General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)World Trade Organization (WTO)Agulan, Ly Ann L.Arceo, Dan Michael G.Cheung, LiezelIco, Princess ZairaMapili, JaysonRey, JenivieSapiter, KenTubiera, DjanleeUrfano, Katrina Joie M.History of World Trade OrganizationSecond World War- The successor of World Trade Agreement, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was established.- GATT and the WTO have helped to create a strong and prosperous trading system contributing to unprecedented growth.- The first rounds dealt mainly with tariff reductions but later negotiations included other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures.History of World Trade Organization1944- a meeting took place in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire: the International Monetary Conference. - negotiators agreed to create the International- Monetary Fund and the World Bank but they could not agree on an organization to deal with international tradeHistory of World Trade Organization1947- twenty-three nations approved the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, or GATT-It was meant to be temporary. Trade negotiations under GATT were carried out in a series of talks called rounds.- The first round lowered import taxes on one-fifth of world trade. Later rounds produced additional cuts, and negotiators added more issues. History of World Trade Organization1963- The six round began and it was called the Kennedy Round after the murder of President John F. Kennedy. The results included an agreement against trade dumping. This is when one country sells a product in another country at an unfairly low price.History of World Trade Organization1986- GATT was known as the Uruguay Round of talks because the wide-ranging trade liberalization negotiations (eighth round) began in the Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este in 1986.- The Uruguay Round lasted almost twice as long as planned. In all, one hundred twenty-three nations took part in seven-and-a-half years of work. They set time limits for future negotiations. They also agreed to create a permanent system to settle trade disputes.History of World Trade Organization1994 - GATT was formally signed on April 15, 1994, in Marrakesh, Morocco, by representatives from 124 member countries. It replaced GATT with the World Trade Organization.- The U.S. House of Representatives approved the legislation on November 29, 1994, and the Senate ratified the accord on December 1. President Clinton signed the bill on December 8.History of World Trade Organization1995- The treaty established a successor to GATT, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and it replaced GATT on January 1, 1995.- Because of U.S. concerns that some future decisions by the organization may be unacceptable under U.S. laws, a provision in the treaty allows any member to withdraw from the WTO six months after giving notice.- The World Trade Organization came into existence in nineteen ninety-five. It operates a system of trade rules. It serves as a place for nations to settle disputes and negotiate agreements to reduce trade barriers. The newest of its one hundred fifty members, Vietnam, joined in January.History of World Trade Organization1997- February 1997, agreement was reached on telecommunications services, with 69 governments agreeing to wide-ranging liberalization measures that went beyond those agreed in the Uruguay Round.- 40 governments successfully concluded negotiations for tariff-free trade in information technology products, and 70 members concluded a financial services deal covering more than 95% of trade in banking, insurance, securities and financial information.History of World Trade Organization2000- New talks started on agriculture and services2001- The W.T.O. launched a new round on development issues in Doha, Qatar, in November of two thousand one. These talks were supposed to end by January of two thousand five. But negotiatorscould not agree on issues involving agricultural protections. The current round has been suspended since last July.History of World Trade Organization-These talks have now been incorporated into a broader agenda launched at the fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001 by WTO trade ministers.- The work programme, the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), adds negotiations and other work on non-agricultural tariffs, trade and environment, WTO rules such as anti-dumping and subsidies, investment,History of World Trade Organizationcompetition policy, trade facilitation, transparency in government procurement, intellectual property, and a range of issues raised by developing countries as difficulties they face in implementing the present WTO agreements.- The WTO is headquartered in Geneva and also holds international ministerial conferences; it has 159 members.The Leaders- Roberto Azevdo is the sixth Director-General of the WTO. His appointment took effect on 1 September 2013 for a four-year term.- Tim Yeend is the Chef de CabinetThe four Deputy Directors-General1. Yonov Frederick Agah of Nigeria2. Karl Brauner of Germany3. David Shark of the United States4. Yi Xiaozhun of ChinaMain functionTo ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.To do with trade negotiations and the enforcement of negotiated multilateral trade rules. Special focus is given to particular policies supporting these functions:- Assisting developing and transition economies- Specialized help for exporting: the International Trade Centre- The WTO in global economic policy-making- Keeping the WTO and public informedGoalsTo help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business, while allowing governments to meet social and environmental objectives.To improve the welfare of the peoples of the member countries.The rules embodied in both the GATT and the WTO serve at least three purposes:1. They attempt to protect the interests of small and weak countries against discriminatory trade practices of large and powerful countries.2. The rules require members to limit trade only through tariffs and to provide market access not less favourable than that specified in their schedules.3. The rules are designed to help governments resist lobbying efforts by domestic interest groups seeking special favours.ObjectiveTo set and enforce rules for international trade.To help developing countries benefit fully from the global trading system.To increase the transparency of decision-making processes.To cooperate with other major international economic institutions involved in global economic managementObjectiveThe WTOs overriding objective is to help trade flow smoothly, freely, fairly and predictably.It does this by:- Administering trade agreements- Acting as a forum for trade negotiations- Settling trade disputes- Reviewing national trade policies- Assisting developing countries in trade policy issues, through technical assistance and training programmes- Cooperating with other international organizationsThe member countriesThere are 128 countries that had signed GATT by 1994. The governments that had signed GATT were officially known as GATT contracting parties. Upon signing the new WTO agreements (which include the updated GATT, known as GATT 1994), they officially became known as WTO members. And now there are 161 members since 26 April 2015.The member countriesThe member countriesThe member countriesActivities- Non-discrimination, a country should not discriminate between its trading partners and it should not discriminate between its own and foreign products, services or nationals.- More open, lowering trade barriers is one of the most obvious ways of encouraging trade; these barriers include customs duties (or tariffs) and measures such as import bans or quotas that restrict quantities selectively.Activities- Predictable and transparent, foreign companies, investors and governments should be confident that trade barriers should not be raised arbitrarily. With stability and predictability, investment is encouraged, jobs are created and consumers can fully enjoy the benefits of competition choice and lower prices.- More competitive, discouraging unfair practices, such as export subsidies and dumping products at below cost to gain market share; the issues are complex, and the rules try to establish what is fair or unfair, and how governments can respond, in particular by charging additional import duties calculated to compensate for damage caused by unfair trade.Activities- More beneficial for less developed countries, giving them more time to adjust, greater flexibility and special privileges; over three-quarters of WTO members are developing countries and countries in transition to market economies. The WTO agreements give them transition periods to adjust to the more unfamiliar and, perhaps, difficult WTO provisions.- Protect the environment, the WTOs agreements permit members to take measures to protect not only the environment but also public health, animal health and plant health. However, these measures must be applied in the same way to both national and foreign businesses. In other words, members must not use environmental protection measures as a means of disguising protectionist policies