Q.What is the World Trade Organisation (WTO)? State any three of its objectives.

The WTO is the main international body that makes and administers the rules governing trade between its member countries.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is the principal international body responsible for making and administering the rules that govern trade between nations. It was established on 1 January 1995, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which had operated as a provisional multilateral framework since 1948. The WTO is headquartered at Geneva, Switzerland, and India is a founder member.

Objectives of the WTO include:

1. Raising standards of living and expanding production, trade and employment among member countries.
2. Ensuring trade is conducted on a non-discriminatory basis through the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle — a trade advantage granted to one member must be extended to all — and national treatment, so imported goods are not treated less favourably than domestic goods once inside a country.
3. Progressively reducing tariffs and other barriers to trade through negotiated rounds among members. …

Students often confuse the WTO's founding date with GATT's (1948), or state the WTO was 'formed to replace the United Nations trade body', which is incorrect — GATT is the correct predecessor. Nam …