About the World Trade Organisation
The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in 1995. Its predecessor organisation was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The WTO is based in Geneva.
The WTO is the only international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations. Its goal is to ensure free, efficient and predictable trade flows. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified by their parliaments.
The WTO operates a global system of trade rules, acts as a forum for negotiating trade agreements, settles trade disputes between its members and it supports the needs of developing countries. All major decisions are made by the WTO's member governments. The WTO has over 160 members representing 98 per cent of world trade. To join the WTO (known as accession), a government has to bring its economic and trade policies in line with WTO rules and negotiate its terms of entry with the WTO membership. More on the WTO on the WTO website.
The WTO Annual Report summarises the WTO's activities over the past year and provides detailed information on the organization's structure, staff and budget.
The member states webpage lists all member states alphabetically, and provides includes key information on trade statistics, WTO commitments, disputes, trade policy reviews, and notifications for all member states.
The Accessions webpage includes the Accessions Intelligence Portal - this contains information on on-going and completed WTO accessions since 1995 as well as other accession-related information, such as how to become a WTO member, technical assistance activities (including a , relevant publications and other resources. The portal also contains an interactive accessions status map, which links to key information on each member's participation in the WTO.
See also:
The WTO Agreements: The Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization and its AnnexesCall Number: eBookPublication Date: CUP, 2nd ed, 2017
A Handbook on Accession to the WTO: A WTO Secretariat PublicationCall Number: eBookPublication Date: CUP, 2008
WTO Documents
The WTO Documents Online database provides access to the official documentation of the World Trade Organization. The database contains over 140,000 documents in the three official languages from 1995 onwards and is updated daily.
Books
Industrial policy and the World Trade Organization: between legal constraints and flexibilities by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: OUP, 2018
The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization: Text, Cases and Materials by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: CUP, 5th ed, 2022
Assessing the World Trade Organization: Fit for Purpose? by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: CUP, 2017
The Development of World Trade Organization Law: examining change in international law by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: OUP, 2016
The World Trade Organization: law, practice, and policy by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: OUP, 3rd ed, 2016
The Regulation of International Trade : The WTO Agreements on Trade in Goods by Call Number: eBookPublication Date: MIT Press, 2016
