WTO

Question 1

What is the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

Answer 1

The WTO is the only formal international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations, promoting economic growth and development through liberalization.

Question 2

What does the WTO provide?

Answer 2

The WTO provides a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute settlement mechanism aimed at enforcing adherence to WTO agreements.

Question 3

What areas does the WTO cover?

Answer 3

The WTO covers trade in services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.

Question 4

What was the role of GATT in relation to the WTO?

Answer 4

The GATT served as an interim organization and took on functions originally intended for the International Trade Organization (ITO) after the ITO’s creation failed.

Question 5

How did the GATT contribute to the Multilateral Trading System?

Answer 5

The GATT developed rules for the Multilateral Trading System (MTS) through eight rounds of trade negotiations, initially focusing on reducing tariffs.

Question 6

What was the most comprehensive GATT trade round?

Answer 6

The eighth round, known as the Uruguay Round (UR), was the most comprehensive and led to the creation of the WTO and the current set of WTO Agreements.

Question 7

When was the WTO established?

Answer 7

The WTO was instituted on 01 January 1995 after the Uruguay Round of Negotiations.

Question 8

Who are the founding members of the WTO?

Answer 8

The Philippines is one of the founding members, alongside Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, and Thailand.

Question 9

How many countries are currently members of the WTO?

Answer 9

Currently, 164 countries have ratified their accession to the WTO.

Question 10

Who are the newest members of the WTO?

Answer 10

Liberia and Afghanistan are the newest members, having acceded to the WTO on 14 July 2016 and 29 July 2016, respectively.

Question 11

What are the main objectives of the WTO?

Answer 11

The main objectives include raising living standards, ensuring full employment, and promoting a large and steadily growing volume of real income and effective demand.

Question 12

What is the Oquo Convention Administrative Committee?

Answer 12

It is a committee related to the Contracting Parties to the AA Convention.

Question 13

What does the Air Cargo Security Technical Experts Group focus on?

Answer 13

It focuses on air cargo security.

Question 14

What is the role of the Committee for the WCoIATAICAO Guidelines?

Answer 14

It provides guidelines on Advanced Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) Data.

Question 15

What is the UPUMCO Contact Committee?

Answer 15

It is a committee related to the UPUMCO.

Question 16

What does the Administrative Committee for the Customs Convention on Containers, 1972 address?

Answer 16

It addresses matters related to the Customs Convention on Containers.

Question 17

What is included in the Enforcement and Compliance sector?

Answer 17

It includes the Enforcement Committee and various working groups.

Question 18

What is the purpose of the Working Group on Commercial Fraud?

Answer 18

It focuses on addressing commercial fraud issues.

Question 19

What does the Global Information and Intelligence e9 CH Strategy Project Group do?

Answer 19

It works on global information and intelligence strategies.

Question 20

What is the Customs Enforcement Network Management Team?

Answer 20

It manages the customs enforcement network.

Question 21

What is the focus of the osmoWCo Counterfeiting and Piracy Group?

Answer 21

It focuses on counterfeiting and piracy issues.

Question 22

What does the Electronic Crime Expert Group address?

Answer 22

It addresses issues related to electronic crime.

Question 23

What are the DeGlobal RILO Meetings?

Answer 23

They are meetings focused on global customs enforcement.

Question 24

What does the Capacity Building sector consist of?

Answer 24

It consists of the Capacity Building Committee and Integrity Sub-Committee.

Question 25

What are the functions of the WTO?

Answer 25

The main functions of the WTO include: facilitating the implementation, administration, and operation of WTO Agreements; serving as a forum for trade negotiations; settling disputes among Members; reviewing Members' trade policies; and coordinating with relevant international organizations in global economic policymaking.

Question 26

What is the objective of the WTO regarding developing countries?

Answer 26

The WTO aims to make positive efforts to ensure that developing countries, especially the least developed among them, secure a share in the growth of international trade commensurate with their economic development.

Question 27

What are the fundamental principles of the WTO?

Answer 27

The fundamental principles of the WTO include: Non-discrimination (MFN and national treatment principles), Transparency and predictability, and More open trade.

Question 28

What is the highest authority in the WTO?

Answer 28

The highest authority of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference (MC), which meets at least once every two years to review ongoing work, provide political guidance, and set the agenda for further work.

Question 29

What special provisions are there for less developed Members in the WTO?

Answer 29

Less developed Members are provided special and differential treatment, which includes greater flexibility, more time to adjust to rules, and other special rights.

Question 30

What is the MC composed of?

Answer 30

The MC is composed of the Trade Ministers of all the Members, except for some, e.g., the EU Trade Commissioner and the US Trade Representative for the European Union and the United States of America.

Question 31

What is the General Council (GC)?

Answer 31

The GC is composed of representatives from all Members, usually Members' Ambassadors or Permanent Representatives based in Geneva.

Question 32

What does the GC do?

Answer 32

The GC meets as appropriate to adopt decisions on behalf of the MC when the latter is not in session.

Question 33

What authority does the GC have?

Answer 33

The GC has authority over the Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC), which is in charge of the negotiations mandated by the Doha Development Agenda (DDA).

Question 34

What is the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB)?

Answer 34

The DSB establishes panels of independent experts to resolve disputes, adopts the rulings of the panels, and oversees the implementation of those rulings.

Question 35

What is the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB)?

Answer 35

The TPRB administers trade policy reviews as mandated by the Trade Policy Review Mechanism of the WTO.

Question 36

What councils report to the General Council?

Answer 36

Three councils report to the General Council: the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in Services, and the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Council).

Question 37

What does the Council for Trade in Goods oversee?

Answer 37

It oversees all issues related to the WTO Agreement on Trade in Goods and supervises various committees responsible for specific matters.

Question 38

What does the Council for Trade in Services oversee?

Answer 38

It oversees all issues related to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

Question 39

What does the TRIPS Council oversee?

Answer 39

It oversees all issues related to the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.

Question 40

What are some subsidiary bodies that report directly to the GC?

Answer 40

Some subsidiary bodies include the Committee on Trade and Development (CTD), Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE), Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA), and others.

Question 41

What is the role of Working Parties on Accession?

Answer 41

They focus on specific issues related to trade and report to the General Council.

Question 42

What is the highest decision-making body of the WTO?

Answer 42

The highest decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference (MC).

Question 43

How are decisions made at the WTO?

Answer 43

Decisions in the WTO are taken through consensus. Where consensus is not possible, the WTO Agreement allows for voting, which is won with a majority of the votes cast.

Question 44

What are the ways the WTO operates?

Answer 44

The WTO operates as a set of multilaterally agreed rules governing trade behavior, a forum for trade negotiations, and an international court for resolving disputes.

Question 45

How does the WTO promote trade liberalization?

Answer 45

Trade liberalization is promoted through Multilateral Trade Negotiations, referred to as 'Rounds', aimed at removing or reducing barriers to world trade.

Question 46

What is the Uruguay Round (UR)?

Answer 46

The UR was the eighth Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations conducted within the GATT from 1986 to 1994, covering areas like agriculture, textiles, services, and intellectual property rights.

Question 47

What was the outcome of the Uruguay Round?

Answer 47

The outcome included the Final Act with thirty agreements and the establishment of the World Trade Organization, which was signed on 15 April 1994.

Question 48

When did the Uruguay Round come into effect?

Answer 48

The Uruguay Round came into effect in 1995 and was implemented for developing countries up to 2004.

Question 49

What are the three key result areas of the Uruguay Round?

Answer 49

1. Market Access - includes negotiations in industrial tariffs, agriculture, textiles and clothing, and services. 2. Trade Rules and Disciplines - negotiating topics ranged from trade measures against unfair trade (such as anti-dumping and countervailing measures), safeguards, trade restrictions, customs valuation, subsidies, intellectual property rights, and investment measures. 3. Institutional Topics - includes dispute settlement and ways to improve the conduct of the Multilateral Trading System (MTS), e.g., trade policy review.

Question 50

What are the emergency measures sanctioned by the WTO?

Answer 50

1. Anti-Dumping 2. Countervailing Measures 3. Safeguard Measures 4. Balance-of-Payments Measures ## Footnote The UR reaffirmed that a country can restrict imports if its balance-of-payments is threatened by increased imports.

Question 51

What are the requirements for balance-of-payments measures?

Answer 51

Restrictions can come in the form of price-based measures (import surcharges, import requirements) over the bound duty rates of a member country, subject to the Understanding on the Balance-of-Payments Provisions of GATT 1994. Consultations are required four months from the adoption of a balance-of-payments measure.

Question 52

What is the process for renegotiation of tariff concessions?

Answer 52

The WTO allows a renegotiation of bound tariffs subject to the requirement that a return to higher tariffs be compensated for. For example, if import surges of apples plague the local fruit industry, the bound tariff on apples of 45% can be renegotiated. In exchange for an increase in the bound tariff on apples, it must be compensated by a reduction in the tariff on another product, such as paper products.