ORIGIN

• Formed on 1 January 1995

• Head quarters at Geneva, Switzerland
• Members – 164 countries
• WTO is a successor to GATT originated in 1947
• The WTO was born out of negotiations and everything WTO does
is the result of negotiations
STRUCTURE
• Highest authority: The Ministerial Conference
• Second level : General Council in three guises
- the general council
- the dispute settlement body
- the trade policy review body
• Third level – councils for each body area of trade
- council for trade in goods ( goods council )
- council for trade in services ( service council )
- council for trade related aspects of intellectual property rights
( TRIPS )
 ACHIEVEMENTS
• Global facilitation of trade
• Improved economic growth
• Increased global value chains
• Upliftment of poor countries
FAILURES
• Free trade benefits developed countries more than developing countries
• Most favored nation principle
• Failure to reduce tariffs on agriculture
• Diversification
• Environment
• Free trade ignores cultural and social factors
• WTO criticized for being undemocratic
• Slow progress