View source for World Trade Organization

{{Short description|Intergovernmental trade organization}}
{{Redirect|WTO}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox organization
| name          = World Trade Organization
| native_name   = {{lang|fr|Organisation mondiale du commerce}} {{nowrap|{{in lang|fr}}}}<br />{{lang|es|Organización Mundial del Comercio}}  {{nowrap|{{in lang|es}}}}
<!--PLEASE DO -NOT- ADD LANGUAGES OTHER THAN THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH, RUSSIAN, FRENCH AND SPANISH – FOR RATIONALE SEE PARAMETER LANGUAGE BELOW WITH LINKED REFERENCE-->| image                    = World Trade Organization (logo and wordmark).svg
| map           = WTO members and observers.svg
| abbreviation  = WTO
| mcaption      = <div style="text-align:left;">{{legend|#008000|Members}} {{legend|#0174DF|Members, dually represented by the [[European Union]] (EU)}} {{legend|#eeee00|Observers}} {{legend|#ff1111|Non-participant states}}
{{legend|#808080|Not applicable}}</div>
| type          = [[Intergovernmental organization]]
| purpose       = Reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade
| headquarters  = [[Centre William Rappard]], Geneva, Switzerland
| coords        = {{Coord|46|13|27|N|06|08|58|E|display=inline,title}}
| region_served = Worldwide
| membership    = [[Member states of the World Trade Organization|166 members (162 UN member states, the European Union, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan)]]<ref>[http://wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm Members and Observers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910105304/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm |date=10 September 2011}} at WTO official website</ref>
| languages     = English, French, Spanish<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/div_e.htm Languages, Documentation and Information Management Division] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224151405/http://wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/div_e.htm |date=24 December 2011}} at WTO official site</ref>
| leader_title  = [[Director-General of the World Trade Organization|Director-General]]
| leader_name   = [[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-15|title=Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala confirmed as WTO chief|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/15/nigerias-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-confirmed-as-wto-chief|access-date=2021-03-01|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301094825/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/15/nigerias-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-confirmed-as-wto-chief|url-status=live}}</ref> (since 2021)
| formation     = {{start date and age|1995|01|01|df=y}}
| budget        = CHF 204,928,900 (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO Annual Report 2024 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/anrep_e/ar24_e.pdf|access-date=2025-05-22|website=www.wto.org |page=199 |language=en}}</ref>
| num_staff     = approx. 630 (as of December 31, 2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO Annual Report 2024 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/anrep_e/ar24_e.pdf |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=www.wto.org |page=196 |language=en}}</ref>
| website       = {{Official url}}
}}

The '''World Trade Organization''' ('''WTO''') is an [[intergovernmental organization]] headquartered in [[Geneva]], Switzerland,<ref>{{cite web |title=Overview of the WTO Secretariat |url=http://wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/intro_e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901232158/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/intro_e.htm |archive-date=1 September 2013 |access-date=2 September 2013 |publisher=WTO official website}}</ref> that regulates and facilitates [[international trade]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Oatley|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GJoDwAAQBAJ|title=International Political Economy|edition=6th|date=2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-03464-7|pages=51–52|language=en|access-date=5 August 2021|archive-date=14 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214032957/https://books.google.com/books?id=4GJoDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern international trade in cooperation with the [[United Nations System]].<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{cite web |title=The WTO and the United Nations |website=WTO |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/coher_e/wto_un_e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713071350/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/coher_e/wto_un_e.htm |archive-date=13 July 2007 |access-date=21 October 2022}}</ref>  The WTO is the world's largest international economic organization, with 166 members  representing over 98% of global trade and global [[GDP]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Economic Organizations, Developing Country Reforms, and Trade |work=The Reporter |first1=Anne O. |last1=Krueger |publisher=NBER |url=http://www.nber.org/reporter/winter00/krueger.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518033322/http://www.nber.org/reporter/winter00/krueger.html |archive-date=18 May 2017 |access-date=20 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Understanding the WTO – The GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305153601/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm |archive-date=5 March 2018 |access-date=28 March 2019 |website=WTO }}</ref><ref name=":9" />

The WTO facilitates trade in goods, [[trade in services|services]] and [[intellectual property]] among participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating [[trade agreement]]s, which usually aim to reduce or eliminate [[tariff]]s, [[Import quota|quotas]], and other [[Trade barrier|restrictions]]; these agreements are signed by representatives of member governments<ref name="underst">{{ cite web |url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/understanding_e.pdf |title=Understanding the WTO |website=WTO |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306012111/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/understanding_e.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}. (The document's printed folio numbers do not match the PDF page numbers.)</ref>{{rp|fol.9–10}} and ratified by their legislatures.<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|author1=Malanczuk, P.|title=International Organisations and Space Law: World Trade Organization|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|volume=442|pages=305|year=1999|bibcode=1999ESASP.442..305M}}</ref> It also administers independent [[dispute resolution]] for enforcing participants' adherence to trade agreements and resolving trade-related disputes.<ref name=":2" /> The organization prohibits discrimination between trading partners, but provides exceptions for environmental protection, national security, and other important goals.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://econofact.org/u-s-trade-policy-going-it-alone-vs-abiding-by-the-world-trade-organization|title=U.S. Trade Policy: Going it Alone vs. Abiding by the WTO |date=15 June 2018|work=Econofact|access-date=30 June 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630161908/http://econofact.org/u-s-trade-policy-going-it-alone-vs-abiding-by-the-world-trade-organization|archive-date=30 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

It officially commenced operations on 1 January 1995, pursuant to the 1994 [[Marrakesh Agreement]], thus replacing the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT) that had been established in 1948.

Its top decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which is composed of all members and usually [[Ministerial Conference|convenes biennially]]; consensus is emphasized in all decisions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} Ministerial conferences|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/minist_e.htm|access-date=2021-02-18|website=www.wto.org|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306211034/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/minist_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Day-to-day functions are handled by the General Council, made up of representatives from all members.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} Understanding the WTO – Whose WTO is it anyway?|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org1_e.htm|access-date=2021-02-18|website=www.wto.org|language=en|archive-date=4 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704133012/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org1_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A Secretariat of over 600 personnel, led by the Director-General and four deputies, provides administrative, professional, and technical services.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} Understanding the WTO – the Secretariat|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org4_e.htm|access-date=2021-02-22|website=www.wto.org|language=en|archive-date=30 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130140601/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org4_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The WTO's annual budget is roughly 220 million [[United States dollar|USD]], which is contributed by members based on their proportion of international trade.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} Budget for the year|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/budget_e.htm|access-date=2021-02-22|website=www.wto.org|archive-date=23 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123114815/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/budget_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Studies show the WTO has increased trade and reduced trade barriers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Broda |first1=C. |last2=Limão |first2=N. |last3=Weinstein |first3=D. E. |date=2008 |title=Optimal Tariffs and Market Power: The Evidence |url=https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.98.5.2032 |journal=American Economic Review |volume=98 |issue=5 |pages=2032–2065 |doi=10.1257/aer.98.5.2032 |s2cid=6116538 |access-date=3 August 2022 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214033001/https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.98.5.2032 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> It has also influenced trade agreement generally; the vast majority of [[Preferential trade agreement|preferential trade agreements]] (PTAs) explicitly reference the WTO, with substantial portions of text copied from WTO agreements.<ref name=":6" /> [[Sustainable Development Goal 10|Goal 10]] of the United Nations [[Sustainable Development Goals]] also referenced WTO agreements as instruments of reducing inequality.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Goal 10 targets|url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities/targets.html|access-date=2020-09-23|website=UNDP|language=en|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127140337/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities/targets.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, critics contend that the benefits of WTO-facilitated [[free trade]] are not shared equally.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="Polity">{{cite book |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Rorden |title=What's wrong with the WTO and how to fix it |date=2014 |publisher=Polity |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-0-745-67245-8 |url=https://www.wiley.com/en-us/What%27s+Wrong+with+the+WTO+and+How+to+Fix+It-p-9780745672458 |access-date=12 September 2020 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416030000/https://www.wiley.com/en-us/What%27s+Wrong+with+the+WTO+and+How+to+Fix+It-p-9780745672458 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
{{Main|History of the World Trade Organization}}
{{Further|Bretton Woods system|International Bank for Reconstruction and Development}}
[[File:WhiteandKeynes.jpg|thumb|right|The economists [[Harry Dexter White]] (left) and [[John Maynard Keynes]] (right) at the [[Bretton Woods Conference]] in [[New Hampshire]]<ref>
*A. E. Eckes Jr., ''US Trade History'', 73
* A. Smithies, ''Reflections on the Work of Keynes'', 578–601
* N. Warren, ''Internet and Globalization'', 193</ref>]]

The WTO precursor, [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT), was established by a multilateral treaty of 23 countries in 1947 [[Aftermath of World War II|after the end of World War II]], in the wake of other new multilateral institutions dedicated to international economic cooperation—such as the [[World Bank]] (founded 1944) and the [[International Monetary Fund]] (founded 1944–1945). A comparable international institution for trade, named the [[International Trade Organization]] (ITO), never started, since the [[United States]] and other signatories did not ratify the establishment treaty,<ref>P. van den Bossche, ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization'', 80</ref><ref>Palmeter-Mavroidis, ''Dispute Settlement'', 2</ref><ref name="CRS-2007-pg 4">{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/98-928.pdf |title= The World Trade Organization: Background and Issues |last= Fergusson |first= Ian F. |date= 9 May 2007 |publisher= [[Congressional Research Service]] |page= 4 |access-date= 15 August 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130927183136/http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/98-928.pdf |archive-date= 27 September 2013 |url-status= live }}</ref> and so the GATT slowly became a ''[[de facto]]'' international organization.<ref name="B81">It was contemplated that the GATT would apply for several years until the ITO came into force. However, since the ITO never materialized, the GATT gradually became the focus for international governmental cooperation on trade matters, with economist Nicholas Halford overseeing the implementation of GATT in members' policies. (P. van den Bossche, ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization'', 81; J. H. Jackson, ''Managing the Trading System'', 134).</ref>

===GATT negotiations before Uruguay===
{{Main|General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade}}

Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (1949 to 1979). The first real{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/gattbilaterals_e/indexbyround_e.htm|title=WTO &#124; GATT bilateral negotiating material by Round|publisher=World Trade Organization|access-date=17 August 2023|archive-date=30 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730211639/https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/gattbilaterals_e/indexbyround_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> GATT trade rounds (1947 to 1960) concentrated on further reducing [[tariff]]s. Then the [[Kennedy Round]] in the mid-sixties brought about a GATT [[Dumping (pricing policy)|anti-dumping]] agreement and a section on development. The Tokyo Round during the seventies represented the first major attempt to tackle trade barriers that do not take the form of tariffs, and to improve the system, adopting a series of agreements on  [[Non-tariff barriers to trade|non-tariff barriers]], which in some cases interpreted existing GATT rules, and in others broke entirely new ground. Because not all GATT members accepted these [[plurilateral agreement]]s, they were often informally called "codes". (The Uruguay Round amended several of these codes and turned them into multilateral commitments accepted by all WTO members. Only four remained plurilateral (those on government procurement, bovine meat, civil aircraft, and dairy products), but in 1997 WTO members agreed to terminate the bovine meat and dairy agreements, leaving only two.<ref name=" GY">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm "The GATT Years: from Havana to Marrakesh"]. {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041211025038/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm |date= 11 December 2004 }}. World Trade Organization.</ref>) Despite attempts in the mid-1950s and 1960s to establish some form of institutional mechanism for international trade, the GATT continued to operate for almost half a century as a semi-institutionalized multilateral treaty régime on a provisional basis.<ref name="F17">
Footer, M. E. ''Analysis of the World Trade Organization'', 17.
</ref>

===Uruguay Round: 1986–1994===
{{Main|Uruguay Round}}

Well before GATT's 40th anniversary (due in 1987–1988), GATT members concluded that the GATT system was straining to adapt to a [[Globalization|globalizing]] [[world economy]].<ref name="G4">P. Gallagher, ''The First Ten Years of the WTO'', 4</ref><ref name="UR">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact5_e.htm "The Uruguay Round"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320103620/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact5_e.htm |date=20 March 2007 }}. World Trade Organization.</ref> In response to problems identified in the 1982 Ministerial Declaration (structural deficiencies, spill-over impacts of certain countries' policies on world trade which GATT could not manage, etc.), a meeting in [[Punta del Este]], [[Uruguay]], launched the eighth GATT round—known as the "[[Uruguay Round]]"—in September 1986.<ref>{{cite book
 |publisher    = General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
 |year         = 1994
 |title        = Press Communiqué, Issues 1604–1664
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=a20qAQAAMAAJ
 |page         = 22
 |access-date  = 16 March 2023
 |quote        = ...&nbsp;the GATT has just completed its eighth—and by far the most ambitious—round of negotiations, the Uruguay Round, launched in September 1986 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
 |archive-date = 16 March 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20230316035154/https://books.google.com/books?id=a20qAQAAMAAJ
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last1             = Gallagher
 |first1            = Peter
 |series            = Collected courses of the Academy of European Law
 |date              = 15 December 2005
 |chapter           = Looking back, looking forward
 |title             = The First Ten Years of the WTO: 1995–2005
 |url               = https://books.google.com/books?id=QwM7dDO22-MC
 |publication-place = Cambridge
 |publisher         = Cambridge University Press
 |page              = 133
 |isbn              = 9780521862158
 |access-date       = 16 March 2023
 |quote             = The Uruguay Round had a four-year time frame when it was launched in 1986&nbsp;...
 |archive-date      = 14 February 2024
 |archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20240214033012/https://books.google.com/books?id=QwM7dDO22-MC
 |url-status        = live
}}</ref>

In the biggest negotiating mandate on trade ever agreed, the Uruguay Round talks aimed to extend the trading system into several new areas, notably trade in services and intellectual property, and to reform trade in the sensitive sectors of agriculture and textiles; all the original GATT articles were up for review.<ref name="UR"/> The Final Act concluding the [[Uruguay]] Round and officially establishing the WTO regime was signed on 15 April 1994, during the ministerial meeting at [[Marrakesh]], [[Morocco]]—hence known as the [[Marrakesh Agreement]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/04-wto_e.htm|title= Legal texts – Marrakesh agreement |publisher= World Trade Organization|access-date= 30 May 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100525093037/http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/04-wto_e.htm |archive-date= 25 May 2010|url-status= live}}</ref>

The GATT still exists as the WTO's umbrella treaty for trade in goods, updated as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations (a distinction is made between ''GATT 1994'', the updated parts of GATT, and ''GATT 1947'', the original agreement which is still the heart of GATT 1994).<ref name="G4" /> GATT 1994 is not, however, the only legally binding agreement included via the Final Act at Marrakesh; a long list of about 60 agreements, annexes, decisions, and understandings was adopted. The agreements fall into six main parts:
* the Agreement Establishing the WTO
* the Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods, including the GATT 1994 and the [[Trade Related Investment Measures]] (TRIMS)
* the [[General Agreement on Trade in Services]] (GATS)
* the [[Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights]] (TRIPS)
* dispute settlement<ref>{{Cite journal |url= http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/scujil/vol2/iss1/2/|title= Resolving Trade Disputes, the Mechanisms of GATT/WTO Dispute Resolution |issue= 1|pages= 40 |journal= Santa Clara Journal of International Law |volume= 2 |access-date= 3 April 2016 |date= January 2004|last1= Erskine|first1= Daniel|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160416222738/http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/scujil/vol2/iss1/2/ |archive-date= 16 April 2016|url-status= live}}</ref>
* reviews of governments' trade policies<ref name="OL">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm1_e.htm "Overview: a Navigational Guide"]. {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070315073728/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm1_e.htm |date= 15 March 2007 }}. World Trade Organization.

For the complete list of "The Uruguay Round Agreements", see:
* [http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm "WTO legal texts"]. {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20051214090600/http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm |date= 14 December 2005 }}. World Trade Organization.
* [http://www.worldtradelaw.net/uragreements/ "Uruguay Round Agreements, Understandings, Decisions and Declarations"]. {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223022/http://www.worldtradelaw.net/uragreements/ |date=27 September 2007 }}. ''WorldTradeLaw.net''.
</ref>

In terms of the WTO's [[#Principles of the trading system|principle relating to tariff "ceiling-binding" (No. 3)]], the Uruguay Round has been successful in increasing binding commitments by both developed and developing countries, as may be seen in the percentages of tariffs bound before and after the 1986–1994 talks.<ref name="PT"/>

===Ministerial conferences===
[[File:Geneva Ministerial Conference 18-20 May 1998 (9305956531).jpg|thumb|The [[World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1998]], in the [[Palace of Nations, Geneva|Palace of Nations]] ([[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]])]]

The highest decision-making body of the WTO, the [[Ministerial Conference]], usually meets every two years.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.wto.org/english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min11_e/min11_e.htm | title=Ministerial conferences – Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference |publisher=World Trade Organization | access-date=28 January 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913034215/https://www.wto.org/english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min11_e/min11_e.htm | archive-date=13 September 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> It brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions. The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. Some meetings, such as the [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 1996|inaugural ministerial conference]] in [[Singapore]] (1996) and the [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 2003|inaugural ministerial conference]] in [[Cancún]], [[Mexico]] (2003)<ref>{{cite journal|ssrn= 916768|title=Five Years of China WTO Membership. EU and US Perspectives about China's Compliance with Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism|journal=Legal Issues of Economic Integration |publisher=Kluwer Law International |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=263–304 |date= 4 August 2006|last1= Farah|first1= Paolo Davide|doi= 10.54648/LEIE2006016}}</ref> involved arguments between [[Developed country|developed nations]] and [[Developing country|low-income and lower-middle income countries]], referred to as the "[[Singapore issues]]", such as [[agricultural subsidies]]; while others such as the [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999|Seattle conference]] in 1999 provoked large demonstrations. The [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 2001|fourth ministerial conference]] in [[Doha]], [[Qatar]] in 2001 approved China's entry to the WTO and launched the [[Doha Development Round]] which was supplemented by the [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005|sixth WTO ministerial conference]] in [[Hong Kong]], which agreed to phase out agricultural export subsidies and to adopt the [[European Union]]'s [[Everything but Arms]] initiative to phase out tariffs for goods from the [[least developed countries]]. At the sixth WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005 in December, WTO launched the [[Aid for Trade]] initiative and it is specifically to assist developing countries in [[trade]] as included in the [[Sustainable Development Goal 8]] which is to increase aid for trade support and [[economic growth]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ministerial conferences – Hong Kong 6th Ministerial|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min05_e/min05_e.htm|access-date=2020-09-24|publisher=World Trade Organization|archive-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124061659/https://www.wto.org/english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min05_e/min05_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) was due to be held in [[Nur-Sultan]], [[Kazakhstan]], in June 2020 but was canceled because of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. It was later held in [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] from 12–17 June 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial conferences – Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference – Geneva Switzerland |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc12_e/mc12_e.htm |access-date=2023-08-21 |publisher=World Trade Organization |archive-date=21 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821112302/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc12_e/mc12_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13) was held in [[Abu Dhabi]], [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] on 26–29 February 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Members examine 'road map' for MC13 on the WTO's reform of its deliberative function |url=https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news23_e/gc_25jul23_e.htm |access-date=2023-08-21 |publisher=World Trade Organization |language=en |archive-date=21 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821035407/https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news23_e/gc_25jul23_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial conferences |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/minist_e.htm |access-date=2023-08-21 |publisher=World Trade Organization |archive-date=6 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306211034/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/minist_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and extended to Friday 1 March 2024 to complete deliberations.<ref>[https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news24_e/mc13_29feb24_e.htm "WTO 13th Ministerial Conference extended by one day to facilitate outcomes"]. World Trade Organization. 29 February 2029.</ref>

===Doha Round (Doha Agenda): 2001–present===
{{Main|Doha Development Round}}

The WTO launched the current round of negotiations, the [[Doha Development Round]], at the fourth ministerial conference in [[Doha]], [[Qatar]] in November 2001. This was to be an ambitious effort to make [[globalization]] more inclusive and help the [[Poverty|world's poor]], particularly by slashing barriers and subsidies in farming.<ref name="Ec65">{{Cite magazine|date= 27 July 2006|magazine= [[The Economist]]|title= In the twilight of Doha|page= 65|url= http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7218551|access-date= 21 May 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071112095722/http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7218551|archive-date= 12 November 2007|url-status= live}}</ref> The initial agenda comprised both further [[trade liberalization]] and new rule-making, underpinned by commitments to strengthen substantial assistance to [[Developing country|developing countries]].<ref name=ECdoha>European Commission. [http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/eu-and-wto/doha/index_en.htm "The Doha Round"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230100307/http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/eu-and-wto/doha/index_en.htm |date=30 December 2011 }}.</ref>

Progress stalled over differences between [[Developed country|developed nations]] and the major [[Developing country|low-income and lower-middle income countries]] on issues such as industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade<ref name="crs-2">{{Cite web|publisher=Congressional Research Service|last= Fergusson |first= Ian F.|title= World Trade Organization Negotiations: The Doha Development Agenda|access-date= 26 July 2008|date= 18 January 2008|url= http://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS21905.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130927181050/http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS21905.pdf|archive-date= 27 September 2013|url-status= live}}</ref> particularly against and between the EU and the US over their maintenance of [[agricultural subsidy|agricultural subsidies]]—seen to operate effectively as trade barriers. Repeated attempts to revive the talks proved unsuccessful,<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/chair_texts11_e/chair_texts11_e.htm "Documents from the negotiating chairs, 21 April 2011"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010211238/https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/chair_texts11_e/chair_texts11_e.htm |date=10 October 2017 }}. World Trade Organization.</ref> though the adoption of the [[Bali Package|Bali Ministerial Declaration]] in 2013<ref name=wtoBali>[http://mc9.wto.org/draft-bali-ministerial-declaration "Bali Ministerial Declaration and decisions"]. {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131218102932/http://mc9.wto.org/draft-bali-ministerial-declaration |date= 18 December 2013 }}. World Trade Organization. Accessed 31 December 2013.</ref> addressed bureaucratic barriers to commerce.<ref name=bbcBali>{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25274889|title= WTO agrees global trade deal worth $1tn|last= Walker|first= Andrew|date= 7 December 2013|work= BBC News|access-date= 7 December 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131207070903/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25274889|archive-date= 7 December 2013|url-status= live}}</ref>

{{As of|2012|06}}, the future of the Doha Round remained uncertain: the work programme lists 21 subjects in which the original deadline of 1 January 2005 was missed, and the round remains incomplete.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/doha1_e.htm|title=Understanding the WTO – The Doha agenda|publisher=World Trade Organization|access-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328104424/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/doha1_e.htm|archive-date=28 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The conflict between free trade on industrial goods and services but retention of [[protectionism]] on [[farm subsidies]] to domestic [[agricultural sector]]s (requested by [[Developed country|developed countries]]) and the [[substantiation]]{{technical inline|date=June 2019}} of [[fair trade]] on agricultural products (requested by developing countries) remain the major obstacles. This impasse has made it impossible to launch new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round. As a result, there have been an increasing number of bilateral [[free trade agreements]] between governments.<ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2011/4/19%20world%20trade%20organization%20meltzer/0419_world_trade_organization_meltzer "The Challenges to the World Trade Organization: It's All About Legitimacy"]. {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130502115006/http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2011/4/19%20world%20trade%20organization%20meltzer/0419_world_trade_organization_meltzer |date= 2 May 2013 }}. The Brookings Institution, Policy Paper 2011-04</ref> {{As of|2012|July}} there were various negotiation groups in the WTO system for the current stalemated agricultural trade negotiation.<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/negotiating_groups_e.pdf "Groups in the WTO"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110171110/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/negotiating_groups_e.pdf |date=10 November 2013 }}. World Trade Organization. Updated 1 July 2013.</ref>

==Functions==
Promotion of growth by facilitating trade is the most important function of WTO. Other important functions include:

* It oversees the implementation, administration and operation of the covered agreements (with the exception that it does not enforce any agreements when China came into the WTO in December 2001)<ref name="iisd-functions">[http://www.iisd.org/trade/handbook/3_2.htm "Functions of the WTO".] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927183405/http://www.iisd.org/trade/handbook/3_2.htm |date=27 September 2007 }}. IISD.</ref><ref name="WTOmain-functions">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/eol/e/wto01/wto1_11.htm "Main Functions"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061230121730/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/eol/e/wto01/wto1_11.htm |date=30 December 2006 }}. World Trade Organization.</ref>
* It provides a forum for negotiations and for settling disputes.<ref name="B17">A Bredimas, ''International Economic Law'', II, 17</ref><ref name="Deere_decision-making">C. Deere, [http://www.wto.org/english/forums_e/public_forum_e/ "Decision-making in the WTO: Medieval or Up-to-Date?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20121209174917/http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:YZ7ZWccshjkJ:www.wto.org/english/forums_e/public_forum_e/ |date=9 December 2012 }}. World Trade Organization</ref>
[[File:Fourth Global Review of Aid for Trade 2107 (9238185879).jpg|thumb|''[[Aid for Trade]]'' is one way the organization functions to help countries that are developing economically.]]
Additionally, it is WTO's duty to review and propagate the national trade policies and to ensure the coherence and transparency of trade policies through surveillance in global economic policy-making.<ref name="WTOmain-functions"/><ref name="Deere_decision-making"/> Another priority of the WTO is the assistance of [[developing countries|developing]], least-developed and low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines through technical cooperation and training:<ref name="AT">[http://www.wto.int/english/tratop_e/devel_e/teccop_e/tct_e.htm "WTO Assistance for Developing Countries"]. World Trade Organization. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150612192912/http://www.wto.int/english/tratop_e/devel_e/teccop_e/tct_e.htm |date=12 June 2015 }}.</ref>
# The WTO shall facilitate the implementation, administration, and operation and further the objectives of this Agreement and the Multilateral Trade Agreements, and shall also provide the framework for the implementation, administration, and operation of the multilateral Trade Agreements.
# 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.
# The WTO shall administer the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes.
# The WTO shall administer a Trade Policy Review Mechanism.
# to achieve greater coherence in global economic policymaking, 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.<ref>Sinha, Aparijita. [http://www.preservearticles.com/201012291900/functions-and-objectives-of-wto.html "What are the functions and objectives of the WTO?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415014829/http://www.preservearticles.com/201012291900/functions-and-objectives-of-wto.html|date=15 April 2014}}. World Trade Organization. Retrieved on 13 April 2014.</ref>

The above five listings are the additional functions of the World Trade Organization. As globalization proceeds in today's society, the necessity of an [[International Organization]] to manage the trading systems has been of vital importance. As the trade volume increases, issues such as protectionism, trade barriers, subsidies, violation of intellectual property arise due to the differences in the trading rules of every nation. The World Trade Organization serves as the mediator between the nations when such problems arise. WTO could be referred to as the product of globalization and also as one of the most important organizations in today's globalized society.

The WTO is also a center of economic research and analysis: regular assessments of the global trade picture in its annual publications and research reports on specific topics are produced by the organization.<ref name="EA">[http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/reser_e.htm "Economic research and analysis"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315190051/http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/reser_e.htm |date=15 March 2007 }}. World Trade Organization.</ref> Finally, the WTO cooperates closely with the two other components of the [[Bretton Woods system]], the IMF and the World Bank.<ref name="B17"/>

== Key Publications ==
The WTO is recognized for producing authoritative [[Annual report|annual reports]] that provide clarity on the complexities of global trade. These documents are essential for anyone involved with or interested in trade policies and trends.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO {{!}} Publications |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/publications_e.htm |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.wto.org}}</ref>

=== World Trade Report ===
[[File:World Trade Organization - Launch of the World Trade Report 2024, 10 September 2024 (53985428083).jpg|thumb|Public forum where the recently published ''[[World Trade Report]]'' was discussed.]]
The World Trade Report stands as a key publication from the WTO. It delves into the current trade trends and policy challenges, offering comprehensive insights into the evolving dynamics of the global multilateral trading system and its [[Socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] implications.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO {{!}} Economic research and analysis gateway - World Trade Report |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/wtr_e.htm |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.wto.org}}</ref>

=== WTO Annual Report ===
The WTO Annual Report compiles a complete overview of the organization's activities, operations, and progress over the year. Detailed reports on the WTO's budget and staffing highlight its commitment to transparency and accountability within the realm of global trade management.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO {{!}} Economic research and analysis gateway - WTO Annual Report |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/annual_report_e.htm |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.wto.org}}</ref>

=== World Trade Statistical Review ===
The World Trade Statistical Review has taken the place of the previously issued ''International Trade Statistics''. As the WTO's premier source for annual trade data, it provides thorough analysis and statistics on the latest developments in world trade, proving to be an indispensable resource for global trade information.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO {{!}} Trade Statistics - World Trade Statistical Review |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/wts_e.htm |access-date=2024-04-08 |website=www.wto.org}}</ref>

==Principles of the trading system== <!-- "WTO terms" redirects here. If changing this section name, please update that redirect. -->
The WTO establishes a framework for trade policies; it does not define or specify outcomes. That is, it is concerned with setting the rules of "trade policy". Five principles are of particular importance in understanding both the pre-1994 GATT and the WTO:
# '''Non-discrimination'''. It has two major components: the [[most favored nation]] (MFN) treatment and the [[national treatment]]. Both are embedded in the main WTO agreements on goods, services, and intellectual property, but their precise scope and nature differ across these areas. The MFN rule requires that a WTO member must apply the same conditions on all trade with other WTO members, i.e., a WTO member has to grant the most favorable conditions under which it allows trade in a certain product type to all other WTO members.<ref name=" H42">B. Hoekman, ''The WTO: Functions and Basic Principles'', 42</ref> "Grant someone a special favor and you have to do the same for all other WTO members."<ref name="PT">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact2_e.htm#seebox Principles of the Trading System] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041211091642/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact2_e.htm#seebox |date=11 December 2004 }}, WTO official site</ref> Some exceptions exist, such as when states participate in a free trade agreement or for preferential treatment given to developing countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO {{!}} Understanding the WTO - principles of the trading system |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact2_e.htm |access-date=2024-05-08 |website=www.wto.org |language=en}}</ref> National treatment means that imported goods should be treated no less favorably than domestically produced goods (at least after the foreign goods have entered the market) and was introduced to tackle [[non-tariff barriers to trade]] (e.g. technical standards, security standards et al. discriminating against imported goods).<ref name="H42"/>
# '''Reciprocity'''. It reflects both a desire to limit the scope of [[Free rider problem|free-riding]] that may arise because of the MFN rule and a desire to obtain better access to foreign markets. A related point is that for a nation to negotiate, it is necessary that the gain from doing so be greater than the gain available from [[unilateralism|unilateral]] liberalization; reciprocal concessions intend to ensure that such gains will materialize.<ref name="H43">B. Hoekman, ''The WTO: Functions and Basic Principles'', 43</ref>
# '''Binding and enforceable commitments'''. The [[tariff]] commitments made by WTO members in multilateral trade negotiation and on accession are enumerated in a [[legal instrument]] known as a schedule (list) of concessions.<ref>WTO, [https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/schedules_e/goods_schedules_e.htm Schedules of concessions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214033012/https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/schedules_e/goods_schedules_e.htm |date=14 February 2024 }}, accessed 10 January 2022</ref> These schedules establish "ceiling bindings": a country can change its bindings, but only after negotiating with its trading partners, which could mean compensating them for loss of trade. If satisfaction is not obtained, the complaining country may invoke the WTO dispute settlement procedures.<ref name="PT"/><ref name="H43"/>
# '''Transparency'''. The WTO members are required to publish their trade regulations, to maintain institutions allowing for the review of administrative decisions affecting trade, to respond to requests for information by other members, and to notify changes in trade policies to the WTO. These internal transparency requirements are supplemented and facilitated by periodic country-specific reports (trade policy reviews) through the [[Trade Policy Review Mechanism]] (TPRM).<ref name=" H44">B. Hoekman, ''The WTO: Functions and Basic Principles'', 44</ref> The WTO system also tries to improve predictability and stability, discouraging the use of [[Import quota|quotas]] and other measures used to set limits on quantities of imports.<ref name="PT"/>
# '''Safety values'''. In specific circumstances, governments are able to [[Trade restriction|restrict trade]]. The WTO's agreements permit members to take measures to protect not only the environment but also public health, animal health and plant health.<ref name="wto.org">{{cite web|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/what_stand_for_e.htm|title=WTO – What is the WTO? – What we stand for|website=www.wto.org|access-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190606054009/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/what_stand_for_e.htm|archive-date=6 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
There are three types of provision in this direction:
# Articles allowing for the use of trade measures to attain non-economic objectives.
# Articles aimed at ensuring "fair competition"; members must not use environmental protection measures as a means of disguising protectionist policies.<ref name="wto.org"/><ref>Farah, Paolo Davide and Cima, Elena, World Trade Organization, Renewable Energy Subsidies and the Case of Feed-In Tariffs: Time for Reform Toward Sustainable Development? (1 December 2015). Georgetown International Environmental Law Review (GIELR), Vol. 27, No. 1, 2015. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2704398 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107185915/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2704398 |date=7 January 2023 }}</ref>
# Provisions permitting intervention in trade for economic reasons.<ref name="H44"/>

Exceptions to the MFN principle also allow for preferential treatment of [[Developing country|developing countries]], regional [[free trade area]]s and [[customs union]]s.<ref name=underst/>{{rp|fol.93}}

== NGO and CSO Participation ==
The '''World Trade Organization (WTO)''' hosts an annual '''Public Forum''', which serves as an inclusive platform for global dialogue on international trade. The forum brings together a wide range of stakeholders—including representatives from governments, academia, business, and '''non-governmental organizations (NGOs)''' and '''civil society organizations (CSOs)'''—to exchange perspectives on the multilateral trading system and its impact on development, equity, and sustainability<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Trade Organization - Global trade |url=https://www.wto.org/index.htm |access-date=2025-06-27 |website=www.wto.org |language=en}}</ref>.

NGOs and CSOs are eligible to participate in the WTO Public Forum either as observers or as active contributors to the panel discussions. The Forum provides a venue for civil society to share policy insights, raise concerns, and propose alternatives regarding trade-related issues. Participation is open to organizations with demonstrable expertise and relevance to the WTO’s mandate.

== Accreditation Process ==
Organizations wishing to attend the Forum must undergo an '''accreditation process''', which includes the following steps:

'''Submission of Application''' – Interested organizations are required to submit a set of documents, including their official statutes, recent annual reports, and a description of their mission and ongoing activities. Preference is given to organizations with substantial experience and demonstrated engagement in trade-related matters.

'''Review and Assessment''' – The WTO Secretariat examines the submitted materials to assess the organization’s alignment with the objectives and criteria of the WTO. Based on this evaluation, organizations are either granted or denied accreditation.

Once accredited, NGOs and CSOs are allowed to participate in the Forum as observers or contributors. They may also propose and organize panel sessions, roundtables, or workshops to present their perspectives and expertise on global trade challenges.<ref>{{Cite web |title=REGISTRATION AND ATTENDANCE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS AT THE THIRTEENTH SESSION OF THE WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc13_e/ngo_accreditation_procedure_e.pdf}}</ref>

==Organizational structure==
[[File:Tenth WTO Ministerial Conference - Day 3 - WTO Trade Facilitation in Action (23781232856).jpg|thumb|The biennial ''[[Ministerial Conference]]'', which is the highest authority of the WTO, brings people together to discuss ideas and concerns, which can lead to new policies or agreements.]]
The highest authority of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which must meet at least every two years.<ref name="whosewto">{{cite web |title=Whose WTO is it anyway? |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org1_e.htm |publisher=World Trade Organization |access-date=24 June 2020 |archive-date=4 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704133012/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org1_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Ministerial Conference met most recently in June 2022 in Geneva.<ref>WTO, [https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news22_e/mc12_17jun22_e.htm WTO members secure unprecedented package of trade outcomes at MC12] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230107185918/https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news22_e/mc12_17jun22_e.htm |date=7 January 2023 }}, published 17 June 2022, accessed 9 August 2022</ref>

In between each Ministerial Conference, the daily work is handled by three bodies whose membership is the same; they only differ by the terms of reference under which each body is constituted:<ref name=whosewto/>
* The General Council
* [[Dispute Settlement Body|The Dispute Settlement Body]]
* The Trade Policy Review Body

The General Council, whose Chair as of 2020 is [[David Walker (diplomat)|David Walker]] of New Zealand,<ref name=wtodg/> has the following subsidiary bodies which oversee committees in different areas:

; Council for Trade in Goods: There are 11 committees under the jurisdiction of the Goods Council each with a specific task. All members of the WTO participate in the committees. The Textiles Monitoring Body is separate from the other committees but still under the jurisdiction of the Goods Council. The body has its chairman and only 10 members. The body also has several groups relating to textiles.<ref name="WTO subsidiary bodies">{{cite news|url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org1_e.htm#fourth|title=Fourth level: down to the nitty-gritty|publisher=WTO official site|access-date=18 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928232833/http://www.wto.org/English/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org1_e.htm#fourth|archive-date=28 September 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

; Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights: Information on intellectual property in the WTO, news and official records of the activities of the TRIPS Council, and details of the WTO's work with other international organizations in the field.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel2_e.htm|title=Intellectual property – overview of TRIPS Agreement|publisher=Wto.org|date=15 April 1994|access-date=30 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100706052904/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/intel2_e.htm|archive-date=6 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

; Council for Trade in Services: The Council for Trade in Services operates under the guidance of the General Council and is responsible for overseeing the functioning of the [[General Agreement on Trade in Services]] (GATS). It is open to all WTO members and can create subsidiary bodies as required.<ref name="WTO-Services council">{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/s_coun_e.htm|title=The Services Council, its Committees and other subsidiary bodies|publisher=WTO official site|access-date=14 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080929143518/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/s_coun_e.htm|archive-date=29 September 2008|url-status=live}}</ref>

;Trade Negotiations Committee: The Trade Negotiations Committee (TNC) is the committee that deals with the current trade talks round. The chair is WTO's director-general. {{As of|2012|06}} the committee was tasked with the [[Doha Development Round]].<ref name="WTO-TNC">{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/tnc_e.htm|title=The Trade Negotiations Committee|publisher=WTO official site|access-date=14 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051125165156/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/tnc_e.htm|archive-date=25 November 2005|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Service Council has three subsidiary bodies: financial services, domestic regulations, GATS rules, and specific commitments.<ref name=" WTO subsidiary bodies"/> The council has several different committees, working groups, and working parties.<ref name="WTO-chart">{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org2_e.htm|title=WTO organization chart|publisher=WTO official site|access-date=14 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080814144315/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org2_e.htm|archive-date=14 August 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> There are committees on the following: Trade and Environment; Trade and Development (Subcommittee on [[Least developed country|Least-Developed Countries]]); [[Regional Trade Agreement]]s; Balance of Payments Restrictions; and Budget, Finance and Administration. There are working parties on the following: Accession. There are working groups on the following: Trade, debt and finance; and Trade and technology transfer.

As of 31 December 2022, the number of WTO staff on a regular budget is 340 women and 283 men.<ref name="WTO 2022-12-31">{{cite web |title=Secretariat and budget overview |website=WTO |date=2022-12-31 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/intro_e.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516060623/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/intro_e.htm |archive-date=2024-05-16 |url-status=live |access-date=2024-06-12}}</ref>

==Decision-making==
The WTO describes itself as "a rules-based, member-driven organization—all decisions are made by the member governments, and the rules are the outcome of negotiations among members".<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/thewto_e.htm#decision_making Decision-making] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111084450/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/thewto_e.htm#decision_making |date=11 November 2011 }} at WTO official site</ref> The WTO Agreement foresees votes where consensus cannot be reached, but the practice of consensus dominates the process of decision-making.<ref>[http://jiel.oxfordjournals.org/content/8/1/51.short Decision-Making in the World Trade Organization] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825050917/http://jiel.oxfordjournals.org/content/8/1/51.short |date=25 August 2011 }} Abstract from ''Journal of International Economic Law'' at Oxford Journals</ref>

[[Richard Harold Steinberg]] (2002) argues that although the WTO's consensus governance model provides law-based initial bargaining, trading rounds close through power-based bargaining favoring Europe and the U.S., and may not lead to [[Pareto efficiency|Pareto improvement]].<ref>Steinberg, Richard H. "In the Shadow of Law or Power? Consensus-based Bargaining and Outcomes in the GATT/WTO." ''International Organization.'' Spring 2002. pp. 339–374.</ref>

==Dispute settlement==
{{Main|Dispute settlement in the WTO}}
The WTO's dispute-settlement system "is the result of the evolution of rules, procedures and practices developed over almost half a century under the GATT 1947".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c1s2p1_e.htm |title=1.2 The Dispute Settlement Understanding |publisher=WTO official website |date=2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050317103153/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c1s2p1_e.htm |archive-date=17 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1994, the WTO members agreed on the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) annexed to the "Final Act" signed in Marrakesh in 1994.<ref>Stewart-Dawyer, ''The WTO Dispute Settlement System'', 7</ref> Dispute settlement is regarded by the WTO as the central pillar of the multilateral trading system, and as a "unique contribution to the stability of the global economy".<ref>S. Panitchpakdi, ''The WTO at ten'', 8.</ref> WTO members have agreed that, if they believe fellow-members are violating trade rules, they will use the multilateral system of settling disputes instead of taking action unilaterally.<ref name="UnSD">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/disp1_e.htm Settling Disputes:a Unique Contribution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314030521/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/disp1_e.htm |date=14 March 2007 }}, WTO official site</ref>

The operation of the WTO dispute settlement process involves case-specific panels<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s3p1_e.htm |title=3.3 Panels |publisher=WTO official website |date=2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050317103228/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s3p1_e.htm |archive-date=17 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref> appointed by the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s1p1_e.htm|title=3.1 The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB)|publisher=WTO official website|date=2005|access-date=7 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407103603/https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s1p1_e.htm|archive-date=7 April 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Appellate Body]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s4p1_e.htm |title=3.4 Appellate Body |publisher=WTO official website |date=2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050302040836/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s4p1_e.htm |archive-date=2 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref> the Director-General and the WTO Secretariat,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s2p1_e.htm |title=3.2 The Director-General and the WTO Secretariat |publisher=WTO official website |date=2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050302040327/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s2p1_e.htm |archive-date=2 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref> arbitrators,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s5p1_e.htm |title=3.5 arbitrators |publisher=WTO official website |date=2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050317103237/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s5p1_e.htm |archive-date=17 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref> and advisory experts.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s6p1_e.htm |title=3.6 Experts |publisher=WTO official website |date=2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050317103241/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c3s6p1_e.htm |archive-date=17 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The priority is to settle disputes, preferably through a mutually agreed solution, and provision has been made for the process to be conducted in an efficient and timely manner so that "If a case is adjudicated, it should normally take no more than one year for a panel ruling and no more than 16 months if the case is appealed... If the complainant deems the case urgent, consideration of the case should take even less time.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c1s3p3_e.htm |title="Mutually Agreed Solutions" as "Preferred Solution" |publisher=WTO official website |date=2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050317103205/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c1s3p3_e.htm |archive-date=17 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref> WTO member nations are obliged to accept the process as exclusive and compulsory.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c1s3p3_e.htm |title=1.3 Functions, objectives and key features of the dispute settlement system |publisher=WTO official website |date=2005 |access-date=7 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050317103205/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/disp_settlement_cbt_e/c1s3p3_e.htm |archive-date=17 March 2005 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to a 2018 study in the ''Journal of Politics'', states are less likely and slower to enforce WTO violations when the violations affect states in a diffuse manner.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Johns|first1=Leslie|last2=Pelc|first2=Krzysztof J.|date=25 April 2018|title=Free Riding on Enforcement in the World Trade Organization|journal=The Journal of Politics|volume=80|issue=3|pages=873–889|doi=10.1086/697463|s2cid=67756781|issn=0022-3816|url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1eb8/816f7bdc309659a42dc5bf5f8d89a8fcabd8.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209030428/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1eb8/816f7bdc309659a42dc5bf5f8d89a8fcabd8.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 February 2020}}</ref> This is because states face collective action problems with pursuing litigation: they all expect other states to carry the costs of litigation.<ref name=":1" /> A 2016 study in ''International Studies Quarterly'' challenges that the WTO dispute settlement system leads to greater increases in trade.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chaudoin|first1=Stephen|last2=Kucik|first2=Jeffrey|last3=Pelc|first3=Krzysztof|date=15 April 2016|title=Do WTO Disputes Actually Increase Trade?|journal=International Studies Quarterly|language=en|volume=60|issue=2|pages=294–306|doi=10.1093/isq/sqw009|s2cid=56249395|issn=0020-8833}}</ref>

However, the dispute settlement system cannot be used to resolve trade disputes that arise from political disagreements. When Qatar requested the establishment of a dispute panel concerning measures imposed by the UAE, other GCC countries and the US were quick to dismiss its request as a political matter, stating that national security issues were political and not appropriate for the WTO dispute system.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ameinfo.com/money/economy/the-first-middle-east-victims-are-oil-exporters/|title=A US-less WTO: The first Middle East victims are oil exporters|website=ameinfo.com|language=en|access-date=5 September 2018|date=2 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905180021/https://ameinfo.com/money/economy/the-first-middle-east-victims-are-oil-exporters/|archive-date=5 September 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since 2019, when the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Donald Trump administration]] blocked appointments to the body, the Appellate Body has been unable to enforce WTO rules and punish violators of WTO rules.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hopewell |first=Kristen |date=2024-07-03 |title=The (surprise) return of development policy space in the multilateral trading system: what the WTO Appellate Body blockage means for the developmental state |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09692290.2024.2303681 |journal=Review of International Political Economy |language=en |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=1245–1270 |doi=10.1080/09692290.2024.2303681 |issn=0969-2290|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In March 2020, the [[European Union]] and 15 other WTO members agreed to a ''Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement'' (MPIA). This gave access to an alternative appellate mechanism (arbitration as an appellate mechanism) while the Appellate Body is not functional.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parliament |first=EU |title=International trade dispute settlement: World Trade Organisation Appellate Body crisis and the multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2024/762342/EPRS_BRI(2024)762342_EN.pdf |access-date=15 September 2024 |website=European Parliament}}</ref>

==Accession and membership==
{{Main|World Trade Organization accession and membership}}

The process of becoming a WTO member is unique to each applicant country, and the terms of accession are dependent upon the country's stage of economic development and the current trade regime.<ref name="AS">[http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidtrade/issues/accessions.html Accessions Summary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070203051531/http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidtrade/issues/accessions.html |date=3 February 2007 }}, Center for International Development</ref> The process takes about five years, on average, but it can last longer if the country is less than fully committed to the process or if political issues interfere. The shortest accession negotiation was that of the [[Kyrgyz Republic]], while the longest was that of Russia, which, having first applied to join GATT in 1993, was approved for membership in December 2011 and became a WTO member on 22 August 2012.<ref name=rusmem>[http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news11_e/acc_rus_16dec11_e.htm Ministerial Conference approves Russia's WTO membership] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107231725/http://wto.org/english/news_e/news11_e/acc_rus_16dec11_e.htm |date=7 January 2012 }} WTO News Item, 16 December 2011</ref> Kazakhstan also had a long accession negotiation process. The Working Party on the Accession of [[Kazakhstan]] was established in 1996 and was approved for membership in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kazakhstan|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/a1_kazakhstan_e.htm|website=www.wto.org|access-date=23 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425071631/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/a1_kazakhstan_e.htm|archive-date=25 April 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The second longest was that of Vanuatu, whose Working Party on the Accession of Vanuatu was established on 11 July 1995. After a final meeting of the Working Party in October 2001, Vanuatu requested more time to consider its accession terms. In 2008, it indicated its interest to resume and conclude its WTO accession. The Working Party on the Accession of Vanuatu was reconvened informally on 4 April 2011 to discuss Vanuatu's future WTO membership. The re-convened Working Party completed its mandate on 2 May 2011. The General Council formally approved the Accession Package of Vanuatu on 26 October 2011. On 24 August 2012, the WTO welcomed Vanuatu as its 157th member.<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/a1_vanuatu_e.htm Accession status: Vanuatu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811121430/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/a1_vanuatu_e.htm |date=11 August 2012 }}. WTO. Retrieved on 12 July 2013.</ref> An offer of accession is only given once consensus is reached among interested parties.<ref name="M64">C. Michalopoulos, ''WTO Accession'', 64</ref>

A 2017 study argues that "political ties rather than issue-area functional gains determine who joins" and shows "how geopolitical alignment shapes the demand and supply sides of membership".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=Christina L.|last2=Wilf|first2=Meredith|date=10 May 2017|title=Joining the Club: Accession to the GATT/WTO|journal=The Journal of Politics|pages=964–978|volume=79|issue=3|doi=10.1086/691058|s2cid=152423155|issn=0022-3816}}</ref> The "findings challenge the view that states first liberalize trade to join the GATT/WTO. Instead, democracy and foreign policy similarity encourage states to join."<ref name=":0" />

===Accession process===
[[File:WTO enlargement.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|WTO accession progress:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/status_e.htm|title=Summary Table of Ongoing Accessions|date=April 2014|access-date=25 October 2014|publisher=World Trade Organization|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140929083614/http://wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/status_e.htm|archive-date=29 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> {{legend|#008000|Draft Working Party Report or Factual Summary adopted}} {{legend|#0000ff|Goods or Services offers submitted}} {{legend|#eeee00|Working party meetings}} {{legend|orange|Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime submitted}} {{legend|#ff1111|Working party established}}]]
[[File:General Council (15850309447).jpg|thumb|The accession process can take several years before a country becomes an official member of the organization.]]

A country wishing to accede to the WTO submits an application to the General Council, and has to describe all aspects of its trade and economic policies that have a bearing on WTO agreements.<ref name="BM">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org3_e.htm#join Membership, Alliances and Bureaucracy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316000217/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org3_e.htm#join |date=16 March 2007 }}, WTO official site</ref> The application is submitted to the WTO in a [[memorandum]] which is examined by a working party open to all interested WTO Members.<ref name=autogenerated1>C. Michalopoulos, ''WTO Accession'', 62–63</ref>

After all necessary background information has been acquired, the working party focuses on issues of discrepancy between the WTO rules and the applicant's international and domestic trade policies and laws. The working party determines the terms and conditions of entry into the WTO for the applicant nation and may consider transitional periods to allow countries some leeway in complying with the WTO rules.<ref name="AS"/>

The final phase of accession involves bilateral negotiations between the applicant nation and other working party members regarding the concessions and commitments on tariff levels and market access for goods and services. The new member's commitments are to apply equally to all WTO members under normal non-discrimination rules, even though they are negotiated bilaterally.<ref name="BM"/> For instance, as a result of joining the WTO, [[Armenia]] offered a 15 per cent ceiling [[bound tariff rate]] on accessing its market for goods. Together with the tariff bindings being [[ad valorem]] there are no specific or compound rates. Moreover, there are no [[tariff-rate quota]]s on both industrial and agricultural products.<ref>[http://www.wto.am/en/wto-membership Armenia – WTO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512153250/http://www.wto.am/en/wto-membership |date=12 May 2019 }}, www.wto.am</ref> Armenia's economic and trade performance growth was noted since its first review in 2010, especially its revival from the [[2008 financial crisis]], with an average annual 4% GDP growth rate, despite some fluctuations. [[Armenia]]'s economy was marked by low inflation, diminishing poverty, and essential progress in enhancing its macroeconomic steadiness in which trade in goods and services, which is the equivalent of 87% of GDP, played a growing role.<ref>[https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp479_crc_e.htm Concluding remarks by the Chairperson] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512195924/https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp479_crc_e.htm |date=12 May 2019 }}, WTO official site</ref>

When the bilateral talks conclude, the working party sends to the general council or ministerial conference an accession package, which includes a summary of all the working party meetings, the [[Protocol of Accession]] (a draft membership treaty), and lists ("schedules") of the member to be commitments. Once the general council or ministerial conference approves of the terms of accession, the applicant's parliament must ratify the Protocol of Accession before it can become a member.<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/acces_e.htm How to Become a Member of the WTO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313234319/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/acces_e.htm |date=13 March 2007 }}, WTO official site</ref> Some countries may have faced tougher and a much longer accession process due to challenges during negotiations with other WTO members, such as Vietnam, whose negotiations took more than 11 years before it became an official member in January 2007.<ref>{{cite book | last1 = Napier | first1 = Nancy K. | last2 = Vuong | first2 = Quan Hoang | title = What we see, why we worry, why we hope: Vietnam going forward | publisher = Boise State University CCI Press | year = 2013 | location = Boise, ID | page =140 | isbn = 978-0-9855305-8-7}}</ref>

===Members and observers===
{{see|Member states of the World Trade Organization}}
The WTO has 166 members and 23 observer governments.<ref name="memberlist">{{cite web|url=http://wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm|title=Members and Observers|publisher=World Trade Organization|date=24 August 2012|access-date=10 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910105304/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm|archive-date=10 September 2011|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |date=26 February 2024 |title=Ministers approve WTO membership of Comoros and Timor-Leste at MC13 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news24_e/acc_26feb24_e.htm |access-date=26 February 2024 |website=World Trade Organization}}</ref>  Most recently, on 26 February 2024 at the 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, Comoros and Timor Leste were approved to became the 165th and 166th members.<ref name=":10" /> In addition to states, the European Union, and each EU country in its own right,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/european_communities_e.htm|title=The European Union and the WTO|website=World Trade Organization|access-date=2 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624102938/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/countries_e/european_communities_e.htm|archive-date=24 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> 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. [[Taiwan]] acceded to the WTO in 2002 as the "[[Chinese Taipei|Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu]]."<ref name="J109">Jackson, J.H. ''Sovereignty'', 109</ref> The WTO Secretariat omits the official titles (such as Counsellor, First Secretary, Second Secretary and Third Secretary) of the members of [[Taiwan]]'s Permanent Mission to the WTO, except for the titles of the Permanent Representative and the Deputy Permanent Representative.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mac.gov.tw/public/Data/962717531571.pdf |title=ROC Government Publication |access-date=12 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119112714/http://www.mac.gov.tw/public/Data/962717531571.pdf |archive-date=19 January 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As of 2007, WTO members represented 96.4% of global trade and 96.7% of global GDP.<ref name=":9">{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/cbt_course_e/c1s1p1_e.htm |work=          Handbook on Accession to the WTO |title=Accession in perspective|access-date=22 December 2013|publisher=World Trade Organization|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224103425/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/cbt_course_e/c1s1p1_e.htm|archive-date=24 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Iran]], followed by [[Algeria]], are the economies with the largest GDP and trade outside the WTO, using 2005 data.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/cbt_course_e/annex1_e.doc|title=Annex 1. Statistical Survey|date=2005|access-date=22 December 2013|publisher=World Trade Organization|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224104338/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/acc_e/cbt_course_e/annex1_e.doc|archive-date=24 December 2013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Iranian Membership in the World Trade Organization: An Unclear Future|journal=[[Iranian Studies (journal)|Iranian Studies]]|date=21 November 2013|last=Arjomandy|first=Danial|doi=10.1080/00210862.2013.859810|volume=47|issue = 6|pages=933–950|s2cid=162297876}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/igo_obs_e.htm International intergovernmental organizations granted observer status to WTO bodies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312175427/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/igo_obs_e.htm |date=12 March 2007 }} at WTO official website</ref> Ten UN members have no affiliation with the WTO.

==Agreements==
The WTO oversees about 60 different agreements which have the status of international legal texts. Member countries must sign and ratify all WTO agreements on accession.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm|title=Legal texts – the WTO agreements|publisher=WTO|access-date=30 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524202121/http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm|archive-date=24 May 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> A discussion of some of the most important agreements follows.

The [[Agreement on Agriculture]] came into effect with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995. The AoA has three central concepts, or "pillars": domestic support, [[market access]] and [[export subsidies]].

The [[General Agreement on Trade in Services]] was created to extend the multilateral trading system to [[tertiary sector of industry|service sector]], in the same way as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provided such a system for merchandise trade. The agreement entered into force in January 1995.

The [[Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights]] sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulation. It was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994.<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm Understanding the WTO – Intellectual property: protection and enforcement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801061139/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm7_e.htm |date=1 August 2013 }}. WTO. Retrieved on 29 July 2013.</ref>

The [[Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures]]—also known as the SPS Agreement—was negotiated during the [[Uruguay Round]] of GATT, and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995. Under the SPS agreement, the WTO sets constraints on members' policies relating to food safety (bacterial contaminants, pesticides, inspection, and labeling) as well as animal and plant health (imported pests and diseases).

The [[Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade]] is an international [[treaty]] of the World Trade Organization. It was negotiated during the [[Uruguay Round]] of the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO at the end of 1994. The object ensures that technical negotiations and standards, as well as testing and certification procedures, do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/ursum_e.htm#dAgreement|title=A Summary of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round|publisher=Wto.org|access-date=30 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100524205632/http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/ursum_e.htm#dAgreement|archive-date=24 May 2010|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation|Agreement on Customs Valuation]], formally known as the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of GATT, prescribes methods of customs valuation that Members are to follow. Chiefly, it adopts the "transaction value" approach.

In December 2013, the biggest agreement within the WTO was signed and known as the [[Bali Package]].<ref name="Global Trade Deal Reached">{{cite web | url=http://www.wwd.com/business-news/government-trade/global-trade-deal-reached-7303060?module=latest-articles | title=Global Trade Deal Reached | publisher=WWD | date=7 December 2013 | access-date=8 December 2013 | author=Zarocostas, John | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211015613/http://www.wwd.com/business-news/government-trade/global-trade-deal-reached-7303060?module=latest-articles | archive-date=11 December 2013 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Office of director-general==
{{Main|Director-General of the World Trade Organization}}
[[File:Cwr lake facade2.jpg|thumb|The headquarters of the World Trade Organization in [[Geneva]], Switzerland]]
The procedures for the appointment of the WTO director-general were updated in January 2003,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.wto.org/imrd/directdoc.asp?DDFDocuments/t/WT/L/509.doc |title=WT/L/509 |publisher=WTO |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913034216/https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/DirectDoc.aspx?filename=%3F%3A%2Fdfdocuments%2Ft%2Fwt%2Fl%2F509.doc& |archive-date=13 September 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and include quadrennial terms.<ref name="wtodg">{{cite web |title=WTO Director-General selection process |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/dg_selection_process_e.htm |publisher=World Trade Organization |access-date=24 June 2020 |archive-date=25 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210425055155/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/dg_selection_process_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, there are four deputy directors-general. {{As of|2018|06|13}} under director-general [[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala]], the four deputy directors-general are:
* Angela Ellard of the United States (as of 4 May 2021)
* Anabel González of Costa Rica (as of 4 May 2021)
* Ambassador Jean-Marie Paugam of France (as of 4 May 2021)
* Ambassador Xiangchen Zhang of China (as of 4 May 2021)<ref>{{cite web |title=Deputy Directors-General |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/ddgs_e.htm |website=World Trade Organization |access-date=6 November 2022 |archive-date=12 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812063741/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/ddgs_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===List of directors-general===
Source: Official website<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/exdgs_e.htm |title=Previous GATT and WTO Directors-General |publisher=WTO |access-date=21 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030132441/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/dg_e/exdgs_e.htm |archive-date=30 October 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Portrait
!Name
!Country
!Term
|-
|[[File:Peter Sutherland (1985).jpg|frameless|135x135px]]
| [[Peter Sutherland]] || {{flagicon|Ireland}} Ireland || 1995
|-
|[[File:Renato Ruggiero.jpg|frameless|140x140px]]
| [[Renato Ruggiero]] || {{flagicon|Italy}} Italy || 1995–1999
|-
|[[File:Mike Moore.jpg|frameless|108x108px]]
| [[Mike Moore (New Zealand politician)|Mike Moore]] || {{flagicon|New Zealand}} New Zealand || 1999–2002
|-
|[[File:Supachai Panitchpakdi.jpg|frameless|170x170px]]
| [[Supachai Panitchpakdi]] || {{flagicon|Thailand}} Thailand || 2002–2005
|-
|[[File:Pascal Lamy, 2006.jpg|frameless|149x149px]]
| [[Pascal Lamy]] || {{flagicon|France}} France || 2005–2013
|-
|[[File:Roberto Azevedo cropped.jpg|frameless|133x133px]]
| [[Roberto Azevêdo]] || {{flagicon|Brazil}} Brazil || 2013–2021
|-
|[[File:Okonjo-Iweala, Ngozi (2008 portrait).jpg|frameless|140x140px]]
| [[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala]] || {{flagicon|Nigeria}} Nigeria || 2021–
|}

===2020 Director-General selection===
{{see|Director-General of the World Trade Organization#2020 Director-General selection}}
In May 2020, Director-General [[Roberto Azevedo]] announced that he would step down on 31 August 2020.<ref>{{cite news |title=WTO chief Roberto Azevêdo to step down early |newspaper=The Financial Times |date=14 May 2020 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3cc4df3d-8329-4de8-8f14-ce063d0cd9b8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/3cc4df3d-8329-4de8-8f14-ce063d0cd9b8 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|last1=Beattie |first1=Alan |last2=Williams |first2=Aime }}</ref> {{As of|October 2020}}, a nomination and selection process is currently under way with eight candidates and the final selection is expected on 7 November 2020 with the consensus of 164 member countries.<ref name="yoodecision">{{cite web| url=https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2020/10/12/national/politics/Yoo-Myunghee-WTO-Moon-Jaein/20201012172600409.html| title=Moon, allies intensify campaign for Yoo Myung-hee to head WTO| date=12 October 2020| publisher=[[Joongang Daily]]| url-status=live| archive-date=13 October 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013025403/https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2020/10/12/national/politics/Yoo-Myunghee-WTO-Moon-Jaein/20201012172600409.html}}</ref> A strong consensus had formed around the candidacy of [[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala]] but on 28 October it emerged that the US representative was opposed to her appointment.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-28/wto-panel-said-to-recommend-nigeria-s-candidate-for-top-post | title = U.S. Sows WTO Turmoil by Vetoing Front-Runner for Top Job | first = Bryce | last = Baschuk | date = 28 October 2020 | access-date = 28 October 2020 | work = Bloomberg | archive-date = 31 October 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201031110805/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-28/wto-panel-said-to-recommend-nigeria-s-candidate-for-top-post | url-status = live }}</ref>

WTO members made history on 15 February 2021 when the General Council agreed by consensus to select Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria as the organization's seventh Director-General.

Okonjo-Iweala became the first woman and the first African to be chosen as Director-General. Her term, renewable, will expire on 31 August 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-02-15 |title=History is made: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala chosen as Director-General |url=https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/dgno_15feb21_e.htm |access-date=26 May 2021 |archive-date=5 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605025358/https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news21_e/dgno_15feb21_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Budget==
The WTO derives most of the income for its annual budget from contributions by its Members. These are established according to a formula based on their share of international trade.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|+2023 Top 10 Members' contributions to the consolidated budget of the WTO<ref>{{Cite book |last=World Trade Organization |year=2023 |title=WTO Annual Report 2023 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/publications_e/anrep23_e.htm |url-status= |access-date=2024-03-29 |via=www.wto.org |pages=198–199 |language=en |format=PDF |isbn=978-92-870-7428-7}}</ref>
!Rank!! Country !!  [[Swiss franc|CHF]]  !!Percentage
|-
|1 ||style="text-align:left"| {{flag|United States}} || 22,808,985 || 11.667%
|-
|2 ||style="text-align:left"| {{flag|China}} || 21,031,890 || 10.758%
|-
|3 || style="text-align:left"|{{flag|Germany}} || 14,058,405 || 7.191%
|-
|4 || style="text-align:left"|{{flag|Japan}} || 7,411,405 || 3.791%
|-
|5 || style="text-align:left"|{{flag|France}} || 7,387,945 || 3.779% 
|-
|6 || style="text-align:left" | {{flag|United Kingdom}}|| 7,274,555 || 3.721%
|-
|7 || style="text-align:left" | {{flag|Netherlands}} || 5,778,980 || 2.956%
|-
|8 || style="text-align:left" | {{flag|Hong Kong}} || 5,501,370 || 2.814%
|-
|9 || style="text-align:left" | {{flag|South Korea}} || 5,350,835 || 2.737%
|-
|10 || style="text-align:left"|{{flag|Italy}} || 4,940,285 || 2.527%
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:center" |Others || 93,955,345 || 48.059%
|-
! colspan=2 style="text-align:center"|TOTAL !! 195,500,000 !! 100%
|}

== Criticism ==
{{Main|Criticism of the World Trade Organization}}
{{See also|1999 Seattle WTO protests}}
{{multiple image
 | width = 220
 | direction = vertical
 | image1 = World Trade Organization - Session 87 Indigenous trade sharing experiences and possibilities, 12 September 2024 (53991581051).jpg
 | image2 = Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala takes over as new WTO Director-General, 1 March 2021 (50993530301).jpg
 | footer = Whether in conference sessions or through public engagements, discussion of difficult topics can lead to more awareness and possible solutions for all stakeholders.
}}
Although tariffs and other trade barriers have been significantly reduced thanks to GATT and WTO, the promise that free trade will accelerate economic growth, reduce poverty, and increase people's incomes has been questioned by many critics.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=Sarah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-U_1KMg6GkgC|title=Blame it on the WTO?: A Human Rights Critique|last2=Joseph|first2=Sarah Louise|year=2011|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-956589-4|pages=164–167|language=en|access-date=23 August 2020|archive-date=14 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214033000/https://books.google.com/books?id=-U_1KMg6GkgC|url-status=live}}</ref> 

Economist [[Ha-Joon Chang]] argues that there is a "paradox" in neo-liberal beliefs regarding free trade because the economic growth of developing countries was higher in the 1960–1980 period compared to the 1980–2000 period even though its trade policies are now far more liberal than before. Also, there are results of research that show that new countries actively reduce trade barriers only after becoming significantly rich. From the results of the study, WTO critics argue that trade liberalization does not guarantee economic growth and certainly not poverty alleviation.<ref name=":7" /> He also cites the example of [[El Salvador]]; in the early 1990s, El Salvador removed all quantitative barriers to imports and also cut tariffs. However, the country's economic growth remained weak. On the other hand, [[Vietnam]], which only began reforming its economy in the late 1980s, saw a great deal of success by deciding to follow [[Chinese economic reform|China's economic model]] and liberalizing slowly along with implementing safeguards for domestic commerce. Vietnam has largely succeeded in accelerating economic growth and reducing poverty without immediately removing substantial trade barriers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dev.wcfia.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Rodrick_HowToSave.pdf|title=How to Save Globilization From Its Cheerleaders |date=8 February 2016|page=14|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208100820/http://dev.wcfia.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Rodrick_HowToSave.pdf|archive-date=8 February 2016|access-date=19 May 2020}}</ref><ref name=":7" />

Critics also put forward the view that the benefits derived from WTO facilitated free trade are not shared equally.<ref name="Polity"/> This criticism is usually supported by historical accounts of the outcomes of negotiations and/or data showing that the gap between the rich and the poor continues to widen, especially in [[China]] and [[India]], where economic inequality was growing at the time even though economic growth is very high.<ref name=":7" /> In addition, WTO approaches aiming to reduce trade barriers can harm developing countries. Trade liberalization that is too early without any prominent domestic barriers is feared to trap the developing economies in the primary sector, which often does not require skilled labor. And when these developing countries decide to advance their economy utilizing industrialization, the premature domestic industry cannot immediately skyrocket as expected, making it difficult to compete with other countries whose industries are more advanced.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book|last1=Joseph|first1=Sarah|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-U_1KMg6GkgC|title=Blame it on the WTO?: A Human Rights Critique|last2=Joseph|first2=Sarah Louise|date=2011|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-956589-4|pages=171–174|language=en|access-date=23 August 2020|archive-date=14 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214033000/https://books.google.com/books?id=-U_1KMg6GkgC|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Impact==
Studies show that the WTO boosted trade.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal|last1=Goldstein|first1=Judith L.|last2=Rivers|first2=Douglas|last3=Tomz|first3=Michael|date=2007|title=Institutions in International Relations: Understanding the Effects of the GATT and the WTO on World Trade|journal=International Organization|language=en|volume=61|issue=1|pages=37–67|doi=10.1017/S0020818307070014|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |issn=1531-5088 |author-link1=Judith Goldstein (political scientist)|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last1=Tomz|first1=Michael|last2=Goldstein|first2=Judith L|last3=Rivers|first3=Douglas|date=2007|title=Do We Really Know That the WTO Increases Trade? Comment|journal=American Economic Review|language=en|volume=97|issue=5|pages=2005–2018|doi=10.1257/aer.97.5.2005|issn=0002-8282}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chen|first=Natalie|doi-access=free |title=Gravity and heterogeneous trade cost elasticities|journal=Economic Journal|year=2021|volume=132|issue=644|pages=1349–1377|doi=10.1093/ej/ueab067|oclc=1259290547}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Goldstein|first1=Judith|last2=Gulotty|first2=Robert|date=2021|title=Trading Away Tariffs: The Operations of the GATT System|journal=World Trade Review|volume=21 |issue=2 |pages=135–158|language=en|doi=10.1017/S1474745621000458|s2cid=239630296 |issn=1474-7456|doi-access=}}</ref> Research shows that in the absence of the WTO, the average country would face an increase in tariffs on their exports by 32 percentage points.<ref name=":5">{{Cite journal|last1=Silva|first1=Peri Agostinho|last2=Nicita|first2=Alessandro|last3=Olarreaga|first3=Marcelo|date=2018|title=Cooperation in WTO's Tariff Waters?|url=http://www.ferdi.fr/sites/www.ferdi.fr/files/publication/fichiers/p176-_ferdi_-olarreaga_and_all.pdf|journal=Journal of Political Economy|volume=126|issue=3|pages=1302–1338|doi=10.1086/697085|issn=0022-3808|s2cid=152401600|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190429100839/http://www.ferdi.fr/sites/www.ferdi.fr/files/publication/fichiers/p176-_ferdi_-olarreaga_and_all.pdf|archive-date=29 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://voxeu.org/article/trade-war-will-increase-average-tariffs-32-percentage-points|title=A trade war will increase average tariffs by 32 percentage points|last1=Nicita|first1=Alessandro|last2=Olarreaga|first2=Marcelo|date=5 April 2018|website=VoxEU.org|access-date=27 April 2018|last3=Silva|first3=Peri da|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180427180653/https://voxeu.org/article/trade-war-will-increase-average-tariffs-32-percentage-points|archive-date=27 April 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The dispute settlement mechanism in the WTO is one way in which trade is increased.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Bechtel|first1=Michael M.|last2=Sattler|first2=Thomas|date=2015|title=What Is Litigation in the World Trade Organization Worth?|journal=International Organization|language=en|volume=69|issue=2|pages=375–403|doi=10.1017/S002081831400037X|s2cid=232251704|issn=0020-8183}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Shin|first1=Wonkyu|last2=Ahn|first2=Dukgeun|date=2019|title=Trade Gains from Legal Rulings in the WTO Dispute Settlement System|journal=World Trade Review|language=en|volume=18|issue=1|pages=1–31|doi=10.1017/S1474745617000544|issn=1474-7456|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bown|first=Chad P.|date=2004|title=On the Economic Success of GATT/WTO Dispute Settlement|url=https://ideas.repec.org/a/tpr/restat/v86y2004i3p811-823.html|journal=The Review of Economics and Statistics|language=en|volume=86|issue=3|pages=811–823|doi=10.1162/0034653041811680|s2cid=28108505|access-date=24 March 2020|archive-date=24 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324165318/https://ideas.repec.org/a/tpr/restat/v86y2004i3p811-823.html|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bown|first=Chad P.|date=2004|title=Trade Policy under the GATT/WTO: Empirical Evidence of the Equal Treatment Rule|journal=The Canadian Journal of Economics |volume=37|issue=3|pages=678–720|doi=10.1111/j.0008-4085.2004.00243.x|jstor=3696011|s2cid=5705448|issn=0008-4085}}</ref>

According to a 2017 study in the ''[[Journal of International Economic Law]]'', "nearly all recent preferential trade agreements (PTAs) reference the WTO explicitly, often dozens of times across multiple chapters. Likewise, in many of these same PTAs we find that substantial portions of treaty language—sometime the majority of a chapter—is copied verbatim from a WTO agreement... the presence of the WTO in PTAs has increased over time."<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal|last1=Allee|first1=Todd|last2=Elsig|first2=Manfred|last3=Lugg|first3=Andrew|date=2017|title=The Ties between the World Trade Organization and Preferential Trade Agreements: A Textual Analysis|journal=Journal of International Economic Law|language=en|volume=20|issue=2|pages=333–363|doi=10.1093/jiel/jgx009|issn=1369-3034}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Business and economics|Politics|Law|World}}
{{div col}}
* [[Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures]]
* [[Anti-globalization movement]]
* [[China and the World Trade Organization]]
* [[Criticism of the World Trade Organization]]
* [[Dispute settlement in the World Trade Organization]]
* [[Foreign Affiliate Trade Statistics]]
* [[Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999]]
* [[Global administrative law]]
* [[Information Technology Agreement]]
* [[International Trade Centre]]
* [[Labour standards in the World Trade Organization]]
* [[Non-tariff barriers to trade]]
* [[North American Free Trade Agreement]]
* [[Swiss Formula]]
* [[Trade bloc]]
* [[UNIDROIT]]
* [[United Nations Commission on International Trade Law]] (UNCITRAL)
* [[Washington Consensus]]
* [[World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity]]
* ''[[World Trade Report]]''
{{div col end}}

==Notes and references==
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{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Acharya, Rohini, et al. "Trade and Women{{snd}}Opportunities for Women in the Framework of the World Trade Organization". ''Journal of International Economic Law'' 22.3 (2019): 323–354.
* Bishop, Matthew Louis, and Zhang Xiaotong. "[https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/143106/1/Bishop%20and%20Zhang%20-%20Why%20is%20China%20a%20Reluctant%20Leader%20%28Repository%20Open%20Access%20Version%29.pdf Why is China a reluctant leader of the World Trade Organization?]" ''New Political Economy'' 25.5 (2020): 755–772.
* Bowen, T. Renee, J. Lawrence Broz, and Marc-Andreas Muendler. "[https://ccd.ucsd.edu/_files/papers/bowen-broz_wto-and-us-domestic-politics.pdf The World Trade Organization and US Domestic Politics]". Working Paper, 2021.
* Broude, Tomer. "The World Trade Organization: A Short Introduction". ''Journal of International Economic Law'', vol. 14, no. 3, 2011, pp. 435–451.
* Busch, Marc L., and Eric Reinhardt. "The Political Economy of World Trade Organization Negotiations: The Design of the Multilateral Trading System". ''International Organization'', vol. 57, no. 3, 2003, pp. 565–599.
*  Graziano, Daniela. "The World Trade Organization in the Global Governance Network: A Political Analysis of Its Role and Functions". ''Global Governance'' vol. 15, no. 4, 2009, pp. 467–484.
* Holland, Kenneth. "[https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/1474/1/IJIEL2021.pdf The Trump Administration's Critique of the World Trade Organization and Its Implications for the International Trading System]". ''Indian Journal of international economic law '' 13 (2021): 154+.
* Jackson, John H. ''The World Trading System: Law and Policy of International Economic Relations.'' ( MIT Press, 2017).
* Joost, Peter. "The World Trade Organization: Structure and Jurisprudence". ''International Trade Law and Regulation''vol. 9, no. 5, 2003, pp. 1–12.
* Karlas, Jan, and Michal Parízek. "Supply of Policy Information in the World Trade Organization: Cross-National Compliance with One-Time and Regular Notification Obligations, 1995–2014". ''World Trade Review'' 19.1 (2020): 30–50.
* Matsushita, Mitsuo, et al. ''The World Trade Organization: law, practice, and policy'' (Oxford University Press, 2015). [https://www.logobook.kz/af/11074554/2287/0199284563_sample.pdf online]
* Palmeter, David, Petros C. Mavroidis, and Niall Meagher. ''Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization'' (Cambridge University Press, 2022.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=8oxVEAAAQBAJ&dq=World+Trade+Organization+&pg=PR21 online]
* Pearson, Margaret M. "China in Geneva: lessons from China's early years in the World Trade Organization"  in ''New Directions in the Study of China's Foreign Policy'' (Stanford University Press, 2022) pp. 242–275.
* Qureshi, Asif H. ''The World Trade Organization: implementing international trade norms. The World Trade Organization'' (Manchester University Press, 2022).{{ISBN?}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{Official website}}
* [http://www.intracen.org/about/itcs-role-in-un-and-wto/ International Trade Centre] – joint UN/WTO agency

{{World Trade Organization}}
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