World Trade Organization (WTO)

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organisation that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organisation to establish, revise and enforce the rules that govern international trade. It officially commenced operations on 1 January 1995, according to the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that had been established in 1948. The WTO is the world’s largest international economic organisation, with 164 member states representing over 98 per cent of global trade and global GDP.

The stated aim of the WTO is to facilitate trade in goods, services and intellectual property among participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements, which usually aim to reduce or eliminate tariffs, quotas and other restrictions. These agreements are signed by representatives of member governments  and ratified by their legislatures. The WTO also administers independent dispute resolution for enforcing participants’ adherence to trade agreements and resolving trade-related disputes. The organisation prohibits discrimination between trading partners but provides exceptions for environmental protection, national security and other goals.

The benefits of WTO-facilitated so-called free trade are evidently not shared equally; data showing a continually widening gap between rich and poor nations since the GATT abound.

The organisation is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

(Based on the Wikipedia entry on WTO.)