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The World Trade Organisation is one of the most important international institutions which plays a prominent role in a country’s growth, development, and elevation. The objective of the World Trade Organisation is to make trading between nations as seamless, predictable, and unrestricted as feasible. 

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) serves various purposes: It administers a worldwide system of trade regulations, serves as a venue for negotiating trade agreements, resolves trade disputes among its members, and assists developing nations.

History of the World Trade Organisation

  • Following World War II, 23 nations signed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which entered law on January 1, 1948
  • The World Trade Organisation (WTO) absorbed the GATT in 1995, extending it
  • The WTO succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), established in 1947
  • The GATT was a pact signed between many countries to promote international trade by reducing trade barriers
  • The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was formed in 1995

Criticism of the World Trade Organisation

  • It is said and argued that free trade could not make the lives of ordinary people more peaceful and prosperous
  • It is believed that this form of trade is the major reason for widening the gap between rich and poor
  • It makes the developed countries richer and the developing countries poorer due to the influence of nations in the WTO that focus majorly on commercial interests
  • Many under-developed countries cannot open their full markets as a result of it
  • It is also said that the issues and problems of health, worker’s rights, child labour, and the environment are usually ignored in the World Trade Organization conferences

Major Functions and Duties of the World Trade Organisation

The major objective of the WTO (World Trade Organisation) is to aim for the smooth functioning of trade among several parts of the world. Some of the essential tasks for the functioning of WTO (World Trade Organisation) include the following:

  • Conduct various forums to regulate trade negotiations
  • Cooperate with other international organisations around the world
  • Administer various WTO trade agreements
  • Monitor several national trade policies
  • Handle the trade disputes
  • Provide basic technical assistance
  • Training the developing countries

Dispute Settlement System 

  • The World Trade Organisation (WTO) considers its dispute settlement system (DSS) to be the primary pillar of the multilateral trading system, as well as the organisation’s “unique contribution to the global economy’s stability”
  • The Dispute Settlement System is the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement as a contingency appeal arrangement for trade disputes
  • The goal of the system is to settle trade disputes among member nations
  • For conflict settlement, the system employs both political dialogue and adjudication

Buenos Aires Declaration on Women and Trade

  • The 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires issued the Buenos Aires Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment
  • The Buenos Aires Joint Declaration on Trade and Women’s Economic Empowerment is a non-binding declaration aimed at empowering women by reducing trade obstacles as quickly as possible
  • It was signed in December 2017
  • The declaration aims to promote a more inclusive trade strategy that benefits everyone
  • The declaration, adopted at the 2017 WTO Ministerial Meeting, was a watershed moment in women’s trade policy

Regional Trade Block of WTO 

The World Trade Organisation has come up with a way to encourage and promote trade among the world’s countries. For this purpose, the organisation has formed 120 regional trade blocs that generate 52 % of the world trade. These trading blocs have been developed in response to the failure of global organisations to increase the speed of intra-regional trade.

Conclusion

WTO needs to make efforts to address the various issues the world is facing. There should be new rules for dealing with digital trade and e-commerce. Chinese trade policies and practices, including improved handling of state-owned businesses and subsidies, should also be dealt with more effectively by WTO members. Trade and environmental sustainability should be more closely aligned in order to combat climate change and rejuvenate the World Trade Organisation (WTO).