Single undertaking
Article II
“…2. The agreements and associated legal
instruments included in Annexes 1, 2 and 3
(hereinafter referred to as "Multilateral Trade
Agreements") are integral parts of this
Agreement, binding on all Members.
3. The …."Plurilateral Trade Agreements" are also
part of this Agreement for those Members that
have accepted them, and are binding on those
Members. The Plurilateral Trade Agreements do
not create either obligations or rights for
Members that have not accepted them”.
Single undertaking (II)
“Article XVI
Miscellaneous Provisions
…5. No reservations may be made in respect of
any provision of this Agreement. Reservations
in respect of any of the provisions of the
Multilateral Trade Agreements may only be
made to the extent provided for in those
Agreements. Reservations in respect of a
provision of a Plurilateral Trade Agreement shall
be governed by the provisions of that
Agreement”.
Functions of the WTO
Art. III of the WTO Agreement:
1) The WTO shall facilitate the
implementation, administration and
operation, and further the objectives, of
this Agreement and of the Multilateral
Trade Agreements, and shall also provide
the framework for the implementation,
administration and operation of the
Plurilateral Trade Agreements.
Functions of the WTO (II)
Bodies responsible for implementation:
• Ministerial Conference (interpretation of the
WTO agreements  binding on all Members),
• General Council (day-to-day management);
• Specialised Councils and Committees: they
oversee the application of specific agreements
and make recommendations about interpretation
of the agreements; no adoption of decisions;
• WTO Secretariat: technical assistance, esp. to
least-developed countries
Functions of the WTO (III)
2 “The WTO may also provide a forum for further
negotiations among its Members concerning
their multilateral trade relations, and a
framework for the implementation of the results
of such negotiations….”.
Negotiation of new agreements: permanent forum
for negotiations  Doha Development Round
(2001-)  divide on major issues (agriculture,
trade in services etc.).
Ministerial Conference: it has also the power of
adopting amendments to existing agreements.
Functions of the WTO (IV)
3) “The WTO shall administer the Understanding
on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes…”.
Dispute settlement is a major innovation in the
WTO system; it is administered by the Dispute
Settlement Body (DSB) under the Dispute
Settlement Understanding (DSU).
Goals: 1) to preserve rights and obligations of the
Members; 2) to clarify the provisions of WTO
agreements.
Functions of the WTO (V)
4) “The WTO shall administer the Trade
Policy Review Mechanism….”.
Trade policy review under the Trade Policy
Review Mechanism (TPRM): regular
collective appreciation of individual
Members’ trade policies and practices in
the light of the multilateral trading system.
Functions of the WTO (VI)
5) Cooperation with other international organisations:
A) “the WTO shall cooperate, as appropriate, with the
International Monetary Fund and with the International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development and its
affiliated agencies” (art. III.5).
IMF and WB have observer status in the WTO; conversely,
WTO attends the meetings of the IMF and the WB; close
cooperation in the field of technical assistance to leastdeveloped countries under the Integrated Framework for
Trade-Related Technical Assistance.
Functions of the WTO (VII)
“The General Council shall make appropriate
arrangements for effective cooperation with
other intergovernmental organizations that have
responsibilities related to those of the WTO ”
(art. V.1).
Arrangements with WIPO (World Intellectual
Property Organization) and UNCTAD (United
Nations Conference on Trade and
Development); arrangement with UN (WTO
cooperates with ECOSOC and takes part to
Chief Executive Board); Memoranda of
Understanding with other organisations.
Functions of the WTO (VIII)
“The General Council may make appropriate
arrangements for consultation and cooperation
with non-governmental organizations concerned
with matters related to those of the WTO” (art.
V.2).
Consultations and cooperation with NGOs: they
attend sessions of Ministerial Conference, have
frequent contact with the WTO Secretariat;
regular briefings are held for NGOs on the work
of WTO organs.
Membership (I)
Membership (currently 159 Members): who
can be a Member?
- States;
- separate customs territory (Macao, Hong
Kong, Chinese Taipei)
- European Union.
Different categories of Members.
Membership (II)
A) Original Members (Art. XI): the
Contracting Parties to GATT 1947 on 1st
January 1995 (122); original membership
was not automatic but it could be accepted
until March 1997 (only Yugoslavia didn’t
accept)
Membership (III)
The European Communities are original
Member, too: the EC concluded the WTO
agreement as a mixed agreement, which
was ratified also by the Member States,
because it was partly outside the
competence of the European
Communities.
Membership (IV)
B) Acceded Members (Art. XII): WTO
agreement is an open multilateral treaty.
An application for accession is needed: the
candidate State will have to accept the
terms of the WTO Agreement and of the
Multilateral Trade Agreements and to
make market access commitments and
concessions.
Membership (V)
Lengthy negotiations:
- the shortest negotiation: Kyrgyz Republic,
2 years and 10 months;
- accession of Algeria is being negotiated
since 1987;
- the negotiations for accession of China
lasted 15 years;
- negotiations with Russia lasted 18 years.
Membership (VI)
Accession process:
– report and examination of candidates’ trade
and economic policies;
– negotiation about market access
commitments and concessions;
– drafting of protocol of accession and
schedules of market access commitments
and concessions;
– decision of the Ministerial Conference (or
General Council) about accession.
Withdrawal
“Any Member may withdraw from this
Agreement. Such withdrawal shall apply
both to this Agreement and the Multilateral
Trade Agreements and shall take effect
upon the expiration of six months from the
date on which written notice of withdrawal
is received by the Director-General of the
WTO” (Art. XV).
Expulsion
The WTO Agreement does not provide for
expulsion in case of serious breaches of
the WTO agreements or gross violations
of human rights or acts of aggression.
UN sanctions may have effects on trade.