World Trade Organization (WTO)

 WTO is the only intergovernmental organization which regulates international trade.

 The WTO officially commenced under the Marrakesh Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

 The WTO deals with regulation of trade between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process,

 These agreements are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments.

 The WTO has 164 members and 22 observer governments, with Afghanistan the latest to join.

 WTO members do not have to be fully independent states; they need only be a customs territory with full autonomy in the conduct of their external commercial relations eg: Hong Kong.

 The WTO is attempting to complete negotiations on the Doha Development Round, which was launched in 2001 with an explicit focus on developing countries.

 Due to various obstacles it impossible to launch new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round.

 The highest decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which usually meets every two years.

 Five principles which WTO follows are non-discrimination, reciprocity, binding and enforceable commitments, transparency, safety values.

 The operation of the WTO dispute settlement process involves case-specific panels appointed by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB), the Appellate Body, The Director-General and the WTO Secretariat, arbitrators, and advisory experts.