IN THE PRESENTATION
• Understanding of WTO
• Facts about WTO
• Principles and Functions of WTO
• Structure of WTO
• Agreements
• Impact on Indian economy
• Pros and cons
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
• A global international organization whose primary
purpose is to open trade for the benefit of all the
nations.
• Officially commenced under the Marrakesh
Agreement.
• History of WTO
• They deal with: agriculture, textiles and clothing,
banking, telecommunications, government
purchases, industrial standards and product safety,
food sanitation regulations, intellectual property etc.
FACTS ABOUT WTO
Location : Geneva, Switzerland
Established : 1 January 1995
Membership: 164 Countries on 14th July 2016
Secretariat Staff : 640
Head : Roberto Azevêdo
PRINCIPLES OF WTO
Trade without discrimination
Tariff rates should be same.
Transparency
TPRM(Trade policy review mechanism)
Eg : FDI
Reciprocity
Given mainly for developed nations.
Eg: Concession on Tariff rates
Binding and Enforceable Commitments
Should not exceed bounded tariff rates without negotiating with its
trading partners.
Safety Valve
FUNCTIONS OF WTO
To implement rules and provisions related to trade.
To provide a platform to member countries to decide
future strategies related to trade and tariff.
To administer the rules and processes related to dispute
settlement.
To ensure the optimum use of world resources.
To improve the standard of living on people in the
member countries.
To protect the environment.
To accept the concept of sustainable development.
STRUCTURE OF WTO
Agreements
General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS)
Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS)
Agreement on Agriculture (AOA)
Agreement on Technical Barriers Trade (TBT)
Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary (SPS) agreement
Anti-Dumping Practices (ADP)
General Agreements On Tariffs And Trade
(GATT)
GATT was 1st signed in 1947
Was designed:
to provide international opportunity
to encourage free trade between member states
to regulate and reduce tariffs on traded goods
to provide common mechanism for resolving trade
arguments
Trade Related Aspects Of Intellectual
Property Rights (TRIPS)
It was negotiated in 1947
The agreement requires member countries to provide
patent protection to all products or processes in all
fields. The protection is granted subject to 3 conditions:
1. The product or process is new one
2. It is an inventive step
3. It is capable of industrial application for 20 years
from the grant of patent
(patents, copyrights, trade marks etc.)
Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS)
Refers to restrictions imposed by government in respect
of foreign investments in the country
Provides that no contracting party shall apply any TRIM
which is inconsistent to WTO articles
Agreement On Agriculture (AOA)
Contains provisions in 3 broad areas of agriculture and
trade policy
1.Market access
2.Domestic support
3.Export subsidies
Impact of WTO on Indian dairy sector
Developed countries provide many subsidies to farmers
including milk producers
Countries like Finland, japan, Norway impose 200% to
300% tariffs to restrict imports of dairy products
Due to lack of infrastructural facilities Indian dairy
products could not meet high standards of food and
quality imposed by importing countries
Indigenous products like paneer are helpful as their
export help Indian producers
Agreement On Technical Barriers Trade (TBT)
Objectives
Allows members to apply standards, technical
regulations, conformity procedure for
1. Protection of human safety or health
2.Protection of animals & plant life or health
3.Protetcion of environment
4.Prevention of deceptive practices
However needs to ensure that these do not create
obstacles to international trade
Sanitary And Phyto Sanitary (SPS) agreement
All countries have rights to take sanitary and phyto
sanitary measures for protection of human, animal and
plant life and health
The right to protect human, animal and plant life or
health
Anti-Dumping Practices (ADP)
A product is considered to be dumped if the product is
sold for less than the cost of production.
It allows governments to act against dumping where
there is genuine injury to the competing domestic
industry
Impact on Indian economy
Increase in export earnings
Increase in agricultural exports
Exports of textiles and clothing
Increase in Foreign investment
PROS
Promotes free-er trades
Raises world output levels via specialization
Establishes standard rule by law and terms of trade for
greater efficiency
Provides better grounds for development of under
developed countries and protects from exploitation
Defines better ways to resolve disputes regarding trade
and tariffs
Free trade encourages competition
Advantages of WTO to India
An opportunity to India for trading with other member
countries
Availability of foreign technology to India at reduced
cost
CONS
Industrialized countries benefit more than poor
countries
Dominance of developed countries
Policies are framed without considering the
vulnerabilities of developed countries
Lack of financial and knowledge resources of
developing countries
Disadvantages of WTO to India
Certain clauses of WTO agreement on agriculture put
restrictions on provision of subsidized food grains in
India
Tariffs reduction on goods of exports are small and is
less favorable to India
Agricultural goods cannot be exported in bulk, due to
its limitations
Indian textile industry didn’t get any major favors in
past one and half decade
India under pressure to liberalize service sector
REFERENCES
https://www.wto.org/
http://
www.yourarticlelibrary.com/trade-2/wto-the-world-trade-organi
sation-features-structures-objective-and-function-of-the-wto/26
274
https://econ.economicshelp.org
https://www.scribd.com
