Since its inception in 1995, the World Trade Organization has been pursuing a number of goals: to increase international trade by providing a platform for negotiation of trade and promoting lower trade barriers; to settle disputes between member nations in case they arise; to assist producers of services and goods in conducting their businesses. All WTO discussions follow the fundamental principles of trading between nations.
According to these principles, none of the WTO member countries can privilege a particular trading partner above others, nor has it the right to discriminate against foreign services and products. A trading system should be free of discrimination and tend toward fewer trade barriers and greater competitions. This system should also be more accommodating for developing countries, providing them with more privileges and greater flexibility.
While the majority of international organizations operate on a one vote basis, a number of WTO agreements are determined officially by consensus of all WTO member states. This decision-making process is seen as advantageous, since it encourages efforts to reach the most widely acceptable decision. Among major disadvantages of this system are many rounds of negotiation for developing a consensus decision and large time requirements. In fact, the WTO negotiations process is determined by a system using informal negotiations among small groups of countries. These negotiations are frequently referred to as Green Room negotiations or Mini-Ministerials when occurring in other countries.
The World Trade Organization oversees some 30 diverse agreements that have the status of international legal texts. All these agreements must be signed and ratified by WTO member states on accession. Some of the most important WTO agreements include the General Agreement on Trade in Services, the Agreement on Agriculture, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade just to name a few.
The General Agreement on Trade in Services is a WTO agreement that came into effect in 1995 as a result of negotiations during the Uruguay Round. It was designed with the aim to extend multilateral trade system to services, similar to the system for merchandise trade provided by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. All WTO members are signatories to the GATS.
Negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the GATT was also the Agreement on Agriculture which went into effect with the establishment of WTO in January 1995. This WTO agreement has three central concepts, namely export subsidies, market access and domestic support. However, it is criticized for reducing tariff protections for farmers, recognized as a vital source of income in developing countries.
The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, known also as the TBT Agreement was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the GATT and entered into force in January 1995.
The task of the TBT Agreement is to ensure that standards and negotiations create no obstacles to trade.