Editing World Trade Organization (section)

{{Short description|Intergovernmental trade organization}}
{{Redirect|WTO}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox organization
| name          = World Trade Organization
| native_name   = {{lang|fr|Organisation mondiale du commerce}} {{nowrap|{{in lang|fr}}}}<br />{{lang|es|Organización Mundial del Comercio}}  {{nowrap|{{in lang|es}}}}
<!--PLEASE DO -NOT- ADD LANGUAGES OTHER THAN THE OFFICIAL ENGLISH, RUSSIAN, FRENCH AND SPANISH – FOR RATIONALE SEE PARAMETER LANGUAGE BELOW WITH LINKED REFERENCE-->| image                    = World Trade Organization (logo and wordmark).svg
| map           = WTO members and observers.svg
| abbreviation  = WTO
| mcaption      = <div style="text-align:left;">{{legend|#008000|Members}} {{legend|#0174DF|Members, dually represented by the [[European Union]] (EU)}} {{legend|#eeee00|Observers}} {{legend|#ff1111|Non-participant states}}
{{legend|#808080|Not applicable}}</div>
| type          = [[Intergovernmental organization]]
| purpose       = Reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade
| headquarters  = [[Centre William Rappard]], Geneva, Switzerland
| coords        = {{Coord|46|13|27|N|06|08|58|E|display=inline,title}}
| region_served = Worldwide
| membership    = [[Member states of the World Trade Organization|166 members (162 UN member states, the European Union, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan)]]<ref>[http://wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm Members and Observers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910105304/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org6_e.htm |date=10 September 2011}} at WTO official website</ref>
| languages     = English, French, Spanish<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/div_e.htm Languages, Documentation and Information Management Division] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224151405/http://wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/div_e.htm |date=24 December 2011}} at WTO official site</ref>
| leader_title  = [[Director-General of the World Trade Organization|Director-General]]
| leader_name   = [[Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala]]<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-02-15|title=Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala confirmed as WTO chief|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/15/nigerias-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-confirmed-as-wto-chief|access-date=2021-03-01|website=the Guardian|language=en|archive-date=1 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301094825/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/15/nigerias-ngozi-okonjo-iweala-confirmed-as-wto-chief|url-status=live}}</ref> (since 2021)
| formation     = {{start date and age|1995|01|01|df=y}}
| budget        = CHF 204,928,900 (2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO Annual Report 2024 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/anrep_e/ar24_e.pdf|access-date=2025-05-22|website=www.wto.org |page=199 |language=en}}</ref>
| num_staff     = approx. 630 (as of December 31, 2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=WTO Annual Report 2024 |url=https://www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/anrep_e/ar24_e.pdf |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=www.wto.org |page=196 |language=en}}</ref>
| website       = {{Official url}}
}}

The '''World Trade Organization''' ('''WTO''') is an [[intergovernmental organization]] headquartered in [[Geneva]], Switzerland<ref>{{cite web |title=Overview of the WTO Secretariat |url=http://wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/intro_e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901232158/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/intro_e.htm |archive-date=1 September 2013 |access-date=2 September 2013 |publisher=WTO official website}}</ref> that regulates and facilitates [[international trade]].<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Oatley|first=Thomas|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GJoDwAAQBAJ|title=International Political Economy|edition=6th|date=2019|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-351-03464-7|pages=51–52|language=en|access-date=5 August 2021|archive-date=14 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214032957/https://books.google.com/books?id=4GJoDwAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern international trade in cooperation with the [[United Nations System]].<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{cite web |title=The WTO and the United Nations |website=WTO |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/coher_e/wto_un_e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713071350/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/coher_e/wto_un_e.htm |archive-date=13 July 2007 |access-date=21 October 2022}}</ref>  The WTO is the world's largest international economic organization, with 166 members  representing over 98% of global trade and global [[GDP]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Economic Organizations, Developing Country Reforms, and Trade |work=The Reporter |first1=Anne O. |last1=Krueger |publisher=NBER |url=http://www.nber.org/reporter/winter00/krueger.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170518033322/http://www.nber.org/reporter/winter00/krueger.html |archive-date=18 May 2017 |access-date=20 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title= Understanding the WTO – The GATT years: from Havana to Marrakesh |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305153601/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm |archive-date=5 March 2018 |access-date=28 March 2019 |website=WTO }}</ref><ref name=":9" />

The WTO facilitates trade in goods, [[trade in services|services]] and [[intellectual property]] among participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating [[trade agreement]]s, which usually aim to reduce or eliminate [[tariff]]s, [[Import quota|quotas]], and other [[Trade barrier|restrictions]]; these agreements are signed by representatives of member governments<ref name="underst">{{ cite web |url=http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/understanding_e.pdf |title=Understanding the WTO |website=WTO |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306012111/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/understanding_e.pdf |archive-date=6 March 2012 }}. (The document's printed folio numbers do not match the PDF page numbers.)</ref>{{rp|fol.9–10}} and ratified by their legislatures.<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|author1=Malanczuk, P.|title=International Organisations and Space Law: World Trade Organization|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|volume=442|pages=305|year=1999|bibcode=1999ESASP.442..305M}}</ref> It also administers independent [[dispute resolution]] for enforcing participants' adherence to trade agreements and resolving trade-related disputes.<ref name=":2" /> The organization prohibits discrimination between trading partners, but provides exceptions for environmental protection, national security, and other important goals.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|url=http://econofact.org/u-s-trade-policy-going-it-alone-vs-abiding-by-the-world-trade-organization|title=U.S. Trade Policy: Going it Alone vs. Abiding by the WTO |date=15 June 2018|work=Econofact|access-date=30 June 2018|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180630161908/http://econofact.org/u-s-trade-policy-going-it-alone-vs-abiding-by-the-world-trade-organization|archive-date=30 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

It officially commenced operations on 1 January 1995, pursuant to the 1994 [[Marrakesh Agreement]], thus replacing the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT) that had been established in 1948.

Its top decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which is composed of all members and usually [[Ministerial Conference|convenes biennially]]; consensus is emphasized in all decisions.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} Ministerial conferences|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/minist_e.htm|access-date=2021-02-18|website=www.wto.org|archive-date=6 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210306211034/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/minist_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Day-to-day functions are handled by the General Council, made up of representatives from all members.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} Understanding the WTO – Whose WTO is it anyway?|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org1_e.htm|access-date=2021-02-18|website=www.wto.org|language=en|archive-date=4 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704133012/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org1_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> A Secretariat of over 600 personnel, led by the Director-General and four deputies, provides administrative, professional, and technical services.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} Understanding the WTO – the Secretariat|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org4_e.htm|access-date=2021-02-22|website=www.wto.org|language=en|archive-date=30 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130140601/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/org4_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The WTO's annual budget is roughly 220 million [[United States dollar|USD]], which is contributed by members based on their proportion of international trade.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WTO {{!}} Budget for the year|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/budget_e.htm|access-date=2021-02-22|website=www.wto.org|archive-date=23 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220123114815/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/secre_e/budget_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Studies show the WTO has increased trade and reduced trade barriers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Broda |first1=C. |last2=Limão |first2=N. |last3=Weinstein |first3=D. E. |date=2008 |title=Optimal Tariffs and Market Power: The Evidence |url=https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.98.5.2032 |journal=American Economic Review |volume=98 |issue=5 |pages=2032–2065 |doi=10.1257/aer.98.5.2032 |s2cid=6116538 |access-date=3 August 2022 |archive-date=14 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214033001/https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aer.98.5.2032 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":5" /> It has also influenced trade agreement generally; the vast majority of [[Preferential trade agreement|preferential trade agreements (PTAs)]] explicitly reference the WTO, with substantial portions of text copied from WTO agreements.<ref name=":6" /> [[Sustainable Development Goal 10|Goal 10]] of the United Nations [[Sustainable Development Goals]] also referenced WTO agreements as instruments of reducing inequality.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Goal 10 targets|url=https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities/targets.html|access-date=2020-09-23|website=UNDP|language=en|archive-date=27 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127140337/https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-10-reduced-inequalities/targets.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, critics contend that the benefits of WTO-facilitated [[free trade]] are not shared equally.<ref name=":7" /><ref name="Polity">{{cite book |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Rorden |title=What's wrong with the WTO and how to fix it |date=2014 |publisher=Polity |location=Cambridge, UK |isbn=978-0-745-67245-8 |url=https://www.wiley.com/en-us/What%27s+Wrong+with+the+WTO+and+How+to+Fix+It-p-9780745672458 |access-date=12 September 2020 |archive-date=16 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416030000/https://www.wiley.com/en-us/What%27s+Wrong+with+the+WTO+and+How+to+Fix+It-p-9780745672458 |url-status=live }}</ref>