The Nature and Historical Role of WTO

The WTO is a permanent international organization independent of the United Nations. 1 995 65438+1October1officially started operation, and was responsible for managing the world economy and trade order. Its headquarters is located in Lemmon Lake, Geneva, Switzerland. 1996 65438+ 10 1, which officially replaced the provisional institutions of GATT. WTO is an international organization with legal person status and has higher authority in mediating disputes among its members. Its predecessor was the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade concluded in 1947. Compared with GATT, WTO covers trade in goods, services and intellectual property rights, while GATT only applies to trade in goods. WTO members are divided into four categories: developed members, developing members, members with economies in transition and least developed members. On June 7, 2006, the General Council of the World Trade Organization held a special meeting in Geneva, officially announcing the acceptance of Vietnam as the150th member of the organization. In this way, the full membership of the WTO has increased to 150. The World Trade Organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The first Director-General of the WTO is former Italian Foreign Trade Minister Renato Ruggiero, the second Director-General is former New Zealand Prime Minister michael moore, the third Director-General is former Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Supachai, and the fourth Director-General is former EU trade negotiator pascal lamy. \ The idea of establishing the World Trade Organization was put forward at the Bretton Woods Conference held in July. At that time, it was envisaged to establish the International Trade Organization at the same time as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, making it a "monetary-financial-trade" trinity of the world economy after World War II. 1947 The Havana Charter signed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment agreed to establish the WTO. Later, due to opposition from the United States, the WTO was not established. In the same year, the United States initiated the drafting of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade as a temporary contract to promote trade liberalization. After the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations began in 1986, the EU and Canada formally proposed the establishment of the WTO in 1990, and the GATT Ministerial Conference held in Marrakech, Morocco in April 1994 formally decided to establish the WTO. From 1947- 1993, GATT presided over eight rounds of multilateral tariff and trade negotiations, and the eighth round of negotiations was held in Geneva from 1986 to 1993, 12 and 15, which was called ". The fifth wheel is called Dillon Wheel, the sixth wheel is called Kennedy Wheel, and the seventh wheel is called Tokyo Wheel. The WTO, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) are also called the three pillars of world economic development. On August 30th, 2003, the General Council of WTO unanimously adopted the Final Document on Implementing the Compulsory Licensing System for Patented Drugs. According to the provisions of this document, when developing members and least developed members have a public health crisis due to epidemic diseases such as AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, they can produce, use and sell patented drugs for treating diseases that lead to public health crisis without the permission of the patentee. This will not only greatly reduce the market price of related patented drugs, but also help to control and alleviate the public health crisis more quickly and effectively, and ensure that the basic rights of life and health are respected and protected. In February of the same year, the Sixth Ministerial Conference of the WTO was held in Hongkong, China from 13 to 18, and the Ministerial Declaration was adopted at the meeting, stipulating that developed members and some developing members would provide duty-free and quota-free market access for all products of the least developed countries by 2008; In 2006, developed members cancelled export subsidies for cotton and all forms of agricultural products before the end of 20 13. World Trade Organization official website: http://www.wto.org

[Edit this paragraph] Main functions, purposes, objectives, basic principles and basic functions

The main functions of the WTO are: organizing the implementation of various trade agreements; Provide a venue for multilateral trade negotiations for members and provide a framework for the results of multilateral negotiations; Resolving trade disputes among members; Regularly review members' trade policies and regulations; Coordinate relations with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and provide technical support and training. The purpose of the WTO is to improve living standards, ensure full employment, and substantially and steadily increase real income and effective demand; Expand the production and trade of goods and services; Adhering to the road of sustainable development, members should promote the optimal utilization of world resources, protect and maintain the environment, and strengthen various corresponding measures to meet the needs of members with different levels of economic development; Actively strive to ensure that developing countries, especially the least developed countries, get shares and benefits commensurate with their economic development level in the growth of international trade. The goal of the World Trade Organization is to establish a complete, more dynamic and lasting multilateral trading system, including goods, services, trade-related investment and intellectual property rights, so that it can include the results of GATT trade liberalization and all the results of Uruguay Round multilateral trade negotiations. The basic principles of the World Trade Organization are non-discriminatory trade principles, including most-favored-nation treatment, transparency and national treatment clauses; Predictable and expanding market access, mainly tariff terms; Promote fair competition and strive to establish an open, fair and free trade environment and rules without distorting competition; Encourage development and economic reform. The basic functions of the WTO are: to manage and implement multilateral and plurilateral trade agreements that constitute the WTO; As a forum for multilateral trade negotiations; Seek to resolve trade disputes; Supervise members' trade policies and cooperate with other international institutions related to the formulation of global economic policies. The goal of WTO is to establish a complete, more dynamic and permanent multilateral trading system. Compared with GATT, the jurisdiction of WTO includes not only the traditional trade in goods determined by Uruguay Round, but also intellectual property rights, investment measures and non-goods trade (service trade) that have long been outside GATT. The WTO has the status of a legal person and has higher authority and effectiveness in mediating disputes among its members.

[Edit this paragraph] World Trade Organization

The ministerial meeting is the highest decision-making body of the WTO. It is composed of ministers, deputy ministers or their plenipotentiaries in charge of foreign trade and economic cooperation in all member States. Generally speaking, it meets every two years to discuss and decide all important issues related to the functions of the WTO and take action. The first meeting was held in Singapore in1996+February, the second meeting was held in Geneva, Switzerland in 1998, the third meeting was held in Seattle, USA in1999+065438+1October, and the fourth meeting was held in 200/kloc-. The main functions of the ministerial meeting are: to appoint the Director-General of the WTO and formulate relevant rules; To determine the authority, duties, qualifications and term of office of the Director-General, as well as the duties and qualifications of the staff of the Secretariat; Explain WTO agreements and multilateral trade agreements; Exempt a member from its obligations under WTO agreements and other multilateral trade agreements; To consider the motions put forward by its members to amend WTO agreements or multilateral trade agreements; To decide whether to accept the countries or regions applying for joining the WTO; Decide on the effective date of World Trade Organization agreements and multilateral trade agreements. There is a general Council and a secretariat, which are responsible for the daily meetings and work of the WTO. WTO members can be divided into founding members and new members. The founding members must be contracting parties to GATT, and new members can only join after being approved by the Council of Ministers, the decision-making body. General Council: during the recess of the ministerial meeting, its functions are exercised by the general Council, which is also composed of all members. The General Council may meet at any time when necessary to formulate its own rules of procedure and agenda. At the same time, the General Council must also perform its duties of settling trade disputes and reviewing the trade policies of its members. The General Council has a Council for Trade in Goods; Council for Trade in Services; Intellectual property committee. These councils may, as appropriate, formulate their own rules of procedure, which shall be implemented after being approved by the General Council. All members can participate in parliament. Special Committee: The Council of Ministers has a special committee to deal with specific trade and other related affairs. A Trade and Development Committee was established; Committee on Balance of Payments Restrictions; Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration; There are more than 10 special committees such as the Committee on Trade and Environment. Secretariat and Director-General: The Secretariat of the World Trade Organization (hereinafter referred to as the Secretariat) headed by the Director-General appointed by the Ministerial Conference is located in Geneva, Switzerland, with about 500 people. Secretariat staff are appointed by the Director-General, and their duties and conditions of service are determined in accordance with rules adopted by the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers clarified the powers, responsibilities, conditions of service and term rules of the Director-General. The Director-General of WTO mainly has the following responsibilities: he can exert influence on members to the maximum extent and ask them to abide by WTO rules; The Director-General should consider and foresee the best development policies of the WTO; Help members solve their disputes; Responsible for the work of the Secretariat, and manage the budgetary and administrative affairs related to all members; Preside over consultations and informal negotiations to avoid disputes. As of May 1999, the WTO * * * has more than 30 councils and standing committees. The organization chart is as follows: the organization chart of the World Trade Organization.

[Edit this paragraph] World Trade Organization logo

1On 9 October, the WTO launched a new logo. The sign consists of six upward curved arcs, the upper three and the lower three are red, blue and green respectively. The symbol means that a dynamic WTO will play a key role in the sustained and orderly expansion of world trade. The sphere composed of six arcs shows that the WTO is an international institution composed of different members. The logo is a long-term dynamic symbol of the vitality of the WTO. The designer of the logo is Ms. Yang Shu from Singapore. Her design adopts the strokes of China traditional calligraphy, and the six arcs have the rhyme rate of brush calligraphy.

[Edit this paragraph] Rights and obligations of China after its accession to the World Trade Organization.

Enjoy the following basic rights after China's entry into WTO: (1) enjoy unconditional, multilateral, permanent and stable MFN treatment and national treatment for products, services and intellectual property rights among 150 members; (2) Industrial products and semi-finished products exported to most developed countries enjoy GSP treatment; (3) Enjoy most preferential or transitional arrangements of developing country members; (4) Enjoy the benefits of other WTO members' opening or expanding market access for goods and services; (5) Use the dispute settlement mechanism of WTO to solve the economic and trade frictions with other countries fairly, objectively and reasonably, and create a good environment for economic and trade development; (six) to participate in the activities of the multilateral trading system and obtain the decision-making power of international economic and trade rules; (7) Enjoy the right of WTO members to use various rules, adopt exceptions and safeguard measures to promote their own economic and trade development. After China joins the WTO, it will undertake the following basic obligations: (1) According to WTO rules, it will give other members most-favored-nation treatment and national treatment in terms of goods, services and intellectual property rights; (2) according to the relevant agreements of WTO, expand the market access of goods and services, that is, specifically require reducing tariffs and standardizing non-tariff measures, and gradually expand the market opening of service trade; (3) Further standardize the protection of intellectual property rights according to the provisions of the Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights; (4) Fair settlement of trade frictions with other members according to the dispute settlement mechanism, without unilateral retaliation; (5) increasing the transparency of trade policies and regulations; (6) Measures to regulate foreign investment in goods trade; (7) Pay a certain membership fee according to its proportion in world exports.

[Edit this paragraph] The principle of reciprocity in the WTO

Although the "principle of reciprocal trade" is not clearly stipulated in GATT and WTO agreements, in practice, only the concession arrangement of equality and mutual benefit can reach an agreement among members. The principle of reciprocity in the WTO is mainly embodied in the following forms: First, through multilateral trade negotiations, reducing tariff or non-tariff measures, opening the domestic market to other members on an equal footing, so as to gain opportunities for domestic products or services to enter other members' markets, that is, the so-called "reciprocated". Second, when a country or region applies to join the WTO, because the new members can enjoy the preferential treatment of opening the market that all the old members have achieved in the past, the old members will unanimously ask the new members to pay the "entrance fee"-to open the market of the goods or services of the applicant country in accordance with the existing WTO agreements and agreements. Third, reciprocal trade is the main tool for a member to realize economic and trade cooperation with other members in multilateral trade negotiations and trade liberalization. The history of GATT and WTO fully shows that the benefits of multilateral trade liberalization for a member are far greater than those of a country's unilateral trade liberalization. Because when a country unilaterally decides to liberalize the trade of tariff and non-tariff goods and open the service market, its benefits mainly depend on the reaction of other trading partners to this liberalization reform. If the response is good, it is to give preferential treatment to other places, which has great benefits; On the contrary, it is smaller. On the contrary, under the WTO system, because a member's trade liberalization is carried out within the scope of obtaining the commitment of the existing members to open the market, the actual benefits brought by this trade liberalization reform are naturally guaranteed by the WTO mechanism, not the benefits of unilateral or bilateral trade liberalization. Therefore, multilateral trade liberalization is superior to unilateral trade liberalization, especially for developing countries like China.

[Edit this paragraph] The principle of transparency in the WTO

The principle of transparency is an important principle of the WTO, which is embodied in the main agreements and agreements of the WTO. According to this principle, WTO members need to publish the current effective trade policies and regulations: (1) customs regulations. That is, the provisions of the customs on the classification and valuation methods of products, the tariff rates and other fees levied by the customs on import and export goods; (2) Laws and administrative regulations on import and export management; (3) Domestic taxes, regulations and rules on the collection of import and export commodities; (4) Laws and regulations on inspection and quarantine of import and export commodities; (5) General laws and regulations on the administration of import and export goods and their payment of foreign exchange; (6) Legislation and regulations on the utilization of foreign capital; (7) laws and regulations on intellectual property protection; (8) Laws and regulations of export processing zones, free trade zones, border trade zones and special economic zones; Laws and regulations on trade in services; (10) arbitration clause; (1 1) Existing bilateral or multilateral agreements and agreements that affect trade policies signed by member governments and their institutions; (12) Other domestic legislation or administrative rules that affect trade behavior. The principle of transparency stipulates that all members shall implement the above-mentioned relevant laws, regulations, judgments and decisions fairly, reasonably and uniformly. Unity requires that the relevant laws and regulations governing trade in member countries should not be treated differently, that is, the central government uniformly promulgates relevant policies and regulations, and the laws and regulations promulgated by local governments on the above matters must not contradict the central government. Except for special administrative regions and local governments authorized by the central government. Justice and rationality require members to implement the principle of non-discrimination in the implementation of laws and regulations. The principle of transparency also stipulates that in view of the necessity of inspecting and correcting customs administrative acts, members are required to retain or establish judicial, arbitration or administrative institutions and procedures as soon as possible. This court or procedure is independent of the agency responsible for administrative enforcement. Except that the importer may appeal to a higher court or institution within the prescribed appeal period, the award shall be executed by these institutions. The principle of transparency plays a very important role in realizing fair trade and competition.

] How does the WTO settle disputes?

With the continuous development of international social economy and trade, trade wars in the field of international economy and trade are becoming more and more frequent. Since its establishment, the World Trade Organization has played an important role in resolving international economic and trade disputes. The dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organization is the General Council, which is responsible for handling disputes arising from any agreements or agreements included in the Final Act of the Uruguay Round. According to the commitments of WTO members, when a trade dispute occurs, all parties should not take unilateral actions to confront it, but seek relief through the dispute settlement mechanism and abide by its rules and rulings. The procedure of dispute settlement is: (1) consultation: according to the understanding of dispute settlement rules and procedures, the parties to the dispute should first resolve trade disputes through consultation. The consultation shall be notified to the dispute settlement body. The consultation was held in secret, which gave the parties to the dispute the opportunity to solve the problem by themselves. (2) Establishment of an expert group: If the member concerned ignores the consultation within 65,438+00 days or fails to resolve it after 60 days, the injured party may request the dispute settlement institution to establish an expert group. The expert group is generally composed of three people. At the request of the parties, review the disputed cases, listen to the statements of both parties, investigate and analyze the facts, present the investigation results, and help the dispute settlement institution to make suggestions or rulings. After the establishment of the expert group, the final report shall generally be submitted to the parties to the dispute within 6 months. In case of emergency, the time for final report will be shortened to 3 months. (3) Adoption of the report of the expert group: The dispute settlement body shall study and adopt the report within 20-60 days after receiving the report of the expert group, unless the parties decide to appeal or oppose the adoption of the report by consensus. (4) Review by Appellate Body: After the final report of the expert group is published, all parties to the dispute have the opportunity to appeal. Appeals are accepted by the permanent appellate body established by the dispute settlement body. The Appellate Body may uphold, modify or revoke the panel's ruling and submit a deliberation report to the dispute settlement body. (5) Award of the Dispute Settlement Body: The Dispute Settlement Body shall adopt the Appellate Body's report within 30 days after it is distributed to WTO members. Once adopted, the parties to the dispute must accept it unconditionally. (6) Implementation and supervision: The dispute settlement institution shall supervise the implementation of the awards and recommendations. If the breaching party fails to implement the proposal and refuses to provide compensation, the injured party may request the dispute settlement body to authorize retaliatory measures, concessions or other obligations under the standstill agreement.

[Edit this paragraph] Official language

According to the provisions of the World Trade Organization, its official languages are English, French and Spanish, and the texts of these three languages are official texts with legal effect, while the Chinese translation is for reference only and has no legal effect; The significance of including English, French and Spanish texts is that when there is a dispute with WTO members, the provisions in these texts can be directly applied and have formal legal effect; Collect the Chinese version of China's WTO legal documents, so that readers who are not used to reading foreign languages can learn and master WTO rules.

[Edit this paragraph] List of WTO members

Albania, Angola, September 8, 2000 1996, 165438+ Antigua and barbuda island 1 October 23 1995, 1 Argentina 1995,/kloc. 1995 1 Austria, 1995 1 Bahrain, 1995 1 Bangladesh, 1995 1 Bangladesh. 1995 1 Belgium, 1995 1 Belize, 1995 1 Benin, 1996 2. 1 September 995 12 Botswana, 1 May 995 3 1 Brazil,1June 995/Brunei,1June 9951Brazil. 1 996 65438+February1Burkina Faso 65438+June 3 0995 Burundi 65438+July 23 0995 Cameroon1995 65438+February 13 Canada1995. Kloc-0/ Chad 2001121Colombia,1995 April 30 Congo Brazzaville,1997 March 27 Costa Rica,1. 1 99565438+1October1Croatia, 2000165438+1October 30, Cuba,1April 20, 1995, Cyprus,/kloc-. 1997 1 Denmark, 1995 1 Djibouti,1May 3, 9951Dominica, 1995 1. 1March 9, 995 Ecuador1996 65438+1October 2 1 Egypt1June 30, 995 El Salvador1May 7, 995 Estonia 1995. 1995 1 Fiji, 1996 1 Finland, 1995 1 France, 1995 1. 1995 1 Gambia 1996 10 Georgia June 2000 14 Germany 1995 1 Ghana 1 99565438. 99565438+ 1 October 65438+1 Grenada 65438 1 99565438+1 October/China,199565438+/kloc. 1 99565438+1 October 1 Indonesia,199565438+1October1Ireland,199565438+ 1995 1 Jamaica,1995 March 9, Japan, 1995 1 Jordan, April 20001kloc-0/Kenya, 660. 1 99565438+1 October1Kuwait,199565438+1October1Kyrgyzstan,199865438+February 1 May 3, 995 1 Liechtenstein 1 September 9951Lithuania 20065438+May 3 1 Luxemburg1June 9951Macau, China/KLOC-. 99565438 1 995 May 3 1 Mali,1995 May 3 1 Malta,1995 June1Mauritania,1995 May 3. Mexico, 1995 1 Moldova, 200655 1995 1 new Zealand, 1995 1 Nicaragua, 1995 Niger,/kloc-. 1995 1 Norway, 1995 1 Oman, 2000 1 1 Pakistan, 1995 1. 65438+September 6th 0997, Papua New Guinea 65438+June 9th 0996, Paraguay 65438+1October 30th, Peru 1995, 65438+1October 60th, Philippines/kloc-0. 1 July 9951Portugal, 1995 1 Qatar, 1996 1 Romania, 1995 1. 65438+ Saint Kitts and Nevis May 22, 0996 Saint Lucia 2 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 October1Saint Vincent and the Grenadines February 1995+ 1. 1 995 65438+1 October 1 Taiwan Province-Jin Peng-Malaysia separate customs territory, 2002 65438+1October/Sierra Leone, 65438+July 23rd 0995 Singapore,/. 1995 1 Slovenia1995 July 30th Solomon islands1996 July 26th south Africa1995/Spain 1995 1 Sri Lanka. Kloc-0/ 1995 1 Switzerland, 1 July 9951Tanzania, 1995 1 Thailand, 1995 1 Thailand. 1 May 3, 9951Trinidad and Tobago,1March 9951Tunisia,1March 29, 995, Turkey,1March 26, 995, Uganda,1. 1April 996 10 UK, 1995 1 USA, 1995 1 Uruguay, 1995 1. 1995 1 Zambia, 1995 1 Zimbabwe,1995 March 5.

[Edit this paragraph] China formally joined the World Trade Organization.

On July1995 1 1, the WTO General Council decided to accept China as an observer country of the organization. Since China applied for re-entry into GATT in 1986, China has made great efforts to re-enter GATT and join the World Trade Organization in 15. 200165438+February1kloc-0/,China officially joined the World Trade Organization, becoming its143rd member. The role and influence of China's accession to the World Trade Organization: Advantages: ① It is conducive to China's participation in international economic cooperation and international division of labor and promotes economic development; (2) It is conducive to expanding exports and utilizing foreign capital, and participating in international competition under equal conditions; (three) to promote technological progress, industrial upgrading and economic restructuring, and further improve the socialist market economic system; (four) is conducive to reform and opening up, the development of the socialist market economy and improve people's living standards; ⑤ It is conducive to promoting world economic growth; ⑥ It is also beneficial to directly participate in the decision-making process of international trade rules in the 2 1 century, and get rid of the unfavorable situation that others make rules and China passively accepts them, thus safeguarding legitimate rights and interests. Disadvantages: Joining the WTO is also a severe challenge to China's weak industries. With the further expansion of the market and the substantial reduction of tariffs, more foreign products, services and investments may enter the China market, and some domestic products, enterprises and industries will inevitably face more intense competition. Conclusion: It can be seen that China's accession to the WTO has advantages and disadvantages, but generally speaking, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.