rights: TRIPS

Rights and obligations

The WTO contract
Dispute settlement
11
 Forum? Rules?

What is the WTO?

Disputes? Member-
Driven?

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 What is the WTO?
Administering WTO trade agreements

Forum for trade negotiations

Handling trade disputes

Functions
Monitoring national trade policies

Technical assistance and training for

developing countries

Co-operation with other international

organizations
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 WTO: Objectives
Raise standards of living

Ensure full employment

Growing volume of real income and effective demand

Preamble
WTO Agr.
Expanding the production of and trade in goods and services

Seeking both to protect and preserve the environment

To secure for developing countries, and especially for LDCs,

a share in the growth in international trade commensurate
with the needs of their economic development

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The WTO Agreements

Marrakesh Agreement
Establishing the World
Trade Organization

Annex 1A (Goods + National

Tariff Concessions)
Annex 1B (Services + Specific
Commitments)
Annex 1C (Intellectual
Property)
Annex 2 (Dispute Settlement)
Annex 3 (Trade Policy Review
Mechanism)
Annex 4 (Plurilateral Ag.)
Decisions, Declarations

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 WTO : Structure
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Appellate
Appellate
Body
Body
TPRB
TPRB GENERAL COUNCIL DSB
DSB
Panel
Panel

Council
Council for
for Council
Council for
for TRIPS
TRIPS Committees
Committees
Trade
Trade in
in Trade
Trade in
in Council
Council Working
Working
Goods
Goods Services
Services Groups
Groups
Committees
Committees Committees
Committees

Secretariat
Consensus
(WTO) 16
Decision-making
WTO vs. GATT: Main differences
Provisional Application Indefinite Application

ICITO Establishing an
Organization (WTO)
Rules and Disciplines Rules and Disciplines
for Trade in Goods for Trade in Goods
Agriculture / Textiles
Trade in Services
Trade-related IPR
Two-track system Single Undertaking
Decisions by Consensus Voting Procedures but
GATT practice
(Consensus) followed
Weaker Dispute Strong Dispute
Settlement Mecanism Settlement Mechanism 17
23 CP in 1948 153 Members in 2010
Basic Principles

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 Aim of the multilateral
trading system

Right to Take Avoid Unnecessary

Regulatory Obstacles to Trade
Measures

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 Basic Principles

MFN
Trade Without Discrimination
National Treatment

Predictable & Growing Access To Markets

Undistorted, Fair Competition

Transparency

Encourage Development
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 GATT Core Principles

Article I: The Principle of

non-discrimination
The Most Favoured
Nation

Article III:
The National Treatment

Article XI:
The Prohibition on
quantitative restrictions
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 Most-Favoured Nation Principle (MFN)

No discrimination
between like products /
services originating in
or destined for
different countries.
Each trading partner
gets immediately and
unconditionally the
best treatment given to
any other trading
partner
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 National Treatment
Foreign goods,
services and service
providers, as well as
IPR holders must not
be discriminated
against vis-à-vis
domestic goods,
services, and services
providers, as well as
IPR holders.

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 Quantitative Restrictions
GATT Art. XI:1
No prohibitions or restrictions
other than duties, taxes or
other charges, whether made
effective through quotas,
import or export licenses or
other measures, shall be
instituted or maintained by any
Member on the importation of
any product of the territory of
any other Member or on the
exportation or sale for export
of any product destined for the
territory of any other Member.

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The Doha Development Agenda
(DDA)

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A Forum for Negotiations
Negotiations between whom?

developing countries

least-developed countries

developed countries

(other groupings)

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 Austria Armenia
Belgium Bulgaria FY Rep Macedonia US Albania
Cyprus Czech R G–90 Croatia
Denmark Estonia Finland G–1 Georgia
France Germany Greece Jordan
LDCs Moldova
Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia
Lithuania Luxembourg Bangladesh Oman
Cambodia Chad
Malta Netherlands Poland
Maldives Burkina Faso ACP Recent new
Portugal Romania Slovakia
Slovenia Spain Myanmar Burundi Togo
Sweden UK Nepal Central African Rep Hong Kong, Ch
EU Djibouti DR Congo Saudi Arabia
Solomon Mali Gambia Guinea
Islands El Salvador
G-27 Guinea Bissau Lesotho Macao, Ch
Malawi Mauritania Niger Singapore
Mexico Sierra Leone Rwanda Gabon Kyrgyz R
G-20 Haiti Ghana Dominica Qatar
Benin Namibia Fiji UAE
India Madagascar Papua New Guinea Brunei
China Senegal Kuwait
Uganda Botswana Belize
Venezuela Barbados Bahrain
Cuba Tanzania Zambia Cameroon Ecuador
Congo Antigua/Barbuda
Indonesia Dominican Rep
Pakistan Côte d’Ivoire
Grenada Guyana
Philippines Kenya
St Vincent/Grenadines
G-33
Chile Mozambique
Trinidad/Tobago Honduras
Brazil Jamaica Suriname
Bolivia Mongolia
Nigeria St Kitts/Nevis
Guatemala Nicaragua
Australia Zimbabwe St Lucia
Uruguay Panama Peru
Canada Mauritius Sri Lanka Turkey
Colombia Thailand
Costa Rica Paraguay
Argentina Angola R Korea
Malaysia Egypt Swaziland
New Zealand
Tunisia Morocco Iceland Israel Japan
Liechtenstein Norway
Cairns Group South African Group G-10 Switzerland
Africa Ch Taipei
 WTO : Negotiating Structure

DSB
DSB (SS)
(SS)

Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC)

GATS
GATS TRIPS
TRIPS CTE
CTE (SS)
(SS)
Council
Council (SS)
(SS) Council
Council (SS)
(SS) CTD
CTD (SS)
(SS)

AG
AG Cttee
Cttee (SS)
(SS) NG
NG on
on MA
MA
NG
NG on
on Rules
Rules
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 Doha Ministerial Declaration

Negotiations Development
Negotiationsinin88specific
specificareas
areas
to
tobe
besupervised
supervisedby
bythe
theTrade
Trade
Negotiating Agriculture
NegotiatingCommittee
Committee(TNC)
(TNC)
Services

Industrial tariffs

WTO rules
Environment
Dispute settlement
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Trade Facilitation
 To recap, 15 years on..

January 1995 Entry into force of the WTO

December 1996 1st Ministerial Conference (Singapore)

May 1998 2nd Ministerial Conference (Geneva)

November 1999 3rd Ministerial Conference (Seattle)

November 2001 4th Ministerial Conference (Doha):

Launch of the Doha Development
Round – DDA 30
 To recap, 15 years on..
Sept. 2003 5th Ministerial Conference (Cancùn)

July 2004 July 2004 Package (Geneva): Negotiations start

again (« framework »); Singapore issues clarified (only
trade facilitation included in Doha Round); Cotton issue
included in agricultural negotiations (Subcommittee)…

Dec. 2005 6th Ministerial Conference (Hong Kong

China): Limited Progress but in the right direction…;
agreement on cotton; Agriculture and NAMA:
framework for full modalities…

July 2006 Negotiations suspended (until Feb 2007)

July 2008 July 2008 Package (Geneva): In agriculture and

non-agricultural market access, intensive negotiations31
produced draft modalities
 To recap, 15 years on..
Dec. 2009 7th Ministerial Conference (Geneva) – non
negotiating meeting.
2010? March Stocktaking in Geneva
Some technical progress, but no breakthrough. Plan to
continue work with Geneva process at centre.

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Thank You

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