World Trade Organization

Created in 1995, the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international institution that oversees the global trade rules among
nations. It superseded the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) created in the wake of World War II.

The WTO is based on agreements signed by the majority of the world’s trading nations. The main function of the organization is to
help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers protect and manage their businesses. As of 2019 the WTO has 164
member countries, with Liberia and Afghanistan the most recent members, having joined in July 2016, and 23
“observer” countries.

Understanding the World Trade Organization

The WTO is essentially an alternative dispute or mediation entity that upholds the international rules of trade among nations. The
organization provides a platform that allows member governments to negotiate and resolve trade issues with other members. The
WTO’s main focus is to provide open lines of communication concerning trade between its members.

For example, the WTO has lowered trade barriers and increased trade among member countries. On the other hand, it has also
maintained trade barriers when it makes sense to do so in the global context. Therefore, the WTO attempts to provide negotiation
mediation that benefits the global economy.

Once negotiations are complete and an agreement is in place, the WTO then offers to interpret that agreement in the event of a
future dispute. All WTO agreements include a settlement process, whereby the organization legally conducts neutral conflict
resolution.

No negotiation, mediation, or resolution would be possible without the foundational WTO agreements. These agreements set the
legal ground rules for international commerce that the WTO oversees. They bind a country’s government to a set of constraints that
must be observed when setting future trade policies. These agreements protect producers, importers, and exporters while
encouraging world governments to meet specific social and environmental standards.

Functions

1. The WTO shall facilitate the implementation, administration and operation and further the objectives of this
Agreement and of the Multilateral Trade Agreements, and shall also provide the framework for the
implementation, administration and operation of the multilateral Trade Agreements.
2. The WTO shall provide the forum for negotiations among its members concerning their multilateral trade
relations in matters dealt with under the Agreement in the Annexes to this Agreement.
3. The WTO shall administer the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of
Disputes.
4. The WTO shall administer Trade Policy Review Mechanism.
5. With a view to achieving greater coherence in global economic policy making, the WTO shall cooperate, as
appropriate, with the international Monetary Fund (IMF) and with the International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and its affiliated agencies.
Pakistan and the WTO
 Pakistan is one of the founder Members of the WTO since 1995, and its predecessor organization the GATT set up in 1948. We
are following an export led growth strategy and as such market access is of vital importance for our businesses. The increase in
preferential arrangements and free trade areas between some members is also eroding our market access. Therefore in order to
maintain current markets and gain new ones for our exportable goods and services we are dependent on the WTO to get tariff and
non-tariff barriers lowered on an MFN basis. Such MFN liberalization effectively levels the playing field for competitive suppliers.

Pakistan has been actively engaged in the Doha round of trade talks that were launched in the Qatari capital in November 2001.
Aptly named the "Doha Development Agenda" (DDA), this round of trade talks has been focusing on removing distortions in the
world agriculture markets and attaining enhanced market access for both products and service providers from Pakistan.

Since 2001, there have two more ministerial conferences in Cancun in 2003 and Hong Kong in 2005 respectively. There have been
many ups and downs in the road to a successful conclusion to the Doha round that takes into account the myriad interests of the
developing membership. There was a breakdown of talks in the summer of 2006 which led many observers to be skeptical of the
entire process. However, sustained efforts by the membership led to a partial resumption of the talks in November 2006 and full
resumption since January 2007 after the annual meeting of the World economic forum at Davos.

Members and observers

The WTO has 164 members and 23 observer governments. Liberia became the 163rd member on 14 July 2016, and
Afghanistan became the 164th member on 29 July 2016. In addition to states, the European Union, and each EU
country in its own right, is a member. 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. Thus Hong Kong has
been a member since 1995 (as "Hong Kong, China" since 1997) predating the People's Republic of China, which
joined in 2001 after 15 years of negotiations. The Republic of China (Taiwan) acceded to the WTO in 2002 as
"Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu" (Chinese Taipei) despite its disputed
status. The WTO Secretariat omits the official titles (such as Counsellor, First Secretary, Second Secretary and Third
Secretary) of the members of Chinese Taipei's Permanent Mission to the WTO, except for the titles of the
Permanent Representative and the Deputy Permanent Representative.
As of 2007, WTO member states represented 96.4% of global trade and 96.7% of global GDP. [102] Iran, followed
by Algeria, are the economies with the largest GDP and trade outside the WTO, using 2005 data. With the exception
of the Holy See, observers must start accession negotiations within five years of becoming observers. A number of
international intergovernmental organizations have also been granted observer status to WTO bodies. 12 UN
member states have no official affiliation with the WTO.