WTO Established: | 1st January 1995. |
WTO Members: | 164 Members. |
WTO Headquarters: | Geneva, Switzerland. |
WTO Director-General: | Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria). |
The WTO is an international intergovernmental organization forum for countries to negotiate trade between them. WTO stands for World Trade Organization. It provides a platform for WTO member countries to settle their trade disputes. The WTO is the world's largest international trade organization with 164 members. The WTO represents about 96% of world trade. The official languages of WTO are English, French, and Spanish. The WTO is also known as International Trade Organization or Global Trade Organization.
The WTO came into existence on 1st January 1995, which replaced an old and less effective international trade organization General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), founded in 1948.
The WTO has 164 permanent members and 24 observer states.
The main objective of the WTO is to Manage WTO trade agreements between the member countries and resolve trade disputes. WTO also provides a forum for the countries to negotiate trade, WTO handles trade disputes between the countries, WTO monitors the national trade policies of the member countries, and WTO also cooperates with other international organizations to manage the trade.
The headquarters of the WTO is situated in Geneva, Switzerland.
These principles are the foundation of the multilateral trading system. The member countries of the WTO must follow these principles for smooth trade between members.
1. Non-discrimination.
2. Lowering trade barriers.
3. Predictable and transparent.
4. More competitive.
5. More beneficial for less developed nations.
6. Protect the environment.
India is one of the founding members of the World Trade Organization.