World Trade Organisation (WTO)

Trade rules took a separate, later path from monetary and development finance. The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was signed in 1947 as a provisional multilateral treaty to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers — it was never itself a full-fledged organisation, and operated through periodic negotiating "rounds." The Uruguay Round (1986–1994) concluded by establishing a permanent institution, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which came into being on 1 January 1995 and is headquartered in Geneva.

Objectives: to ensure trade flows as smoothly, predictably, and freely as possible; to raise living standards and ensure full employment through expanded trade; to settle trade disputes between members through a structured, rules-based process rather than unilateral retaliation; and to help developing countries adjust to the multilateral trading system.

Key principles:

• Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment — a trade concession granted to one member must, with limited exceptions, be extended to all WTO members equally.
• National Treatment — once foreign goods have entered a market, they must be treated no less favourably than domestically produced goods with respect to internal taxes and regulations.
• Reciprocity and transparency in trade policy, and a bias toward progressive tariff reduction over unilateral protection.

Major agreements administered by the WTO:

• GATT (updated) — covers trade in goods.
• GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) — covers trade in services.
• TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) — sets minimum standards for protecting patents, copyrights, and trademarks in international trade. …