Text IV. THE WTO AGREEMRNTS

How can you ensure that trade is as fair as possible, and as free as is practical? By negotiating rules and abiding by them.

    The WTO’s rules – the agreements – are the result of negotiations between the members. The current set were the outcome of the 1986-94 Uruguay Round negotiations which included a major revision of the original General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

    GATT is now the WTO’s principal rule-book for trade in goods. The Uruguay Round also created new rules for dealing with trade in services, relevant aspects of intellectual property, dispute settlement, and trade policy reviews. The complete set runs to some 30,000 pages consisting of About 30 agreements and separate commitments (called schedules) made by individual members in specific areas such as lower customs duty rates and services market – opening.

    Through these agreements, WTO members operate a non-discriminatory trading system that spells out their obligations. Each country receives guarantees that its export will be treated fairly and consistently in other countries’ markets. Each promises to do the same for imports into its own market. The system also gives developing countries some flexibility in implementing their commitments.

Goods.

    It all began with trade in goods. From 1947 to 1994, GATT was the forum for negotiating lower customs duty rates and other trade barriers; the text of the General Agreements spelt out important rules, particularly non-discrimination.

    Since 1995, the updated GATT has become the WTO’s umbrella agreements for trade in goods. It has annexes dealing with specific sectors such as agriculture and textiles, and with specific issues such as state trading, product standards, subsidies and actions taken against dumping.

    Services.

    Banks, insurance firms, telecommunications companies, tour operators, hotel chains and transport companies looking to do business abroad can now enjoy the same principles of freer and fairer trade that originally only applied to trade in goods.

    These principles appear in the new General Agreements on Trade in Services (CATT’S). WTO members have also made individual commitments under GATT’S stating which of their services sectors are willing to open to foreign competition, and how open those markets are.

    Intellectual property.

    The WTO’s intellectual property agreement amounts to rules for trade and investment in ideas and creativity. The rules state how copyrights, patents, trademarks, geographical names used to identify products, industrial designs, integrated circuit layout-designs and undisclosed information such as trade secrets – “intellectual property” – should be protected when trade is involved.

    Dispute settlement.

    The WTO’s procedure for resolving trade quarrels under the Dispute Settlement Understanding is vital for enforcing the rules and therefore for ensuring that trade flows smoothly. Countries bring dispute to the WTO if they think their rights under the agreements are being infringed. Judgements by specially – appointed independent experts are based on interpretations of the agreements and individual countries’ commitments.

    The system encourages countries to settle their differences through consultation. Failing that, they can follow a carefully mapped out, stage-by-stage procedure that includes the possibility of a ruling by a panel of experts, and the chance to appeal the ruling on legal grounds. Confidence in the system is born out by the number of cases brought to the WTO-almost 250 cases in seven years compared to some 300 disputes dealt with during the entire life of GATT (194u-1994).

Policy review.

The Trade Policy Review Mechanism’s purpose is to improve transparency, to create a greater understanding of the policies that countries are adopting, and to assess their impact. Many members also see the review as constructive feedback on their policies.

All WTO members must undergo periodic scrutiny, each review containing reports by the country concerned and the WTO Secretariat.

 

Vocabulary notes

to abide – придерживаться (правил)

commitment – обязательства

to infringe – нарушать (права)

to undergo scrutiny – подлежать отчётности

dumping – демпинг

to map out – прикинуть

layout-designs – проектные замыслы

 

CASE STUDY

Ukraine and the WTO

Background Information

The WTO began operating on January 1, 1995. It is the only global International organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The main goal of the WTO is to help producers of goods and services, exporters and importers conduct their business.

Problem

Ukraine first knocked on the door of the WTO in July 1994 and is waiting in line with other countries for membership. The WTO officials said “It’s a long process because Ukraine has to incorporate all WTO regulations into its domestic legislation and convince all the members that all its laws in the field of agriculture, products, services and intellectual property are compliant”. Ukraine joined in the WTO in 2009.

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