Editing World Trade Organization (section)

==History==
{{Main|History of the World Trade Organization}}
{{Further|Bretton Woods system|International Bank for Reconstruction and Development}}
[[File:WhiteandKeynes.jpg|thumb|right|The economists [[Harry Dexter White]] (left) and [[John Maynard Keynes]] (right) at the [[Bretton Woods Conference]] in [[New Hampshire]]<ref>
*A. E. Eckes Jr., ''US Trade History'', 73
* A. Smithies, ''Reflections on the Work of Keynes'', 578–601
* N. Warren, ''Internet and Globalization'', 193</ref>]]

The WTO precursor, [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (GATT), was established by a multilateral treaty of 23 countries in 1947 [[Aftermath of World War II|after the end of World War II]], in the wake of other new multilateral institutions dedicated to international economic cooperation—such as the [[World Bank]] (founded 1944) and the [[International Monetary Fund]] (founded 1944–1945). A comparable international institution for trade, named the [[International Trade Organization]] (ITO), never started, since the [[United States]] and other signatories did not ratify the establishment treaty,<ref>P. van den Bossche, ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization'', 80</ref><ref>Palmeter-Mavroidis, ''Dispute Settlement'', 2</ref><ref name="CRS-2007-pg 4">{{cite web |url= http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/98-928.pdf |title= The World Trade Organization: Background and Issues |last= Fergusson |first= Ian F. |date= 9 May 2007 |publisher= [[Congressional Research Service]] |page= 4 |access-date= 15 August 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130927183136/http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/98-928.pdf |archive-date= 27 September 2013 |url-status= live }}</ref> and so the GATT slowly became a ''[[de facto]]'' international organization.<ref name="B81">It was contemplated that the GATT would apply for several years until the ITO came into force. However, since the ITO never materialized, the GATT gradually became the focus for international governmental cooperation on trade matters, with economist Nicholas Halford overseeing the implementation of GATT in members' policies. (P. van den Bossche, ''The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization'', 81; J. H. Jackson, ''Managing the Trading System'', 134).</ref>

===GATT negotiations before Uruguay===
{{Main|General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade}}

Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under the [[General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade]] (1949 to 1979). The first real{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/gattbilaterals_e/indexbyround_e.htm|title=WTO &#124; GATT bilateral negotiating material by Round|publisher=World Trade Organization|access-date=17 August 2023|archive-date=30 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230730211639/https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/gattbilaterals_e/indexbyround_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> GATT trade rounds (1947 to 1960) concentrated on further reducing [[tariff]]s. Then the [[Kennedy Round]] in the mid-sixties brought about a GATT [[Dumping (pricing policy)|anti-dumping]] agreement and a section on development. The Tokyo Round during the seventies represented the first major attempt to tackle trade barriers that do not take the form of tariffs, and to improve the system, adopting a series of agreements on  [[Non-tariff barriers to trade|non-tariff barriers]], which in some cases interpreted existing GATT rules, and in others broke entirely new ground. Because not all GATT members accepted these [[plurilateral agreement]]s, they were often informally called "codes". (The Uruguay Round amended several of these codes and turned them into multilateral commitments accepted by all WTO members. Only four remained plurilateral (those on government procurement, bovine meat, civil aircraft, and dairy products), but in 1997 WTO members agreed to terminate the bovine meat and dairy agreements, leaving only two.<ref name=" GY">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm "The GATT Years: from Havana to Marrakesh"]. {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20041211025038/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact4_e.htm |date= 11 December 2004 }}. World Trade Organization.</ref>) Despite attempts in the mid-1950s and 1960s to establish some form of institutional mechanism for international trade, the GATT continued to operate for almost half a century as a semi-institutionalized multilateral treaty régime on a provisional basis.<ref name="F17">
Footer, M. E. ''Analysis of the World Trade Organization'', 17.
</ref>

===Uruguay Round: 1986–1994===
{{Main|Uruguay Round}}

Well before GATT's 40th anniversary (due in 1987–1988), GATT members concluded that the GATT system was straining to adapt to a [[Globalization|globalizing]] [[world economy]].<ref name="G4">P. Gallagher, ''The First Ten Years of the WTO'', 4</ref><ref name="UR">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact5_e.htm "The Uruguay Round"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070320103620/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact5_e.htm |date=20 March 2007 }}. World Trade Organization.</ref> In response to problems identified in the 1982 Ministerial Declaration (structural deficiencies, spill-over impacts of certain countries' policies on world trade which GATT could not manage, etc.), a meeting in [[Punta del Este]], [[Uruguay]], launched the eighth GATT round—known as the "[[Uruguay Round]]"—in September 1986.<ref>{{cite book
 |publisher    = General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
 |year         = 1994
 |title        = Press Communiqué, Issues 1604–1664
 |url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=a20qAQAAMAAJ
 |page         = 22
 |access-date  = 16 March 2023
 |quote        = ...&nbsp;the GATT has just completed its eighth—and by far the most ambitious—round of negotiations, the Uruguay Round, launched in September 1986 in Punta del Este, Uruguay.
 |archive-date = 16 March 2023
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20230316035154/https://books.google.com/books?id=a20qAQAAMAAJ
 |url-status   = live
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book
 |last1             = Gallagher
 |first1            = Peter
 |series            = Collected courses of the Academy of European Law
 |date              = 15 December 2005
 |chapter           = Looking back, looking forward
 |title             = The First Ten Years of the WTO: 1995–2005
 |url               = https://books.google.com/books?id=QwM7dDO22-MC
 |publication-place = Cambridge
 |publisher         = Cambridge University Press
 |page              = 133
 |isbn              = 9780521862158
 |access-date       = 16 March 2023
 |quote             = The Uruguay Round had a four-year time frame when it was launched in 1986&nbsp;...
 |archive-date      = 14 February 2024
 |archive-url       = https://web.archive.org/web/20240214033012/https://books.google.com/books?id=QwM7dDO22-MC
 |url-status        = live
}}</ref>

In the biggest negotiating mandate on trade ever agreed, the Uruguay Round talks aimed to extend the trading system into several new areas, notably trade in services and intellectual property, and to reform trade in the sensitive sectors of agriculture and textiles; all the original GATT articles were up for review.<ref name="UR"/> The Final Act concluding the [[Uruguay]] Round and officially establishing the WTO regime was signed on 15 April 1994, during the ministerial meeting at [[Marrakesh]], [[Morocco]]—hence known as the [[Marrakesh Agreement]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/04-wto_e.htm|title= Legal texts – Marrakesh agreement |publisher= World Trade Organization|access-date= 30 May 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100525093037/http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/04-wto_e.htm |archive-date= 25 May 2010|url-status= live}}</ref>

The GATT still exists as the WTO's umbrella treaty for trade in goods, updated as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations (a distinction is made between ''GATT 1994'', the updated parts of GATT, and ''GATT 1947'', the original agreement which is still the heart of GATT 1994).<ref name="G4" /> GATT 1994 is not, however, the only legally binding agreement included via the Final Act at Marrakesh; a long list of about 60 agreements, annexes, decisions, and understandings was adopted. The agreements fall into six main parts:
* the Agreement Establishing the WTO
* the Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods, including the GATT 1994 and the [[Trade Related Investment Measures]] (TRIMS)
* the [[General Agreement on Trade in Services]] (GATS)
* the [[Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights]] (TRIPS)
* dispute settlement<ref>{{Cite journal |url= http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/scujil/vol2/iss1/2/|title= Resolving Trade Disputes, the Mechanisms of GATT/WTO Dispute Resolution |issue= 1|pages= 40 |journal= Santa Clara Journal of International Law |volume= 2 |access-date= 3 April 2016 |date= January 2004|last1= Erskine|first1= Daniel|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160416222738/http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/scujil/vol2/iss1/2/ |archive-date= 16 April 2016|url-status= live}}</ref>
* reviews of governments' trade policies<ref name="OL">[http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm1_e.htm "Overview: a Navigational Guide"]. {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070315073728/http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/agrm1_e.htm |date= 15 March 2007 }}. World Trade Organization.

For the complete list of "The Uruguay Round Agreements", see:
* [http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm "WTO legal texts"]. {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20051214090600/http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm |date= 14 December 2005 }}. World Trade Organization.
* [http://www.worldtradelaw.net/uragreements/ "Uruguay Round Agreements, Understandings, Decisions and Declarations"]. {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223022/http://www.worldtradelaw.net/uragreements/ |date=27 September 2007 }}. ''WorldTradeLaw.net''.
</ref>

In terms of the WTO's [[#Principles of the trading system|principle relating to tariff "ceiling-binding" (No. 3)]], the Uruguay Round has been successful in increasing binding commitments by both developed and developing countries, as may be seen in the percentages of tariffs bound before and after the 1986–1994 talks.<ref name="PT"/>

===Ministerial conferences===
[[File:Geneva Ministerial Conference 18-20 May 1998 (9305956531).jpg|thumb|The [[World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1998]], in the [[Palace of Nations, Geneva|Palace of Nations]] ([[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]])]]

The highest decision-making body of the WTO, the [[Ministerial Conference]], usually meets every two years.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.wto.org/english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min11_e/min11_e.htm | title=Ministerial conferences – Eighth WTO Ministerial Conference |publisher=World Trade Organization | access-date=28 January 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913034215/https://www.wto.org/english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min11_e/min11_e.htm | archive-date=13 September 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> It brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions. The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. Some meetings, such as the [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 1996|inaugural ministerial conference]] in [[Singapore]] (1996) and the [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 2003|inaugural ministerial conference]] in [[Cancún]], [[Mexico]] (2003)<ref>{{cite journal|ssrn= 916768|title=Five Years of China WTO Membership. EU and US Perspectives about China's Compliance with Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism|journal=Legal Issues of Economic Integration |publisher=Kluwer Law International |volume=33 |issue=3 |pages=263–304 |date= 4 August 2006|last1= Farah|first1= Paolo Davide|doi= 10.54648/LEIE2006016}}</ref> involved arguments between [[Developed country|developed nations]] and [[Developing country|low-income and lower-middle income countries]], referred to as the "[[Singapore issues]]", such as [[agricultural subsidies]]; while others such as the [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999|Seattle conference]] in 1999 provoked large demonstrations. The [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 2001|fourth ministerial conference]] in [[Doha]], [[Qatar]] in 2001 approved China's entry to the WTO and launched the [[Doha Development Round]] which was supplemented by the [[WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005|sixth WTO ministerial conference]] in [[Hong Kong]], which agreed to phase out agricultural export subsidies and to adopt the [[European Union]]'s [[Everything but Arms]] initiative to phase out tariffs for goods from the [[least developed countries]]. At the sixth WTO Ministerial Conference of 2005 in December, WTO launched the [[Aid for Trade]] initiative and it is specifically to assist developing countries in [[trade]] as included in the [[Sustainable Development Goal 8]] which is to increase aid for trade support and [[economic growth]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ministerial conferences – Hong Kong 6th Ministerial|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/min05_e/min05_e.htm|access-date=2020-09-24|publisher=World Trade Organization|archive-date=24 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220124061659/https://www.wto.org/english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min05_e/min05_e.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Twelfth Ministerial Conference (MC12) was due to be held in [[Nur-Sultan]], [[Kazakhstan]], in June 2020 but was canceled because of the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]. It was later held in [[Geneva]], [[Switzerland]] from 12–17 June 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial conferences – Twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference – Geneva Switzerland |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc12_e/mc12_e.htm |access-date=2023-08-21 |publisher=World Trade Organization |archive-date=21 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821112302/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc12_e/mc12_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Thirteenth Ministerial Conference (MC13) was held in [[Abu Dhabi]], [[United Arab Emirates|UAE]] on 26–29 February 2024,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Members examine 'road map' for MC13 on the WTO's reform of its deliberative function |url=https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news23_e/gc_25jul23_e.htm |access-date=2023-08-21 |publisher=World Trade Organization |language=en |archive-date=21 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230821035407/https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news23_e/gc_25jul23_e.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ministerial conferences |url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/minist_e.htm |access-date=2023-08-21 |publisher=World Trade Organization |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> and extended to Friday 1 March 2024 to complete deliberations.<ref>[https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news24_e/mc13_29feb24_e.htm "WTO 13th Ministerial Conference extended by one day to facilitate outcomes"]. World Trade Organization. 29 February 2029.</ref>

===Doha Round (Doha Agenda): 2001–present===
{{Main|Doha Development Round}}

The WTO launched the current round of negotiations, the [[Doha Development Round]], at the fourth ministerial conference in [[Doha]], [[Qatar]] in November 2001. This was to be an ambitious effort to make [[globalization]] more inclusive and help the [[Poverty|world's poor]], particularly by slashing barriers and subsidies in farming.<ref name="Ec65">{{Cite magazine|date= 27 July 2006|magazine= [[The Economist]]|title= In the twilight of Doha|page= 65|url= http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7218551|access-date= 21 May 2010|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071112095722/http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7218551|archive-date= 12 November 2007|url-status= live}}</ref> The initial agenda comprised both further [[trade liberalization]] and new rule-making, underpinned by commitments to strengthen substantial assistance to [[Developing country|developing countries]].<ref name=ECdoha>European Commission. [http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/eu-and-wto/doha/index_en.htm "The Doha Round"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230100307/http://ec.europa.eu/trade/creating-opportunities/eu-and-wto/doha/index_en.htm |date=30 December 2011 }}.</ref>

Progress stalled over differences between [[Developed country|developed nations]] and the major [[Developing country|low-income and lower-middle income countries]] on issues such as industrial tariffs and non-tariff barriers to trade<ref name="crs-2">{{Cite web|publisher=Congressional Research Service|last= Fergusson |first= Ian F.|title= World Trade Organization Negotiations: The Doha Development Agenda|access-date= 26 July 2008|date= 18 January 2008|url= http://nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS21905.pdf|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130927181050/http://www.nationalaglawcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/crs/RS21905.pdf|archive-date= 27 September 2013|url-status= live}}</ref> particularly against and between the EU and the US over their maintenance of [[agricultural subsidy|agricultural subsidies]]—seen to operate effectively as trade barriers. Repeated attempts to revive the talks proved unsuccessful,<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/chair_texts11_e/chair_texts11_e.htm "Documents from the negotiating chairs, 21 April 2011"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010211238/https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/chair_texts11_e/chair_texts11_e.htm |date=10 October 2017 }}. World Trade Organization.</ref> though the adoption of the [[Bali Package|Bali Ministerial Declaration]] in 2013<ref name=wtoBali>[http://mc9.wto.org/draft-bali-ministerial-declaration "Bali Ministerial Declaration and decisions"]. {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131218102932/http://mc9.wto.org/draft-bali-ministerial-declaration |date= 18 December 2013 }}. World Trade Organization. Accessed 31 December 2013.</ref> addressed bureaucratic barriers to commerce.<ref name=bbcBali>{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25274889|title= WTO agrees global trade deal worth $1tn|last= Walker|first= Andrew|date= 7 December 2013|work= BBC News|access-date= 7 December 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131207070903/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25274889|archive-date= 7 December 2013|url-status= live}}</ref>

{{As of|2012|06}}, the future of the Doha Round remained uncertain: the work programme lists 21 subjects in which the original deadline of 1 January 2005 was missed, and the round remains incomplete.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/doha1_e.htm|title=Understanding the WTO – The Doha agenda|publisher=World Trade Organization|access-date=28 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328104424/https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/doha1_e.htm|archive-date=28 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The conflict between free trade on industrial goods and services but retention of [[protectionism]] on [[farm subsidies]] to domestic [[agricultural sector]]s (requested by [[Developed country|developed countries]]) and the [[substantiation]]{{technical inline|date=June 2019}} of [[fair trade]] on agricultural products (requested by developing countries) remain the major obstacles. This impasse has made it impossible to launch new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round. As a result, there have been an increasing number of bilateral [[free trade agreements]] between governments.<ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2011/4/19%20world%20trade%20organization%20meltzer/0419_world_trade_organization_meltzer "The Challenges to the World Trade Organization: It's All About Legitimacy"]. {{webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130502115006/http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/research/files/papers/2011/4/19%20world%20trade%20organization%20meltzer/0419_world_trade_organization_meltzer |date= 2 May 2013 }}. The Brookings Institution, Policy Paper 2011-04</ref> {{As of|2012|July}} there were various negotiation groups in the WTO system for the current stalemated agricultural trade negotiation.<ref>[http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/negotiating_groups_e.pdf "Groups in the WTO"]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110171110/http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/negotiating_groups_e.pdf |date=10 November 2013 }}. World Trade Organization. Updated 1 July 2013.</ref>