World trade Organization

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapterization Chapterizati on

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 Disclaimer ……………….......................................... ………………................................................................ ............................................ ..............................3 ........3  Acknowledgement ………………………………………………...................................4 ………………………………………………...................................4 Table of Abbreviation ........................................... ................................................................. ............................................ ...................................5 .............5 Chapters

I.

Chapter 1 –  1 – Introduction............. Introduction................................... .............................................. .............................................. .....................................5 ...............5  Brief introduction of the research project  Research Methodology Objects of research Scheme of Chapterization

II.

Chapter 2 –  2 – What What is WTO?........................................ WTO?.............................................................. ...........................................8 .....................8

III.

Chapter 3 –  3 – Structure Structure of WTO........................................ WTO.............................................................. .....................................10 ...............10

IV.

Chapter 4 –  4 – Functions Functions of WTO.......................................... WTO................................................................ ....................................13 ..............13

V.

Chapter 5 –  5 – Conclusion…………………………………………………………….14 Conclusion…………………………………………………………….14

VI.

Bibliography................................. Bibliography....................................................... ............................................ ............................................ ...................................15 .............15

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Disclaimer This project report has been prepared by the author as a student of 3rd year under the five year BBA.LL.B (H) Program in the MATS Law School for academic purposes only. The views expressed in this report are personal to the student and do not reflect the view of commission or any another person, law school or any of its staff or personnel. Any for academically publishing of this article then it must be authority from the respective law school in any manner. This report is the “Structure and Functions of WTO” and the same or any part thereof may not be used in any manner whatsoever, without express permission of the MATS Law School in writing.

Divyansh Sharma MU13BBALLB09

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I feel highly elated to work on this dynamic and highly important topic that is “International Law And Regulation of Refugees”. This topic instantly drew my attention and attracted me to research on it. I am fortunate to be provided with an opportunity to write my paper under the kind supervision of Miss Disha Sharma (Asst. Prof., MATS Law School) and I am thankful to her for providing me with the appropriate guidance while writing the paper. This paper would not have been possible without her valuable inputs, honest remarks and earnest effort to guide me throughout the drafting of the paper. I would like to extend my sincere thank to her for giving me her valuable time to view my research from her busy schedule. I am highly indebted to the library staff to help me find the relevant books and  journals, and other officials and office staffs, who have also extended their help whenever needed. I would like to extend my sincere thanks to my friends and for their review and honest remarks.

So, I hope I have tried my level best to bring in new ideas and thoughts regarding the  basics of this topic. Not to forget my deep sense of regard and gratitude to my faculty adviser, Miss. Disha Sharma who played the role of a protagonist. Last but not the least; I thank all the members of the MATS Law School and all others who have helped me in making this  project a success.

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Table of Abbreviations

WTO................................................................................................World Trade Organisation GATT…………………………...........…………….General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade UN.........................................................................................................................United Nation Res...............................................................................................................................Resolution Govt. .......................................................................................................................Government

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CHAPTER- I INTRODUCTION

The World Trade Organization  (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization which regulates international trade.  The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement,  signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948. The WTO deals with regulation of trade between participating countries by  providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution  process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed

by

representatives

of

member

governments and

ratified

by

their

 parliaments. Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round (1986 – 1994). The WTO is attempting to complete negotiations on the Doha Development Round, which was launched in 2001 with an explicit focus on developing countries. As of June 2012, 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 is still incomplete. The conflict between free trade on industrial goods and services but retention of  protectionism on farm subsidies to domestic agricultural sector (requested by developed countries)  and the substantiation 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 Govts. As of July 2012, there were various negotiation groups in the WTO system for the current agricultural trade negotiation which is in the condition of stalemate.

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Research Methodology Problem: World Trade Organization is the only trade Organization which regulates international trade of world, so to understand the Structure of WTO and its Functions. Rationale:  The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international

organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s tr ading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. Objectives: 1) To understand what is WTO? 2) To Know how it functions? 3) To know what comes under the structure of WTO. 4) To know the fuctions of WTO in International Trade.

Review of literature: The sources of data are secondry, which is taken help from library,

 books journals and internet. 1. The World Trade Organization Millennium Round: Freer Trade in the Twenty-First Century By Klaus Günter Deutsch; Bernhard Speyer 2. The Role of the World Trade Organization in Global Governance By Gary P. Sampson

Concept and variables of the study :

Its goal is to supervise and expand international trade, monitor national trade policies, and  provide technical assistance to developing nations. The WTO is a forum for negotiating and formalizing agreements between nations, as well as resolving disputes. The organization grew from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was established shortly after World War II. The WTO officially began in 1995 and now has 153 member 6|Page

countries, representing more than 97% of the world's trade. An additional 30 nations are currently observers seeking membership.

NATURE AND KIND OF RESEARCH

The doctrinal research methodology would be used in analysing the Natural resource accounting and to see its international prospective. Limitation of the study:The research has been completed in approx. 1 week.

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CHAPTER-II What Is the WTO?

The WTO was born out of the  General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was established in 1947. A series of trade negotiations, GATT rounds began at the end of World War II and were aimed at reducing tariffs for the facilitation of global trade on goods. The rationale for GATT was based on the Most Favored Nation (MFN) clause, which, when assigned to one country by another, gives the selected country privileged trading rights. As such, GATT aimed to help all countries obtain MFN-like status so that no single country would be at a trading advantage over others. The WTO replaced GATT as the world's global trading body in 1995, and the current set of governing rules stems from the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, which took place throughout 1986-1994. GATT trading regulations established between 1947 and 1994 (and in  particular those negotiated during the Uruguay Round) remain the primary rule book for multilateral trade in goods. Specific sectors such as agriculture have been addressed, as well as issues dealing with anti-dumping. The Uruguay Round also laid the foundations for regulating trade in services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the guideline directing multilateral trade in services. Intellectual property rights were also addressed in the establishment of regulations  protecting the trade and investment of ideas, concepts, designs, patents, and so forth. The purpose of the WTO is to ensure that global trade commences smoothly, freely and  predictably. The WTO creates and embodies the legal ground rules for global trade among member nations and thus offers a system for international commerce. The WTO aims to create economic peace and stability in the world through a multilateral system based on consenting member states (currently there are slightly more than 140 members) that have ratified the rules of the WTO in their individual countries as well. This means that WTO rules  become a part of a country's domestic legal system. The rules, therefore, apply to local companies and nationals in the conduct of business in the international arena. If a company decides to invest in a foreign country, by, for example, setting up an office in that country, the rules of the WTO (and hence, a country's local laws) will govern how that can be done.

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Theoretically, if a country is a member to the WTO, its local laws cannot contradict WTO rules and regulations, which currently govern approximately 97% of all world trade.

How It Functions

Decisions are made by consensus, though a majority vote may also rule (this is very rare). Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the Ministerial Committee, which holds meetings at least every two years, makes the top decisions. There is also a General Council, a Goods Council, Services Council, and an Intellectual Property Rights Council, which all report to the General Council. Finally, there are a number of working groups and committees. If a trade dispute occurs, the WTO works to resolve it. If, for example, a country erects a trade barrier in the form of a customs duty against a particular country or a particular good, the WTO may issue trade sanctions against the violating country. The WTO will also work to resolve the conflict through negotiations.

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CHAPTER-III THE STRUCTURE OF WTO

The structure of the WTO is dominated by its highest authority, the Ministerial Conference, composed of representatives of all WTO members, which is required to meet at least every two years and which can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. The day-to-day work of the WTO, however, falls to a number of subsidiary bodies;  principally the General Council, also composed of all WTO members, which is required to report to the Ministerial Conference. As well as conducting its regular work on behalf of the Ministerial Conference, the General Council convenes in two particular forms - as the Dispute Settlement Body, to oversee the dispute settlement procedures and as the Trade Policy Review Body to conduct regular reviews of the trade policies of individual WTO members. The General Council delegates responsibility to three other major bodies - namely the Councils for Trade in Goods, Trade in Services and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property. The Council for Goods oversees the implementation and functioning of all the agreements (Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement) covering trade in goods, though many such agreements have their own specific overseeing bodies. The latter two Councils have responsibility for their respective WTO agreements (Annexes 1B and 1C) and may establish their own subsidiary bodies as necessary. Three other bodies are established by the Ministerial Conference and report to the General Council. The Committee on Trade and Development is concerned with issues relating to the developing countries and, especially, to the "least-developed" among them. The Committee on Balance of Payments is responsible for consultations between WTO members and countries which take trade-restrictive measures, under Articles XII and XVIII of GATT, in order to cope with balance-of-payments difficulties. Finally, issues relating to WTO's financing and budget are dealt with by a Committee on Budget.

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Each of the four plurilateral agreements of the WTO - those on civil aircraft, government  procurement, dairy products and bovine meat - establish t heir own management bodies which are required to report to the General Council. The World Trade Organization came into force on January 1, 1995, fully replacing the  previous GATT Secretariat as the organization responsible for administering the international trade regime. The basic structure of the WTO includes the following bodies 

The Ministerial Conference, which is composed of international trade ministers from all member countries. This is the governing body of the WTO, responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organization and making all final decisions on agreements under its wings. The Ministerial Conference meets at least once every two years. Although voting can take place, decisions are generally taken by consensus, a  process that can at times be difficult, particularly in a body composed of 136 very different members.

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The General Council , composed of senior representatives (usually ambassador level) of all members. It is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day business and management of the WTO, and is based at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. In  practice, this is the key decision-making arm of the WTO for most issues. Several of the bodies described below report directly to the General Council.

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The Trade Policy Review Body   is also composed of all the WTO members, and oversees the Trade Policy Review Mechanism, a product of the Uruguay Round. It  periodically reviews the trade policies and practices of all member states. These reviews are intended to provide a general indication of how states are implementing their obligations, and to contribute to improved adherence by the WTO parties to their obligations.

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The Dispute Settlement Body   is also composed of all the WTO members. It oversees the implementation and effectiveness of the dispute resolution process for all WTO agreements, and the implementation of the decisions on WTO disputes. Disputes are heard and ruled on by dispute resolution panels chosen individually for each case, and the permanent Appellate Body that was established in 1994. Dispute resolution is mandatory and binding on all members. A final decision of the Appellate Body can only be reversed by a full consensus of the Dispute Settlement Body.

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The Councils on Trade in Goods and Trade in Services  operate under the mandate of the General Council and are composed of all members. They provide a mechanism to oversee the details of the general and specific agreements on trade in goods (such as those on textiles and agriculture) and trade in services. There is also a Council for the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, dealing with  just that agreement and subject area.

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The Secretariat and Director General  of the WTO reside in Geneva, in the old home of GATT. The Secretariat now numbers just under 550 people, and undertakes the administrative functions of running all aspects of the organization. The Secretariat has no legal decision-making powers but provides vital services, and often advice, to those who do. The Secretariat is headed by the Dir ector General, who is elected by the members.

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The Committee on Trade and Development and Committee  on Trade and Environment are two of the several committees continued or established under the  Marrakech Agreement   in 1994. They have specific mandates to focus on these relationships, which are especially relevant to how the WTO deals with sustainable development issues. The Committee on Trade and Development was established in 1965. The forerunner to the Committee on Trade and Environment (the Group on Environmental Measures and International Trade) was established in 1971.

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CHAPTER-IV FUNCTIONS OF WTO

Among the various functions of the WTO, these are regarded by analysts as the most important:

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It oversees the implementation, administration and operation of the covered agreements.

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It provides a forum for negotiations and for settling disputes.

Additionally, it is the 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. Another priority of the WTO is the assistance of  developing, leastdeveloped and low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines through technical cooperation and training. 1. The WTO shall facilitate the implementation, administration and operation and further the objectives of this Agreement and of the Multilateral Trade Agreements, and shall also provide the frame work for the implementation, administration and operation of the multilateral Trade Agreements. 2. 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. 3. The WTO shall administer the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes. 4. The WTO shall administer Trade Policy Review Mechanism. 5. With a view to achieving greater coherence in global economic policy making, the WTO shall cooperate, as appropriate, with the inte rnational Monetary Fund (IMF) and with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and its affiliated agencies.

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Biblography 

http://www.projects4mba.com/structure-of-wto-world-trade-organization/142

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www.encyclopedia.com/topic/World_Trade_Organization.aspx

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https://www.iisd.org/trade/handbook/3_1.htm

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https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/agrmntseries1_ wto _e.pdf 

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