Context

US President Donald Trump has questioned ‘Developing Tag’ for India and China.

About

World Trade Organization (WTO)

• It is a successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War.
• Several rounds of negotiations were held under GATT.
• WTO came into existence in Uruguay Rounds of 1986-1994 through Marrakesh Agreement in 1995.
• Members – 164 and together, they constitute 98% of the global trade
• In 2000, 4^th WTO Ministerial led to a new round of negotiation, Doha Development Agenda, which is still in progress.
• Mandate – to open trade for the benefit for all
• All decisions are made by consensus.
• WTO Headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. It has no other branch office.
• Ministerial Conference is WTO’s top level decision making body. It meets once in two years.
• WTO Agreements
  • For Goods – Marrakesh Agreement (1995) and Trade Facilitation Agreement ( 2017)
  • For Services – General Agreement on Trade in Services
  • For Intellectual Property - The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
• Functions
  • Administering WTO Trade Agreement
  • Act as forum for trade negotiation
  • Handling trade disputes
  • Monitoring trade policies
  • Cooperation with other international organization

Criteria for Developing, Developed and Least Developed Countries

• There are no WTO definitions of “developed” and “developing” countries.
• Members announce for themselves whether they are “developed” or “developing” countries.
• However, other members can challenge the decision of a member to make use of provisions available to developing countries.

     

Advantages for Developing Members:

The special provisions include:

• longer time periods for implementing Agreements and commitments,
• measures to increase trading opportunities for developing countries,
• provisions requiring all WTO members to safeguard the trade interests of developing countries,
• support to help developing countries build the capacity to carry out WTO work, handle disputes, and implement technical standards, and
• Provisions related to least-developed country (LDC) Members.