GATT & WTO

Following the economic depression of the 1930s

and the end of World War II, several of the worlds developed countries set out to create an open trade system that would benefit the economies of all countries. They decided to create an institution that would cooperate with the World Bank and International Monetary Fund established under the Bretton Woods conference which would address trade issues.

first, negotiators attempted to establish an

International Trade Organization (ITO) as a specialized agency of the United Nations that would address direct trade barriers as well as indirect barriers such as employment, restrictive business practices and investment.

These negotiations involved over 50 countries

with the goal of creating the ITO officially at a UN

Conference on Trade and Employment in Havana, Cuba in 1947.

The ITO

was not approved or signed by the United

States and several other countries and was never put into effect. In its place, 23 countries formed the provisional

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

to govern international trade on October 30, 1947 which served 1994 as the only multilateral instrument governing international trade until the establishment of the WTO in

General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade (GATT)

One of the main goals of

the

General

Agreement

on

Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was to lower trade barriers and create a nondiscriminatory trade system. The contracting parties of GATT met periodically for

negotiations known as rounds.

ROUNDS COVERED UNDER GATT

Year 1947 Place / Name Geneva Subjects Covered Tariffs
Countries

23

1949
1951 1956 1960 1961 1964 1967 1973 1979

Annecy
Torquay Geneva Dillon Round Kennedy Round Tokyo Round

Tariffs
Tariffs Tariffs Tariffs Tariffs and Anti-Dumping Measures Tariffs, Non-tariff Measures, Framework Agreements

13
38 26 26 62 102

1986 1994

Uruguay Round

Tariffs, Non-tariff Measures, Rules, Services, Intellectual Property, Dispute Settlement, Textiles, Agriculture, Creation of WTO

123

 Initially, the rounds dealt primarily with lowering tariffs but later expanded to include anti-dumping measures and other non-tariff barriers to trade. The first round produced a package of trade rules and

45,000

tariff

concessions

though

Protocol

of

Provisional Application that affected about one-fifth of world trade

In the mid-1960s, the Kennedy Round brought about

the . GATT Anti-Dumping Agreement The Tokyo Round of the 1970s addressed nontariff barriers to trade in the hopes of improving the system and reduced tariffs bringing the average tariff on industrial products down to 4.7%.

The last of these rounds was the Uruguay Round

which was negotiated from 1986-1994. The Uruguay Round ultimately created the permanent structure of the World Trade Organization and also expanded the trading system to include intellectual property and the trading of services.

World Trade Organization (W.T.O.)

What is the WTO?
A global organisation dealing with rules of trade
between nations. The World Trade Organization (WTO) was formally created on January 1, 1995

WTO incorporated The agreements reached during the Uruguay Round, The principles of the former GATT, A stronger dispute resolution process, and

Bodies to oversee new trade agreements and

monitor the current trade policies of its members. The WTO is located in Geneva, Switzerland and includes

153 members who represent over 95% of world trade.

The WTO is highly structured and includes the Ministerial Conference, the General

Council,

Goods

Council,

Services
Council, working

Council,
numerous and

Intellectual specialized working parties.

Property committees,

groups

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF WTO

Ministerial Conference