How and WHY GATT changed to WTO ? What are the various functions & objectives of WTO. Some of the key characteristics of WTO Agreements From India's Perspective- Advantages & Disadvantages

1. WHO
We Are ?
WHAT
We Do ?
From GATT to
WTO
From India’s
Perspective
Important
Agreements
WHAT We
Stand for ?

2. From GATT to WTO
GATT(General Agreements on Tariffs
and Trade) – Commenced in 1948
Bretton woods Institutions (World
Bank and International Monetary
Fund)
Negotiated Institution for trade –
(International trade Organization- 1st
Jan, 1995)

3. WHO are we ?
 It is an organization for trade opening.
 It is a forum for governments to negotiate trade agreements.
 It is a place for them to settle trade disputes.
 It operates a system of trade rules.
 Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments try to sort out the
trade problems they face with each other.
 The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the
result of negotiations.

4. WHO are we ?
 The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international
organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations.
 Agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading
nations and ratified in their parliaments.
 The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and
importers conduct their business.
 Formed on: January 1st, 1995
 160 members (97% of world’s population) since 26 June 2014.
 Headquarter : Geneva, Switzerland
 Director-General : Roberto Azevêdo

5. WHAT we do ?
 The WTO is run by its member governments.
 All major decisions are made by the membership as a whole, either by
ministers (who usually meet at least once every two years) or by their
ambassadors or delegates (who meet regularly in Geneva).
 While the WTO is driven by its member states, it could not function without its
Secretariat to coordinate the activities.
 The Secretariat employs over 600 staff, and its experts — lawyers, economists,
statisticians and communications experts — assist WTO members on a daily
basis to ensure, among other things, that negotiations progress smoothly, and
that the rules of international trade are correctly applied and enforced.

6. WHAT we do ?
 Implementing WTO agreements and administering the international trade.
 Reviewing trade related economic policies of member countries
 Acting as forum of trade liberalization
 Cooperating with world bank and IMF and it’s associates for establishing
coordination in global trade policy making.
 Settling trade relating disputes among member nations of it’s dispute
settlement body(DSB).
 Technical assistance and training for developing countries.
 Maintaining trade related database.

7. WHAT we do ?
ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

8. Trading Principles
WTO Trading
Principles
Non Discrimination
Most Favoured
Nation
National
Treatment
Policy
Reciprocity
Binding, Enforceable
Commitments
Transparency Safety Valves

9. WHAT we stand for ?
 Negotiating the reduction or elimination of obstacles to trade
 Administering and monitoring the application of the WTO's agreed rules for trade in
goods, trade in services, and trade-related intellectual property rights
 Monitoring ,Reviewing , Maintaining Transparency and Settling Dispute of trade
policies between our members
 Assisting the process of accession of some 30 countries who are not yet members
of the organization .
 Conducting economic research and collecting and disseminating trade data in
support of the WTO's other main activities.
 Explaining to and educating the public about the WTO, its mission and its activities.

10. WHAT we stand for ?
More Open
Non
Discrimination
Predictable
&
Transparent
More
Competitive
Environment
protection
Beneficial for
less developed
countries

11. Important Agreements

12. Important Agreements
Frame work starts with basic principles
1. GENERAL AGREMENT ON TARRIFS & TRADE (GATT)
2. GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TRADE IN SERVICES (GATS)
3. TRADE RELATED ASPECTS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (TRIPS)
4. TRADE RELATED INVESTMENT MEASURES (TRIMS)
TRIPS TRIMS GATS
Literal Work To Facilitate Investments Movement Of Persons
Artistic Work To Liberalize World Trade Air Transport
Industrial Property To Strike Out Investment
Measures Which Can Create
Hindrance
Financial Services
Taking Into Account Needs Of
Developing And Least
Developing Countries
Shipping

13. Agreement on Agriculture
 The WTO Agreement on Agriculture was one of the main agreements which were
negotiated during the Uruguay Round.
 The objective is “To reform trade in agriculture and to make policies more market
oriented”
 It contains provisions in 3 broad areas of agriculture.
1. Market access
This includes tariffication, tariff reduction and access opportunities.
Tariffication means that all non-tariff barriers such as...
1. quotas.
2. variable levies.
3. minimum import prices.
4. discretionary licensing.
5. state trading measures.

14. Agreement on Agriculture
2. Domestic support.
 It measures that have a minimum impact on trade also known as “Green Box policies”
 It includes general government services like-As in the area of Research, disease
control, infrastructure and food security
 It Also includes direct payment to producers in form of income support etc.
3. Export subsidies.
 The Agreement contains provisions regarding members commitment to reduce Export
Subsidies.
 Developed countries are required to reduce their export subsidy expenditure by 36%.
 For developing countries the percentage cuts are 24%.

15. TRIPS
It deals with the protection & enforcement of “Trade-Related intellectual property
rights”. It establishes minimum levels of protection that each government has to give
to the intellectual property of fellow WTO members
DEALS IN :
 How basic principles of the trading system and other international intellectual
property agreements should be applied
 How to give adequate protection to intellectual property rights
 How countries should enforce those rights adequately in their own territories
 How to settle disputes on intellectual property between members of the WTO
 Special transitional arrangements during the period when the new system is being
introduced.

16. TRIMS
Trade related Investment Measures does not provide any new language ,
but It concentrates on 2 major articles. Article III & Article IX - which talks about National
Treatment and Trade Restrictions respectively.
ARTICLE III
● National treatment of imported
product, unless specified in other
agreements.
● Subjects the purchase or use by
an enterprise of imported products to less
favorable conditions than the purchase or use
of domestic products.
ARTICLE XI
● Prohibition of quantitative restrictions
on imports and exports.
● Part of the general trend in textiles and
agriculture to phase out the use of
quantitative restrictions.

17. GATS
The General Agreement On Trade In Services(GATS) which extends multilateral rules and
discipline to services is regarded as a Landmark achievement of the Uruguay Round.
In short ,GATT covers the four modes of international delivery of services
1) Cross-border supply : This refers to the delivery of service from the territory of
one country to the territory of the other country by crossing international border
2) Commercial Presence : foreign service-providing companies establish their local subsidiary
offices (affiliates) to supply services in the domestic market
3) Consumption Abroad(Tourism) : consumer moves to a foreign country to get
services, such as tourism, education, medical treatment etc
4) Movement of personal(entry and temporary stay of foreign consultants) :
The service supplying foreign person moves to the host territory on temporary basis

18. Anti-Dumping Agreement
 A product is considered to be dumped if the export price is less than the price
charged for the same product in the exporting country, or it is sold for less than its
cost of production.
 The WTO agreement on anti-dumping allows governments to act against dumping
where there is genuine (‘material’) injury to the competing domestic industry.

19. From India’s Perspective
ADVANTAGES
 Increases in foreign trade
 Increase in agriculture exports
 Increase in inflow of foreign investment
 Improvement in services
 Benefits for clothing and textile industry
 Restricts dumping
 Promotion to research on patents
DISADVANTAGES
 Disadvantage to agriculture sector
- reduction in subsidy
- Import of food grains
 Loss to domestic industries
 Patent of Indian herbs by foreign
companies
 Tramples human and labor rights
 undermines local level decision making
and national sovereignty

20. Kashyap Shah
Vinita Goswami
Vaibhav Goyal
Rohit Kumar
Praneeta Kaul
Pradeep Nyamgowda
Ashutosh Gurtoo
Prepared & Presented By,
Group- India : Section Charming Cee