Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations - New York ...

I. ORGANIZATION PROFILE
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WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
The World Trade Organization (“WTO”) is an international organization consisting of
148 Member States that deals with the global rules of trade between nations. The WTO’s main
function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably, and freely as possible. 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,
and cooperating with other international organizations.
The WTO was born out of the Uruguay Round of negotiations of the General Agreement
on Tariffs and Trade (“GATT”). The term GATT refers to both the multilateral agreement and
the international organization that administers the agreement. The WTO provides a forum for
future GATT negotiations and administers the dispute resolution system.
The WTO’s top level decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which meets
at least once every two years. This body consists of representatives from each Member State and
has full authority to take decisions on any matter arising from any of the Multilateral Trade
Agreements (those agreements signed by all Member States). The Ministerial Conference is the
chief policy-making body of the WTO and any major policy change requires its approval.
Beneath the Ministerial Conference is the General Council, which meets several times a
year. This body is responsible for overseeing the WTO between Ministerial Conference
meetings and consists of a representative from each Member State. The General Council has
authority to act in all areas pertaining to Multilateral and Plurilateral Trade Agreements (the
latter of which are not signed by all WTO Member States) and the WTO, except for major policy
changes and decisions to alter the WTO treaties. The General Council also meets as the Trade
Policy Review Body and the Dispute Settlement Body.
The Goods Council, Services Council, and Intellectual Property (or TRIPS) Council
report to the General Council. The Goods Council oversees the proper functioning of all
Multilateral Trade Agreements affecting trade in goods, including interpretations of various
GATT articles. The Services Council oversees the General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS), which attempts to do for services what GATT has done for trading goods by
establishing a multilateral framework for the reduction and elimination of barriers to
international trade in services. The TRIPS Council oversees the TRIPS Agreement, which
includes clauses ensuring non-discrimination and most-favored nation (MFN) status. The
agreement also covers different kinds of intellectual property rights, such as copyrights,
trademarks, and patents.
Six smaller bodies called committees also report to the General Council. These
committees also consist of representatives from WTO Member States. The committees deal with
issues such as trade and development, the environment, regional trading arrangements,
administrative issues, investment and competition policy, transparency in government
procurement, and trade facilitation. In addition, two more subsidiary bodies dealing with the
Plurilateral Agreements regularly keep the General Council informed of their activities.
The WTO Secretariat services the WTO bodies with respect to negotiations and
implementation of agreements. Based in Geneva, the Secretariat is headed by a Director General.
The Secretariat’s main duties are to supply technical support for the various councils, committees
and ministerial conferences, provide technical assistance to developing countries, analyze world