Discuss the role of World Trade Organisation in international trade. Explain any two major agreements in World Trade Organisation.
Answer:Role of World Trade Organisation (WTO):
The key objective of WTO is to promote and ensure international trade in developing countries. The key roles of WTO are:· Developing transitional economies –The WTO helps in solving the problems of developing economies. The developing states are provided with trade and tariff data. This depends on the country’s individual export interest and their participation in WTO-bodies.
· Providing help for export promotion – The WTO provides specialised help for export promotion to its members. The export promotion is done through the International Trade Center established by the GATT in 1964. The International Trade Center accepts requests from the member countries, usually developing countries in assisting to plan and execute programmes for export promotion, provides information on export market and marketing techniques and also provides assistance in establishing export promotion and marketing services.
· Cooperating in global economic policy-making – The main function of the WTO is to cooperate in global economic policy-making. The declaration (Marrakesh Ministerial Meeting in April 1994) specifies the responsibility of WTO as, to improve and maintain the cooperation with international organisations such as the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) that are involved in monetary and financial matters.
· Monitoring implementation of the agreement – The WTO administers sixty different agreements that have the statue of international legal documents. The member-governments sign and confirm all WTO agreements on attainment.
· Providing forum for negotiations – The WTO provides a permanent forum for negotiations among members for dispute settlement. It helps in settling multilateral trading dispute. A dispute arises when a member country adopts a trade policy and other fellow members consider it as a violation of WTO agreements. The Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) is responsible for the settlement of disputes.
Two major agreements in World Trade Organisation:
The WTO agreements are a set of rules that are followed by the member governments while formulating policies and practices in the area of international trade. The agreements mainly cover goods, services and intellectual property.
Some of the major agreements of WTO are:
· General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
o GATS is a framework agreement defining the rules under which trade in services must occur. A detailed rule has been included to take into account the differences between goods and services and the way in which trade in services is conducted.
o The main objective of GATS is to establish a framework for liberalising trade in services.
o GATS covers services known as ‘consumption abroad’ where services such as e-commerce are used by the consumers in a host country and citizens of a country travel overseas to consume products such as tourism or education.
· Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
o The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is one of the WTO agreements that are compiled by all WTO members.
o It promotes the use and protection of knowledge that is relevant to the conservation and use of biological diversity. This includes knowledge in technology and genetic material.
o The 1995 WTO TRIPS Agreements covers copyright and related rights, geographic indications, trademarks, and patents of integrated circuits, protection of information and control of anticompetitive practices in contractual licenses.
· General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
o GATT is a multilateral agreement among countries providing a framework for conducting international trade.
o Tariff barrier refers to imposing import duty and non-tariff barriers means restricting imports through import licensing and by banning the imports.
o GATT provides a framework for negotiations on the level of tariff. It promotes multilateral trade among member nations. It provides protection against unfair trade and obstructions to trade.
Some of the major agreements of WTO are:
· General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
o GATS is a framework agreement defining the rules under which trade in services must occur. A detailed rule has been included to take into account the differences between goods and services and the way in which trade in services is conducted.
o The main objective of GATS is to establish a framework for liberalising trade in services.
o GATS covers services known as ‘consumption abroad’ where services such as e-commerce are used by the consumers in a host country and citizens of a country travel overseas to consume products such as tourism or education.
· Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
o The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is one of the WTO agreements that are compiled by all WTO members.
o It promotes the use and protection of knowledge that is relevant to the conservation and use of biological diversity. This includes knowledge in technology and genetic material.
o The 1995 WTO TRIPS Agreements covers copyright and related rights, geographic indications, trademarks, and patents of integrated circuits, protection of information and control of anticompetitive practices in contractual licenses.
· General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
o GATT is a multilateral agreement among countries providing a framework for conducting international trade.
o Tariff barrier refers to imposing import duty and non-tariff barriers means restricting imports through import licensing and by banning the imports.
o GATT provides a framework for negotiations on the level of tariff. It promotes multilateral trade among member nations. It provides protection against unfair trade and obstructions to trade.
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