The World trade organization is an international
organization which is created for the liberalization of international
trade. The World Trade Organization came into existence on January 1st,
1995 and it is the successor of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT). The World trade organization deals with the rules of trade
between nations at a global level. WTO is responsible for implementing
new trade agreements. All the member countries of WTO has to follow the
trade agreement as decided by the WTO.
Structure of the WTO:
Following is the structure of WTO.
Highest Level: Ministerial Conference
The Ministerial Conference is the top most body of the WTO, which meets
in every two years. It brings together all the members of WTO.
Second Level: General Council
The General council of the WTO is the highest level decision making body
in Geneva, which meets regularly to carry out the functions of WTO.
Third Level: Councils for Trade
The Workings of GATT, which covers international trade in goods, are
the responsibility of the Council of Trade.
Fourth Level: Subsidiary Bodies
There are subsidiary bodies under the various councils dealing with
specific subjects such as agriculture, subsidies, market access etc.
India and WTO
India is one of the founder members of WTO along with the other 134
countries. India's participation in an increasingly rule based system in
governance of international trade, which ultimately would lead India to
become more prosperous. India has gained a lot of advantages as it is
one of the founding members of WTO. India's trade policy has taken a
major shape as it is associated with WTO. Various trade disputes of
India have been settled through WTO. India has also played an important
part in the effective formulation of major trade policies. By being a
member of WTO several countries are now trading with India, thus giving
a boost to production, employment, standard of living and maximum use of
the world resources.
But there are few negative effects too. Many of the trade policies which
are not useful for India have to be followed. Sometimes under the
influence of the other powerful economies India's trade policy suffers.
Like many other international organization, there is the monopoly of the
developed countries in the WTO.
