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The World Trade Organization
by Jaya Chinnaya and Ektaa Sanghvi
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What is the Organization?
 Based
heavily on
negotiations between
countries
 Gained legitimacy
through
agreements/contracts
members sign to
abide by rules of
international
commerce
 Based on the
General Agreement
on Trades and Tariffs
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Age of Organization
 Replaced
of General Agreement on Trades
and Tariffs (GATT) as a result of the
Uruguay Round (1986-1994)
 WTO created in 1995, GATT created in 1948
between 23 countries
 Created GATT
 More powerful than GATT
 GATT only regulated merchandised
goods
 WTO covers issues such as trade in
services, telecommunications, banking,
and even intellectual property rights
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What’s the Purpose of the WTO?
 Focuses
on trade negotiations,
implementation/monitoring, dispute settlement,
building trade capacity for developing countries,
outreach
 Agreements between members are subject to
scrutiny by WTO
 Helps mediate conflicts in which those involved
either want to or do not want to trade
 Guarantees no sudden changes in policy
amongst countries
 Assists in meeting social/environmental
objectives
 Sometimes rules to maintain barriers if it
involves protecting consumers or preventing the
spread of disease
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Who’s Involved?
153 members including UK, Mexico, Nigeria, and China
 31 observers, including Russian Federation and Mexico
 128 GATT signatories joined at the end of 1994

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Advantages of Membership
 Maintains
peace by helping trade move slowly and
trying to deal with disputes
 Promotes international confidence and cooperation
 Provides a forum for countries to peacefully and
fairly deal with disputes
 Attempts to lower prices/cost of living by
promoting free trade, making necessities cheaper
 Provides more choices for products
 Stimulates economy and raises income, but requires
government to redistribute the wealth because of
loss of domestic products
 Creates efficiency: Similar rules in many countries
makes trading easier
 Encourages transparency and ethical practices in
both countries involved in a trade agreement
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Disadvantages of Membership
Has been criticized for ignoring the developing
countries which increases inequality
 Benefits of free trade help developed countries more
than developing countries
 Imported goods compete with domestic goods and
because WTO discourages high tariffs, it can have a
negative impact if money fails to be redistributed
 Not necessarily democratic because WTO created by
and for corporations
 May not promote peace because its dominated by
businesses in wealth countries
 Some say WTO puts corporations before human rights
 Said to be harmful to the environment because it
attempts to deregulate logging, fishing, water utilities
 Opposed environmental laws such as U.S. Clean Air
Act

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International Impact: China
Joined on December 11, 2001
 When it signed off on WTO’s rules, gave up its previous
sovereignty
 Entry benefitted China greatly, as it made products
even more affordable
 Reduced tariffs on produce hurt farmers
 WTO helps China in its rapid economic growth
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International Impact: Russia
 Not
a member
of the WTO,
only an
observer nation
 Country with
the largest
economy that is
not a part of the
WTO
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International Impact: Iran
Not
a
member
nation or an
observer
nation
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International Impact: Mexico



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Member since January
1, 1995
Since WTO review in
2002, organization
believes that Mexico
made significant
progress
85% of trading is with
“preferential partners”
WTO believes Mexico
should reduce
bottlenecks in energy,
telecommunications,
and transportation
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International Impact: The EU
 UK: Member
since Jan.
1995
 EU: Key player in WTO
 EU:
Represents/negotiates
on behalf of 27 member
nations
 EU: Seeks to ensure new
markets
 EU: Observe rules and
make sure others play
by rules
 EU: Promote sustainable
entry
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Works Cited
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<http://www.cfr.org/russian-fed/impact-russias-wto-entry-us/p26473>.
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<http://www.globalexchange.org/resources/wto/oppose>.
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<http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm>.
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<http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/who_we_are_e.htm>.
"WTO : Why Is It BAD for You?" BreakTheMatrix.com. Web. 25 Mar. 2012.
<http://breakthematrix.com/government/wto-bad/>.