Role of WTO in international trade
Role of world trade organization in international business and arguments about its helpfulness
International Business Environment:
The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization that assists the nations in regulating trade in manufactured goods, services (including banking, insurance, tourism and telecommunications), intellectual property, textiles and clothing and agricultural products (Richard Schaffer, 1996). The WTO replaced GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ) as the world's global trading body in 1995, and the current set of governing rules stems from the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, which took place throughout 1986-1994. While WTO is relatively young organization the multilateral trading system was originally set up under GATT about 50 years ago. The GATT preamble (1947) states that "trade and economic endeavour should be conducted with a view to raising standards of living, ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing volume of real income." These basic objectives were reinforced in the Marrakech Agreement, which established the WTO.
The WTO's overriding objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably (www.wto.org), its central principle is the dispute settlement mechanism, a system that underscores the rule of law and is based on clearly defined rules and timetables for settling disputes. WTO members agree that they will use the multilateral system to settle their trade disputes instead of taking unilateral action. Reducing the scope for unilateral action is an important guarantee of fair trade for less powerful countries (Yin and McGee, 2001). WTO aims to achieve its goals by,
* Administering trade agreements
* Acting as a forum for trade negotiations
* Settling trade disputes
* Reviewing national trade policies
* Assisting developing countries in trade policy issues, through technical assistance and training programmes
* Cooperating with other international organizations
International Business Environment:
The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization that assists the nations in regulating trade in manufactured goods, services (including banking, insurance, tourism and telecommunications), intellectual property, textiles and clothing and agricultural products (Richard Schaffer, 1996). The WTO replaced GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ) as the world's global trading body in 1995, and the current set of governing rules stems from the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, which took place throughout 1986-1994. While WTO is relatively young organization the multilateral trading system was originally set up under GATT about 50 years ago. The GATT preamble (1947) states that "trade and economic endeavour should be conducted with a view to raising standards of living, ensuring full employment and a large and steadily growing volume of real income." These basic objectives were reinforced in the Marrakech Agreement, which established the WTO.
The WTO's overriding objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably (www.wto.org), its central principle is the dispute settlement mechanism, a system that underscores the rule of law and is based on clearly defined rules and timetables for settling disputes. WTO members agree that they will use the multilateral system to settle their trade disputes instead of taking unilateral action. Reducing the scope for unilateral action is an important guarantee of fair trade for less powerful countries (Yin and McGee, 2001). WTO aims to achieve its goals by,
* Administering trade agreements
* Acting as a forum for trade negotiations
* Settling trade disputes
* Reviewing national trade policies
* Assisting developing countries in trade policy issues, through technical assistance and training programmes
* Cooperating with other international organizations