Overview of The World Trade

Organization (WTO)

February 2007

Customs and Tariff Bureau

Ministry of Finance
 1. Fact Files of the WTO
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Established: 1 January 1995
Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)
Membership: 150 countries (as of 1 February 2007)
Budget: 175 million Swiss francs for 2006
Secretariat staff: 594
Head: Pascal Lamy (Director-General)
Functions:
• Administering WTO trade agreements
• Forum for trade negotiations
• Handling trade disputes
• Monitoring national trade policies
• Technical assistance and training for
developing countries
• Cooperation with other international
organizations
(Source: WTO Homepage at www.wto.org)

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 2. WTO Agreements
Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization
Multilateral Trade Agreements

Annex 1
Annex 1A Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994
Agreement on Agriculture
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade
Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIM)
Single Undertaking

Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Agreement
on Anti-Dumping)
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Agreement
on Customs Valuation)
Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI)
Agreement on Rules of Origin
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures
Agreement on Safeguards
Annex 1B General Agreement on Trade in Services and Annexes
Annex 1C Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs)

Annex 2
Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU)

Annex 3
Trade Policy Review Mechanism (TPRM)
Annex 4 Plurilateral Trade Agreements
Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft, Agreement on Government Procurement, International Dairy Agreement,
International Bovine Meat Agreement

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 3. Aspects of WTO Agreements

Agreement Some Important Aspects

z General Most Favored Nation Treatment (MFN) (Article 1)
z National Treatment on Internal Taxation and Regulation (NT) (Article 3)
GATT 1994 z Fees and Formalities connected with Importation and Exportation (Article 8)
z Publication and Administration of Trade Regulations (Article 10)
z General Elimination of Quantitative Restrictions (Article 11)
z Non-tariff border measures are replaced by tariffs that provide substantially the same level of
protection.
z Tariffs resulting from this "tariffication" process, as well as other tariffs on agricultural products, are to
Agreement on be reduced by an average 36 per cent in the case of developed countries and 24 per cent in the case of
Agriculture developing countries, with minimum reductions for each tariff line being required.
z Reductions are to be undertaken over 6 years in the case of developed countries and over 10 years
in the case of developing countries. Least-developed countries are not required to reduce their tariffs.
z Reductions in domestic support and export subsidies.
Agreement on
z Harmonization of non-preferential rules of origin.
Rules of Origin
z Revised Agreement provides for greater clarity and more detailed rules in relation to the method of
Agreement on determining that a product is dumped, the criteria to be taken into account in a determination that
Anti-Dumping dumped imports cause injury to a domestic industry, the procedures to be followed in initiating and
conducting anti-dumping investigations, and the implementation and duration of anti-dumping measures.
z The agreement breaks major ground in establishing a prohibition against so-called "grey area"
Agreement on measures, and in setting a "sunset clause" on all safeguard actions. The agreement stipulates that a
Safeguards member shall not seek, take or maintain any voluntary export restraints, orderly marketing
arrangements or any other similar measures on the export or the import side.

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4. Organization of the WTO

(Source: WTO Homepage at www.wto.org)

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 5. WTO Secretariat Organizational Chart
Office of the Director-General
Chief of Cabinet of Council and Trade Negotiations
Director-General
the Director General Committee Division
Pascal Lamy
Arancha González Laya
(France) DDA Special Duties Division
(EU)
Human Resources Division
Information and Media Relations
Division

Deputy Director-General Deputy Director-General Deputy Director-General Deputy Director-General

Alejandro Jara Valentine Rugwabiza Harsha Vardhana Singh Rufus Yerxa
(Chile) (Rwanda) (India) (USA)

Accessions Division Development Division Agriculture and Administration and General

External Relations Commodities Division Services Division
Economic Research
and Statistics Division Division Trade and Environment Market Access Division
Technical Cooperation Division Informatics Division
Legal Affairs Division
Rules Division Audit Trade in Services Intellectual Property
Trade and Finance and Division Division
Trade Facilitation Language Services and
Division Documentation Division
Training and Technical Trade Policies Review
Cooperation Institute Division
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 6. WTO Membership (as of February 2007)
Asia Bulgaria Brazil Gambia*
Bangladesh* Czech Republic Chile Ghana
Brunei Darussalam Croatia Colombia Guinea*
Hong Kong, China Macedonia Costa Rica Guinea Bissau*
India Denmark Cuba Kenya
Indonesia Estonia Dominica Lesotho*
Cambodia European Commission Dominican Republic Madagascar*
China Finland Ecuador Malawi*
Chinese Taipei France El Salvador Mali*
Japan Germany Grenada Mauritania*
Korea Greece Guatemala Mauritius
Kyrgyz Republic Hungary Guyana Morocco
Macao, China Iceland Haiti* Mozambique*
Malaysia Ireland Honduras Namibia
Maldives* Italy Jamaica Niger*
Mongolia Latvia Mexico Nigeria
Myanmar* Liechtenstein Nicaragua Rwanda*
Nepal* Lithuania Panama Senegal*
Pakistan Luxemburg Paraguay Sierra Leone*
Philippines Malta Peru South Africa
Singapore Netherlands Saint Kitts and Nevis Swaziland
Sri Lanka Norway Saint Lucia Tanzania*
Thailand Poland Saint Vincent & the Grenadines Togo*
Viet Nam Portugal Suriname Tunisia
Romania Trinidad and Tobago Uganda*
Near and Middle East Slovak Republic Uruguay Zambia*
Bahrain, Kingdom of Slovenia Venezuela Zimbabwe
Cyprus Spain
Georgia Sweden Africa Oceania
Israel Switzerland Angola* Australia
Jordan United Kingdom Benin* Fiji
Kuwait Moldova Botswana New Zealand
Qatar Burkina Faso* Papua New Guinea
Oman North America Burundi* Solomon Island*
Saudi Arabia Canada Cameroon
Turkey United States of America Central African Republic*
United Arab Emirates Chad* Total 150 countries and regions
Central and South America Congo*
Europe Antigua and Barbuda Côte d'Ivoire (Note) *: LDCs
Armenia Argentina Democratic Republic of Congo
Albania Barbados Djibouti*
Austria Belize Egypt
Belgium Bolivia Gabon

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 7. WTO Accession Flow Chart
Submission of a request for accession
(notification
- to WTO Secretary-General)

Notified to all members

Agreement to establish a Working Party at the

General Council or the Ministerial Conference

（ Working Party on Accession） （Bilateral negotiations）

o Examines trade systems and coherence between o Negotiation on Concessions &

domestic laws and the WTO Commitments on goods
o Studies terms and conditions on accession o Negotiation on Commitments on
o Formulation and adoption of draft of Report of Services etc.
Working Party (including Schedules of
Concessions and Commitments)

Adoption of Protocol of Accession and Report of

Working Party (resolution by a two-thirds majority
of Members) at the General Council or the
Ministerial Conference

Ratification of Protocol by the applicant

Entry into the WTO

(on the thirtieth day following the day of its acceptance)

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 8. WTO Accession Work in Progress

Afghanistan Lebanon
Algeria Russia
Andorra Samoa
Azerbaijan Sao Tomé and Principe
Commonwealth of the Bahamas Saudi Arabia
Belarus Serbia and Montenegro
Bhutan Seychelles
Bosnia-Herzegovina Sudan
Cape Verde Tajikistan
Ethiopia Tonga
Iran Ukraine
Iraq Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan Vanuatu
Laos Yemen Arab Republic
Libya
Total: 29 countries & territories

(Source: WTO Homepage at www.wto.org)