WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade. It was established in 1995 and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The WTO succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and aims to promote free trade by providing a comprehensive framework of rules governing trade between its member countries. It covers goods, services, and intellectual property.

The WTO operates through a system of negotiated agreements and a rules-based dispute settlement mechanism. The organization's highest authority is the Ministerial Conference, which meets roughly every two years, while the General Council handles day-to-day affairs. The WTO maintains a Secretariat led by a Director-General. Members bind themselves to agreements such as the GATT 1994, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), along with other agreements on subsidies, anti-dumping, and transparency.

It also conducts Trade Policy Reviews to increase transparency of member policies and runs a formal dispute settlement process that allows members to challenge trade measures they view as inconsistent with WTO rules. Negotiations are often tied to broader development goals, with the Doha Development Agenda representing a long-running effort to address developing country concerns; progress has been uneven.

As of today, the WTO has more than 160 member countries and observer economies. The organization aims to foster fair, predictable trade through non-discriminatory rules, MFN and national treatment principles, transparency, and dispute resolution, while balancing the interests of different economies.