WTO 20080150522 20080150620 20080151018 What is WTO The

WTO 20080150522 翁慧晴 20080150620 刘晓霞 20080151018 唐郑俞

What is WTO？ • 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 trading nations and ratified（批准的） in their parliaments（議 會）. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.

FACT FILE Location: Geneva, Switzerland Established: 1 January 1995 Created by: Uruguay Round negotiations （乌拉圭回合谈判） (1986 -94) Membership: 157 countries on 24 August 2012 Budget: 196 million Swiss francs（瑞士法郎） for 2011 Secretariat staff: 640 Head: Pascal Lamy (Director-General) Functions: • Administering WTO trade agreements • Forum（讨论会） for trade negotiations • Handling trade disputes • Monitoring national trade policies • Technical assistance and training for developing countries • Cooperation with other international organizations

What is it based on？ • The WTO agreements are lengthy and complex because they are legal texts covering a wide range of activities. But a number of simple, fundamental principles run throughout all of these documents. These principles are the foundation of the multilateral trading system.

Understanding the WTO • The first step is to talk. • Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. • At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations. • But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or to prevent the spread of disease.

• 1）They start with broad principles: the General Agreement on Tariffs（关税） and Trade (GATT) (for goods), and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). (The third area, Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), also falls into this category（范畴） although at present it has no additional parts. ) • 2）Trade Policy Review： • The objectives（目标） are: • to increase the transparency（透明度） and understanding of countries’ trade policies and practices, through regular monitoring • to improve the quality of public and intergovernmental debate on the issues • to enable a multilateral assessment of the effects of policies on the world trading system.

Why is it important to enter WTO？ • • • The WTO can: 1. . . cut living costs and raise living standards 2. . . settle disputes and reduce trade tensions 3. . . stimulate economic growth and employment 4. . . cut the cost of doing business internationally 5. . . encourage good governance 6. . . help countries develop 7. . . give the weak a stronger voice 8. . . support the environment and health 9. . . contribute to peace and stability 10. . . be effective without hitting the headlines

WTO官方網站 http: //www. wto. org/ Thank you