WTO Flashcards
HQ and official languages
Geneva, Switzerland
eng, fr, spanish
budget 2020
197.2 million Swiss francs (approx. 220 million US$) in 2020.
when was the WTO founded
Founded: 1 January 1995
purpose
Purpose: Reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade
The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade between nations. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern international trade.
how many members does the WTO have
164
160 un countries + macau, hk, taiwan, eu
The WTO operates the global system of trade rules and helps developing countries build their trade capacity. It also provides a ________ for its members to negotiate trade agreements and to resolve the trade problems they face with each other.
forum
wto represents over _______-of global trade and global GDP
98%
Director-General
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Since March 2021, Okonjo-Iweala has been serving as Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Nigerian American
first Director-General of the World Trade Organization
Peter Sutherland
term four years
what is the name of the agreement that founded of the wto
Marrakesh Agreement, manifested by the Marrakesh Declaration, 1994
Marrakesh Agreement, manifested by the Marrakesh Declaration
The Marrakesh Agreement, manifested by the Marrakesh Declaration, was an agreement signed in Marrakesh, Morocco, by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, marking the culmination of the 8-year-long Uruguay Round and establishing the World Trade Organization, which officially came into being on 1 January 1995.
the wto replaced the
gatt
GATT
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
what kind of treaty is the gatt
Multilateral Treaty
The GATT was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the _____________
International Trade Organization (ITO).
when and where was gatt signed
Signed 30 October 1947
Location Geneva, Geneva Canton, Switzerland
23 nations
since when was it applicable on a provisional basis
Provisional application 1 January 1948
what happened to the gatt agreement
The WTO is the successor to the GATT, and the original GATT text (GATT 1947) is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the modifications of GATT 1994.
what led to the proposal of ito
The GATT was first conceived in the aftermath of the Allied victory in the Second World War at the 1947 United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment (UNCTE), at which the International Trade Organization (ITO) was one of the ideas proposed. It was hoped that the ITO would be run alongside the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
why did ito discussions collapse
More than 50 nations negotiated ITO and organizing its founding charter, but after the withdrawal of the United States these negotiations collapsed.
why is wto facing an existential crisis
us has weakened the ab or appellate body by blocking any appointments made to it and vetoing any proposals to find solutions (like stalling that of the eu to est. a temporary apellate arbitration mechanism)
since ______________, the ab has stopped functioning due to rising vacancies
dec 2019
what is the function of the ab
It presides over appeals against judgments passed by WTO panels in trade-related disputes brought by WTO members.
Over 500 international disputes had been brought to the WTO and over 350 rulings had been issued since 1995.
With this, WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism is one of the most active in the world.
when was the ab instituted
The Appellate Body of the WTO was set up in 1995 and is a standing committee of 7 members.
are the judgements of the ab binding
yes
must be implemented in 30 days and non-compliance may invite sanctions
what are the main trade disputes among two members
countervailing (anti-subsidy)
anti-dumping measures
zeroing methodology that inflates anti-dumping duties
what are the reasons why us feels like the wto hasn’t served american national interests
has indicted the us in several trade disputes
has not stemmed china’s rise
how does biden’s policy differ from that of trump’s
no difference
us has accepted favourable rulings but has raised concerns over adversee decisions
washington has repeatedly accused the appelllate body of straying from the dsu in several disputes where us measures have been challenged. esp in countervailing and anti-dumping cases. what is dsu.
dispute settlement understanding
it also claims that the ab hasn’t given decisions within the deadline of ___________
90 days
what actions of the us have weakened the ab
blocking funds and starving it
blocking the filling of six vacancies and thereby leading to it shut down in dec 2019
the wto is the only intl org that deals with the rules of ______
intl trade
“Nairobi Package”
adopted in 2015 at the Tenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Under the Ministerial Decision on Export Competition:
Developed countries had to abolish the farm export subsidies with immediate effect, with the exception of a handful of farm products.
The deadline for developing countries to eliminate the export subsidies on agricultural exports was fixed as 2018.
Flexibility was given to the developing countries for covering marketing and transport costs for farm exports extending the timeline to 2023.
Poorest and food-importing nations were given an additional time frame.
The countries also struck a deal on IT trade.
As per the deal, tariffs on 201 IT products were to be eliminated each year. The purpose behind the deal was to ensure that all IT products would become duty-free by 2019.
how many observer governments does the wto have
23
what was the last country to join the wto
afghanistan in july 2016
became the 194th member
india is a ________member of gatt(1947) and its successor wto(1995)
founder members
who recently became the first african and woman director general of the wto
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
only an administrative member with real power due to consensus-based nature of wto
____________ gave birth to the wto
uruguay round
The Uruguay Round
The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), spanning from 1986 to 1994 and embracing 123 countries as “contracting parties”.
It took seven and a half years, almost twice the original schedule.
_______________ is the highest policy making body of the wto
the ministerial conference
on what basis are the decisions taken at the ministerial conference
consensus (unanimous)
they are binding
while the gatt only deals in _____________, the wto is more comprehensive and deals with goods, services, ip, and several investment policies
goods
when was the last ministerial conference held, at least how often should MCs be held
2017, Buenos Aires, Capital of Argentina (ecom duties, fishery subsidies, etc)
at least every 2 years
what are the three bodies part of the governing structure of the wto
the ministerial conference (highest authority, all mems) general council (all wto mem) - which convenes in two forms the dispute settlement body and trade policy review body (of indivdual trade policies of membs.)
general council reports to the
ministerial conference
when will MC12 be held
postponed indefinitely as of feb 2022
when was mc12 supposed to be held
26 nov 2021 - 3 dec 2021
in geneva hosted by kazakhstan
second time it has been postponed
when was it supposed to be held initially
June 2020 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
why did both postponements of mc12 happen
corona (2nd postponement due to omicron)
The General Council agreed on 26 November 2021 to postpone the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) after an outbreak of a particularly transmissible strain of the COVID-19 virus led several governments to impose travel restrictions that would have prevented many ministers from reaching Geneva. MC12 was due to start on 30 November 2021 and run until 3 December 2021. No date has been set for the rescheduling of the Ministerial Conference. This marks the second time that the pandemic has forced a postponement of MC12. The meeting was originally due to take place in June 2020 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
