WTO:

GATT & WTO

The World Trade Organization came into being in 1995. One of the youngest of the international organizations, the WTO is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War.

GATT and the WTO have helped to create a strong and prosperous trading system contributing to unprecedented growth

History:

The system was developed through a series of trade negotiations, or rounds, held under GATT.

The first rounds dealt mainly with tariff reductions but later negotiations included other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures.

The last round — the 1986-94 Uruguay Round — led to the WTO’s creation.

The negotiations did not end there. Some continued after the end of the Uruguay Round.

In February 1997 agreement was reached on telecommunications services, with 69 governments agreeing to wide-ranging liberalization measures that went beyond those agreed in the Uruguay Round.

In the same year 40 governments successfully concluded negotiations for tariff-free trade in information technology products, and 70 members concluded a financial services deal covering more than 95% of trade in banking, insurance, securities and financial information.

In 2000, new talks started on agriculture and services. These had been incorporated into a broader agenda launched at the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.

The work programme, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), adds negotiations and other work on non-agricultural tariffs, trade and environment, WTO rules such as anti-dumping and subsidies, investment, competition policy, trade facilitation, transparency in government procurement, intellectual property, and a range of issues raised by developing countries as difficulties they face in implementing the present WTO agreements.

The deadline for the negotiations is 1 January 2005.

The organization :

The WTO’s overriding objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably

The WTO’s overriding objective It does this by

Administering trade agreements Acting as a forum for trade

negotiations Settling trade disputes Reviewing national trade policies Assisting developing countries in trade

policy issues, through technical assistance and training programmes

Cooperating with other international organizations

WTO Agenda: The 10 benefits

1. The system helps promote peace 2. Disputes are handled constructively 3. Rules make life easier for all 4. Free trade cuts the costs of living 5. It provides more choice of products an qualities 6. Trade raises incomes 7. Trade stimulates economic growth 8. The basic principles make life more efficient 9. Governments are shielded from lobbying 10. The system encourages good government

WTO:The 10 misunderstandings 1. The WTO dictates policy 2. The WTO is for free trade at any cost 3. Commercial interests take priority over development … 4. … and over the environment 5. … and over health and safety 6. The WTO destroys jobs, worsens poverty 7. Small countries are powerless in the WTO 8. The WTO is the tool of powerful lobbies 9. Weaker countries are forced to join the

WTO 10. The WTO is undemocratic

The WTO is ‘rules-based’; its rules are negotiated agreements.

Tariffs: more bindings and closer to zero Agriculture: fairer markets for farmers Standards and safety Textiles: back in the mainstream Services: rules for growth and investment Intellectual property: protection and enforcement Anti-dumping, subsidies, safeguards:

contingencies, etc Non-tariff barriers: red tape, etc Plurilaterals: of minority interest Trade policy reviews: ensuring transparency

>  A unique contribution> The panel process> Case study: the timetable in

practiceWTO | The WTO in brief – 3WTO | 10 benefits - menu

The Public InterestThe Public Interest•• Promotion of Promotion of

innovationinnovation•• Public health and Public health and

access to medicinesaccess to medicines•• Nutrition and Food Nutrition and Food

security security •• Technology transferTechnology transfer•• Competition policyCompetition policy

•• Human rightsHuman rights•• Development Development •• Fight against povertyFight against poverty•• Environmental Environmental

protectionprotection•• EducationEducation

““Whenever there is a Whenever there is a conflict between human conflict between human rights and property rights, rights and property rights, the former must prevailthe former must prevail””

Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln

Trips:

Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights

TRIPS Ideas and knowledge are an increasingly important

part of trade. Most of the value of new medicines and other high

technology products lies in the amount of invention, innovation, research, design and testing involved. Films, music recordings, books, computer software and on-line services are bought and sold because of the information and creativity they contain, not usually because of the plastic, metal or paper used to make them.

Many products that used to be traded as low-technology goods or commodities now contain a higher proportion of invention and design in their value — for example brand named clothing or new varieties of plants.

TRIPS The extent of protection and

enforcement of these rights varied widely around the world; and as intellectual property became more important in trade, these differences became a source of tension in international economic relations.

New internationally-agreed trade rules for intellectual property rights were seen as a way to introduce more order and predictability, and for disputes to be settled more systematically.

TRIPS Recognizing the need for a multilateral framework of

principles, rules and disciplines dealing with international trade in counterfeit goods;

Recognizing that intellectual property rights are private rights;

Recognizing the underlying public policy objectives of national systems for the protection of intellectual property, including developmental and technological objectives;

Recognizing also the special needs of the least-developed country Members in respect of maximum flexibility in the domestic implementation of laws and regulations in order to enable them to create a sound and viable technological base;

Emphasizing the importance of reducing tensions by reaching strengthened commitments to resolve disputes on trade-related intellectual property issues through multilateral procedures;

Desiring to establish a mutually supportive relationship between the WTO and the World Intellectual Property Organization

Preamble : ADDitional reading Desiring to reduce distortions and

impediments to international trade, and taking into account the need to promote effective and adequate protection of intellectual property rights, and to ensure that measures and procedures to enforce intellectual property rights do not themselves become barriers to legitimate trade;

    Recognizing, to this end, the need for new rules and disciplines

Trims: The Agreement on Trade Related Investment

Measures (TRIMs) is one of Agreements covered under Annex IA to the Marrakech Agreement, signed at the end of the Uruguay Round (UR) negotiations.

The Agreement addresses investment measures that are trade related and that also violate Article III (National treatment) or Article XI (general elimination of quantitative restrictions) of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

An illustrative list of the measures that are violative of the provisions of the Agreement is annexed to the text of the Agreement. These pertain broadly to local content requirements, trade balancing requirements and export restrictions, attached to investment decision making.

TRIMS : W The Agreement on Trade Related

Investment Measures (TRIMs) are rules that apply to the domestic regulations a country applies to foreign investors, often as part of an industrial policy.

The agreement was agreed upon by all members of the World Trade Organization. (The WTO wasn't established at that time, it was its predecessor, the GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs). The WTO came about in 1994-1995.

TRIMS Provisions on elimination of notified TRIMs by WTO

Members, and transition periods The Agreement requires all WTO Members to notify

the TRIMs that are inconsistent with the provisions of the Agreement, and to eliminate them after the expiry of the transition period provided in the Agreement.

Transition periods of two years in the case of developed countries, five years in the case of developing countries and seven years in the case of LDCs, from the date of entry into force of the Agreement (i.e. 1st January 1995) are provided in the Agreement

GATS: The creation of the GATS was one of the

landmark achievements of the Uruguay Round, whose results entered into force in January 1995.

The GATS was inspired by essentially the same objectives as its counterpart in merchandise trade, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): creating a credible and reliable system of international trade rules;

Ensuring fair and equitable treatment of all participants (principle of non-discrimination);

Stimulating economic activity through guaranteed policy bindings;

Promoting trade and development through progressive liberalization.

Ugra Raj Enterprises Privated Limited

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Is it true that the GATS not only applies to cross-border flows of services, but additional modes of

supply?

The GATS distinguishes between four modes of supplying services: cross-border trade, consumption abroad, commercial presence, and presence of natural persons.

Cross-border supply is defined to cover services flows from the territory of one Member into the territory of another Member (e.g. banking or architectural services transmitted via telecommunications or mail);

Commercial presence implies that a service supplier of one Member establishes a territorial presence, including through ownership or lease of premises, in another Member's territory to provide a service

(e.g. domestic subsidiaries of foreign insurance companies or hotel chains); and

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Presence of natural persons consists of persons of one Member entering the territory of another Member to supply a service (e.g. accountants, doctors or teachers).

The Annex on Movement of Natural Persons specifies, however, that Members remain free to operate measures regarding citizenship, residence or access to the employment market on a permanent basis

Ministerial Conferences:

The Ministerial Conference is the top decision making body of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Uruguay Round Of Negotiations.

Assignment

Ministerial Conferences: Date/Host City

1st 9 - 13 December 1996  Singapore 2nd 18 - 20 May 1998 Geneva, Switzerland 3rd 30 November - 3 December 1999

Seattle, United States 4th 10 - 14 November 2001 Doha, Qatar 5th 10 - 14 September 2003 Cancun,

Mexico 6th 13 - 18 December 2005  Hong Kong 7th 30 November - 3 December 2009

Geneva, Switzerland 8th 15 December - 17 December 2011

Geneva, Switzerland

1st Ministerial Conference of 19969 - 13 December 1996  Singapore

The conference established four permanent working groups:

transparency in government procurement,

trade facilitation (customs issues), trade and investment, and trade and competition. These groups collectively are called

the Singapore issues.[1]

2nd Ministerial Conference of 199818 - 20 May 1998 Geneva, Switzerland

The 12 months Agenda : Predicted: developing countries facing

tremendous pressures due to /pressed to accept further measures in the review of (existing) WTO agreements, and

to agree to start negotiations on new issues such as

investment, competition policy, government procurement and electronic commerce

3rd Ministerial Conference of 1998 30 November - 3 December 1999 Seattle, United States

Intended as the launch of a new round of trade negotiations that would have been called "The Millennium Round", the negotiations were marred by poor organization and controversial management of large street protests.

Developing country representatives became resentful and uncooperative on being excluded from talks as the United States and the European Union attempted to cement a mutual deal on agriculture.

The negotiations collapsed and were reconvened at Doha, Qatar, in November 2001.

Anti-globalization activists made headlines around the world in 1999, when they forced the Seattle WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 to end early with direct action tactics

Many anti-globalization activists generally call for forms of global integration that better provide democratic representation, advancement of human rights, fair trade and sustainable development and therefore feel the term "anti-globalization" is misleading.

4th Ministerial Conference of 2001 10 - 14 November 2001 Doha, Qatar

At this conference, ministers from all WTO members launched the Doha Development Agenda.

The ministers passed two declarations. The first, the main declaration folded the on-going negotiations in agriculture and services into a broader agenda, which is commonly known as the Doha Development Round. In addition. the Doha agenda included the topic of industrial tariffs, topics of interest to developing countries, changes to WTO rules, and other provisions.

The second declaration dealt with the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and allow government to be flexible of TRIPS to deal with health problems.