World trade Organization - wikipedia World trade Organization `` WTO '' redirects here. For other uses, see WTO ( disambiguation ). World Trade Organization Organisation mondiale du commerce ( in French ) Organización Mundial del Comercio ( in Spanish ) Members Members, dually represented by the EU Observers Non-participant states Formation 1 January 1995 ; 23 years ago ( 1995 - 01 - 01 ) Type International trade organization Purpose Regulate international trade Headquarters Centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland Coordinates 46 ° 13 ′ 27 '' N 06 ° 08 ′ 58 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 46.22417 ° N 6.14944 ° E ﻿ / 46.22417 ; 6.14944 Coordinates : 46 ° 13 ′ 27 '' N 06 ° 08 ′ 58 '' E ﻿ / ﻿ 46.22417 ° N 6.14944 ° E ﻿ / 46.22417 ; 6.14944 Region served Worldwide Membership 164 member states Official language English, French, Spanish Director - General Roberto Azevêdo Budget 197.2 million Swiss francs ( approx. 209 million US $ ) in 2017. Staff 640 Website www.wto.org The World Trade Organization ( WTO ) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates international trade. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ), which commenced in 1948. It is the largest international economic organization in the world. The WTO deals with regulation of trade in goods, services and intellectual property between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants ' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round ( 1986 -- 1994 ). The WTO 's current Director - General is Roberto Azevêdo, who leads a staff of over 600 people in Geneva, Switzerland. A trade facilitation agreement, part of the Bali Package of decisions, was agreed by all members on 7 December 2013, the first comprehensive agreement in the organization 's history.. On 23 January 2017, the amendment to the WTO Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ( TRIPS ) Agreement marks the first time since the organization opened its doors in 1995 that WTO accords have been amended, and this change should secure for developing countries a legal pathway to access affordable remedies under WTO rules. Contents 1 History 1.1 GATT Negotiations before Uruguay 1.2 Uruguay Round 1.3 Ministerial conferences 1.4 Doha Round ( Doha Agenda ) 2 Functions 3 Principles of the trading system 4 Organizational structure 5 Decision - making 6 Dispute settlement 7 Accession and membership 7.1 Accession process 7.2 Members and observers 8 Agreements 9 Office of director - general 9.1 List of directors - general 10 Criticism of the organization 11 See also 12 Notes and references 13 External links History. Main article : History of the World Trade Organization The economists Harry White ( left ) and John Maynard Keynes at the Bretton Woods Conference. The WTO 's predecessor, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ), was established after World War II in the wake of other new multilateral institutions dedicated to international economic cooperation -- such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A comparable international institution for trade, named the International Trade Organization never started as the treaty was not approved by the U.S. and other signatories, and so GATT slowly became a de facto international organization. GATT negotiations before Uruguay See also : General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Seven rounds of negotiations occurred under GATT. The first real GATT trade rounds concentrated on further reducing tariffs. Then, the Kennedy Round in the mid-sixties brought about a GATT anti-dumping Agreement and a section on development. The Tokyo Round during the seventies was the first major attempt to tackle trade barriers that do not take the form of tariffs, and to improve the system, adopting a series of agreements on non-tariff barriers, which in some cases interpreted existing GATT rules, and in others broke entirely new ground. Because these plurilateral agreements were not accepted by the full GATT membership, they were often informally called `` codes ''. Several of these codes were amended in the Uruguay Round, and turned into multilateral commitments accepted by all WTO members. Only four remained plurilateral ( those on government procurement, bovine meat, civil aircraft and dairy products ), but in 1997 WTO members agreed to terminate the bovine meat and dairy agreements, leaving only two. Despite attempts in the mid-1950s and 1960s to create some form of institutional mechanism for international trade, the GATT continued to operate for almost half a century as a semi-institutionalized multilateral treaty regime on a provisional basis. Uruguay Round Main article : Uruguay Round During the Doha Round, the US government blamed Brazil and India for being inflexible and the EU for impeding agricultural imports. Well before GATT 's 40th anniversary, its members concluded that the GATT system was straining to adapt to a new globalizing world economy. In response to the problems identified in the 1982 Ministerial Declaration ( structural deficiencies, spill - over impacts of certain countries ' policies on world trade GATT could not manage etc. ), the eighth GATT round -- known as the Uruguay Round -- was launched in September 1986, in Punta del Este, Uruguay. It was the biggest negotiating mandate on trade ever agreed : the talks were going to extend the trading system into several new areas, notably trade in services and intellectual property, and to reform trade in the sensitive sectors of agriculture and textiles ; all the original GATT articles were up for review. The Final Act concluding the Uruguay Round and officially establishing the WTO regime was signed 15 April 1994, during the ministerial meeting at Marrakesh, Morocco, and hence is known as the Marrakesh Agreement. The GATT still exists as the WTO 's umbrella treaty for trade in goods, updated as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations ( a distinction is made between GATT 1994, the updated parts of GATT, and GATT 1947, the original agreement which is still the heart of GATT 1994 ). GATT 1994 is not however the only legally binding agreement included via the Final Act at Marrakesh ; a long list of about 60 agreements, annexes, decisions and understandings was adopted. The agreements fall into six main parts, the Agreement Establishing the WTO, the Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods, the General Agreement on Trade in Services, the Agreement on Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, Dispute settlement and reviews of governments ' trade policies In terms of the WTO 's principle relating to tariff `` ceiling - binding '' ( No. 3 ), the Uruguay Round has been successful in increasing binding commitments by both developed and developing countries, as may be seen in the percentages of tariffs bound before and after the 1986 -- 1994 talks. Ministerial conferences The World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1998, in the Palace of Nations ( Geneva, Switzerland ). The highest decision - making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which usually meets every two years. It brings together all members of the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions. The Ministerial Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. Some of these such as the inaugural ministerial conference in Singapore and the Cancun conference in 2003 involved arguments between developed and developing economies referred to as the `` Singapore issues '' such as agricultural subsidies while others such as the Seattle conference in 1999 created large demonstrations. The fourth ministerial conference in Doha in 2001 approved China 's entry to the WTO and launched the Doha Development Round which was supplemented by the sixth WTO ministerial conference ( in Hong Kong ) when agricultural export subsidies were agreed to be phased out and adoption of the European Union 's Everything but Arms initiative to phase out tariffs for goods from the Least Developed Countries. Doha Round ( Doha agenda ) Main article : Doha Development Round The WTO launched the current round of negotiations, the Doha Development Round, at the fourth ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar in November 2001. This was to be an ambitious effort to make globalization more inclusive and help the world 's poor, particularly by slashing barriers and subsidies in farming. The initial agenda comprised both further trade liberalization and new rule - making, underpinned by commitments to strengthen substantial assistance to developing countries. Progress stalled after over differences between developed nations and the major developing countries on issues such as industrial tariffs and non tariff barriers to trade particularly against and between the EU and the US over their maintenance of agricultural subsidies -- seen to operate effectively as trade barriers. Repeated attempts to revive the talks were unsuccessful though the adoption of the Bali Ministerial Declaration in 2013 addressed bureaucratic barriers to commerce As of June 2012, the future of the Doha Round remained uncertain : the work programme lists 21 subjects in which the original deadline of 1 January 2005 was missed, and the round is still incomplete. The conflict between free trade on industrial goods and services but retention of protectionism on farm subsidies to domestic agricultural sector ( requested by developed countries ) and the substantiation of fair trade on agricultural products ( requested by developing countries ) remain the major obstacles. This impasse has made it impossible to launch new WTO negotiations beyond the Doha Development Round. As a result, there have been an increasing number of bilateral free trade agreements between governments. As of July 2012, there were various negotiation groups in the WTO system for the current agricultural trade negotiation which is in the condition of stalemate. Functions Among the various functions of the WTO, these are regarded by analysts as the most important : It oversees the implementation, administration and operation of the covered agreements. It provides a forum for negotiations and for settling disputes. Additionally, it is WTO 's duty to review and propagate the national trade policies, and to ensure the coherence and transparency of trade policies through surveillance in global economic policy - making. Another priority of the WTO is the assistance of developing, least - developed and low - income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines through technical cooperation and training. The WTO shall facilitate the implementation, administration and operation and further the objectives of this Agreement and of the Multilateral Trade Agreements, and shall also provide the framework for the implementation, administration and operation of the multilateral Trade Agreements. The WTO shall provide the forum for negotiations among its members concerning their multilateral trade relations in matters dealt with under the Agreement in the Annexes to this Agreement. The WTO shall administer the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes. The WTO shall administer Trade Policy Review Mechanism. With a view to achieving greater coherence in global economic policy making, the WTO shall cooperate, as appropriate, with the international Monetary Fund ( IMF ) and with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ( IBRD ) and its affiliated agencies. The above five listings are the additional functions of the World Trade Organization. As globalization proceeds in today 's society, the necessity of an International Organization to manage the trading systems has been of vital importance. As the trade volume increases, issues such as protectionism, trade barriers, subsidies, violation of intellectual property arise due to the differences in the trading rules of every nation. The World Trade Organization serves as the mediator between the nations when such problems arise. WTO could be referred to as the product of globalization and also as one of the most important organizations in today 's globalized society. The WTO is also a centre of economic research and analysis : regular assessments of the global trade picture in its annual publications and research reports on specific topics are produced by the organization. Finally, the WTO cooperates closely with the two other components of the Bretton Woods system, the IMF and the World Bank. Principles of the trading system The WTO establishes a framework for trade policies ; it does not define or specify outcomes. That is, it is concerned with setting the rules of the trade policy games. Five principles are of particular importance in understanding both the pre-1994 GATT and the WTO : Non-discrimination. It has two major components : the most favoured nation ( MFN ) rule, and the national treatment policy. Both are embedded in the main WTO rules on goods, services, and intellectual property, but their precise scope and nature differ across these areas. The MFN rule requires that a WTO member must apply the same conditions on all trade with other WTO members, i.e. a WTO member has to grant the most favourable conditions under which it allows trade in a certain product type to all other WTO members. `` Grant someone a special favour and you have to do the same for all other WTO members. '' National treatment means that imported goods should be treated no less favourably than domestically produced goods ( at least after the foreign goods have entered the market ) and was introduced to tackle non-tariff barriers to trade ( e.g. technical standards, security standards et al. discriminating against imported goods ). Reciprocity. It reflects both a desire to limit the scope of free - riding that may arise because of the MFN rule, and a desire to obtain better access to foreign markets. A related point is that for a nation to negotiate, it is necessary that the gain from doing so be greater than the gain available from unilateral liberalization ; reciprocal concessions intend to ensure that such gains will materialise. Binding and enforceable commitments. The tariff commitments made by WTO members in a multilateral trade negotiation and on accession are enumerated in a schedule ( list ) of concessions. These schedules establish `` ceiling bindings '' : a country can change its bindings, but only after negotiating with its trading partners, which could mean compensating them for loss of trade. If satisfaction is not obtained, the complaining country may invoke the WTO dispute settlement procedures. Transparency. The WTO members are required to publish their trade regulations, to maintain institutions allowing for the review of administrative decisions affecting trade, to respond to requests for information by other members, and to notify changes in trade policies to the WTO. These internal transparency requirements are supplemented and facilitated by periodic country - specific reports ( trade policy reviews ) through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism ( TPRM ). The WTO system tries also to improve predictability and stability, discouraging the use of quotas and other measures used to set limits on quantities of imports. Safety values. In specific circumstances, governments are able to restrict trade. The WTO 's agreements permit members to take measures to protect not only the environment but also public health, animal health and plant health. There are three types of provision in this direction : articles allowing for the use of trade measures to attain non-economic objectives ; articles aimed at ensuring `` fair competition '' ; members must not use environmental protection measures as a means of disguising protectionist policies. provisions permitting intervention in trade for economic reasons. Exceptions to the MFN principle also allow for preferential treatment of developing countries, regional free trade areas and customs unions. Organizational structure The General Council has the following subsidiary bodies which oversee committees in different areas : Council for Trade in Goods There are 11 committees under the jurisdiction of the Goods Council each with a specific task. All members of the WTO participate in the committees. The Textiles Monitoring Body is separate from the other committees but still under the jurisdiction of Goods Council. The body has its own chairman and only 10 members. The body also has several groups relating to textiles. Council for Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Information on intellectual property in the WTO, news and official records of the activities of the TRIPS Council, and details of the WTO 's work with other international organizations in the field. Council for Trade in Services The Council for Trade in Services operates under the guidance of the General Council and is responsible for overseeing the functioning of the General Agreement on Trade in Services ( GATS ). It is open to all WTO members, and can create subsidiary bodies as required. Trade Negotiations Committee The Trade Negotiations Committee ( TNC ) is the committee that deals with the current trade talks round. The chair is WTO 's director - general. As of June 2012 the committee was tasked with the Doha Development Round. The Service Council has three subsidiary bodies : financial services, domestic regulations, GATS rules and specific commitments. The council has several different committees, working groups, and working parties. There are committees on the following : Trade and Environment ; Trade and Development ( Subcommittee on Least - Developed Countries ) ; Regional Trade Agreements ; Balance of Payments Restrictions ; and Budget, Finance and Administration. There are working parties on the following : Accession. There are working groups on the following : Trade, debt and finance ; and Trade and technology transfer. Decision - making The WTO describes itself as `` a rules - based, member - driven organization -- all decisions are made by the member governments, and the rules are the outcome of negotiations among members ''. The WTO Agreement foresees votes where consensus can not be reached, but the practice of consensus dominates the process of decision - making. Richard Harold Steinberg ( 2002 ) argues that although the WTO 's consensus governance model provides law - based initial bargaining, trading rounds close through power - based bargaining favouring Europe and the U.S., and may not lead to Pareto improvement. Dispute settlement Main article : Dispute settlement in the WTO The WTO 's dispute - settlement system `` is the result of the evolution of rules, procedures and practices developed over almost half a century under the GATT 1947 ''. In 1994, the WTO members agreed on the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes ( DSU ) annexed to the `` Final Act '' signed in Marrakesh in 1994. Dispute settlement is regarded by the WTO as the central pillar of the multilateral trading system, and as a `` unique contribution to the stability of the global economy ''. WTO members have agreed that, if they believe fellow - members are violating trade rules, they will use the multilateral system of settling disputes instead of taking action unilaterally. The operation of the WTO dispute settlement process involves case - specific panels appointed by the Dispute Settlement Body ( DSB ), the Appellate Body, The Director - General and the WTO Secretariat, arbitrators, and advisory experts. The priority is to settle disputes, preferably through a mutually agreed solution, and provision has been made for the process to be conducted in an efficient and timely manner so that `` If a case is adjudicated, it should normally take no more than one year for a panel ruling and no more than 16 months if the case is appealed... If the complainant deems the case urgent, consideration of the case should take even less time. WTO member nations are obliged to accept the process as exclusive and compulsory. Accession and membership Main article : World Trade Organization accession and membership The process of becoming a WTO member is unique to each applicant country, and the terms of accession are dependent upon the country 's stage of economic development and current trade regime. The process takes about five years, on average, but it can last longer if the country is less than fully committed to the process or if political issues interfere. The shortest accession negotiation was that of the Kyrgyz Republic, while the longest was that of Russia, which, having first applied to join GATT in 1993, was approved for membership in December 2011 and became a WTO member on 22 August 2012. Kazakhstan also had a long accession negotiation process. The Working Party on the Accession of Kazakhstan was established in 1996 and was approved for membership in 2015. The second longest was that of Vanuatu, whose Working Party on the Accession of Vanuatu was established on 11 July 1995. After a final meeting of the Working Party in October 2001, Vanuatu requested more time to consider its accession terms. In 2008, it indicated its interest to resume and conclude its WTO accession. The Working Party on the Accession of Vanuatu was reconvened informally on 4 April 2011 to discuss Vanuatu 's future WTO membership. The re-convened Working Party completed its mandate on 2 May 2011. The General Council formally approved the Accession Package of Vanuatu on 26 October 2011. On 24 August 2012, the WTO welcomed Vanuatu as its 157th member. An offer of accession is only given once consensus is reached among interested parties. A 2017 study argues that `` political ties rather than issue - area functional gains determine who joins '' and shows `` how geopolitical alignment shapes the demand and supply sides of membership ''. The `` findings challenge the view that states first liberalize trade to join the GATT / WTO. Instead, democracy and foreign policy similarity encourage states to join. '' Accession process WTO accession progress : Draft Working Party Report or Factual Summary adopted Goods or Services offers submitted Working party meetings Memorandum on Foreign Trade Regime submitted Working party established A country wishing to accede to the WTO submits an application to the General Council, and has to describe all aspects of its trade and economic policies that have a bearing on WTO agreements. The application is submitted to the WTO in a memorandum which is examined by a working party open to all interested WTO Members. After all necessary background information has been acquired, the working party focuses on issues of discrepancy between the WTO rules and the applicant 's international and domestic trade policies and laws. The working party determines the terms and conditions of entry into the WTO for the applicant nation, and may consider transitional periods to allow countries some leeway in complying with the WTO rules. The final phase of accession involves bilateral negotiations between the applicant nation and other working party members regarding the concessions and commitments on tariff levels and market access for goods and services. The new member 's commitments are to apply equally to all WTO members under normal non-discrimination rules, even though they are negotiated bilaterally. When the bilateral talks conclude, the working party sends to the general council or ministerial conference an accession package, which includes a summary of all the working party meetings, the Protocol of Accession ( a draft membership treaty ), and lists ( `` schedules '' ) of the member - to - be 's commitments. Once the general council or ministerial conference approves of the terms of accession, the applicant 's parliament must ratify the Protocol of Accession before it can become a member. Some countries may have faced tougher and a much longer accession process due to challenges during negotiations with other WTO members, such as Vietnam, whose negotiations took more than 11 years before it became official member in January 2007. Members and observers The WTO has 164 members and 23 observer governments. Liberia became the 163rd member on 14 July 2016, and Afghanistan became the 164th member on 29 July 2016. In addition to states, the European Union, and each EU Country in its own right, is a member. WTO members do not have to be fully independent states ; they need only be a customs territory with full autonomy in the conduct of their external commercial relations. Thus Hong Kong has been a member since 1995 ( as `` Hong Kong, China '' since 1997 ) predating the People 's Republic of China, which joined in 2001 after 15 years of negotiations. The Republic of China ( Taiwan ) acceded to the WTO in 2002 as `` Separate Customs Territory of China : Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu '' ( Chinese Taipei ) despite its disputed status. The WTO Secretariat omits the official titles ( such as Counsellor, First Secretary, Second Secretary and Third Secretary ) of the members of Chinese Taipei 's Permanent Mission to the WTO, except for the titles of the Permanent Representative and the Deputy Permanent Representative. As of 2007, WTO member states represented 96.4 % of global trade and 96.7 % of global GDP. Iran, followed by Algeria, are the economies with the largest GDP and trade outside the WTO, using 2005 data. With the exception of the Holy See, observers must start accession negotiations within five years of becoming observers. A number of international intergovernmental organizations have also been granted observer status to WTO bodies. 12 UN member states have no official affiliation with the WTO. Agreements Further information : Uruguay Round The WTO oversees about 60 different agreements which have the status of international legal texts. Member countries must sign and ratify all WTO agreements on accession. A discussion of some of the most important agreements follows. The Agreement on Agriculture came into effect with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995. The AoA has three central concepts, or `` pillars '' : domestic support, market access and export subsidies. The General Agreement on Trade in Services was created to extend the multilateral trading system to service sector, in the same way as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ) provided such a system for merchandise trade. The agreement entered into force in January 1995. The Agreement on Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property ( IP ) regulation. It was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade ( GATT ) in 1994. The Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures -- also known as the SPS Agreement -- was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of GATT, and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO at the beginning of 1995. Under the SPS agreement, the WTO sets constraints on members ' policies relating to food safety ( bacterial contaminants, pesticides, inspection and labelling ) as well as animal and plant health ( imported pests and diseases ). The Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade is an international treaty of the World Trade Organization. It was negotiated during the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, and entered into force with the establishment of the WTO at the end of 1994. The object ensures that technical negotiations and standards, as well as testing and certification procedures, do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade ``. The Agreement on Customs Valuation, formally known as the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of GATT, prescribes methods of customs valuation that Members are to follow. Chiefly, it adopts the `` transaction value '' approach. In December 2013, the biggest agreement within the WTO was signed and known as the Bali Package. Office of director - General The headquarters of the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. The procedures for the appointment of the WTO director - general were published in January 2003. Additionally, there are four deputy directors - general. As of 1 October 2017, under director - general Roberto Azevêdo, the four deputy directors - general are Yi Xiaozhun of China, Karl - Ernst Brauner of Germany, Yonov Frederick Agah of Nigeria and Alan W. Wolff of the United States. List of directors - General Source : Official website Roberto Azevêdo, 2013 -- present Pascal Lamy, 2005 -- 2013 Supachai Panitchpakdi, 2002 -- 2005 Mike Moore, 1999 -- 2002 Renato Ruggiero, 1995 -- 1999 Peter Sutherland, 1995 ( Heads of the precursor organization, GATT ) : Peter Sutherland, 1993 -- 1995 Arthur Dunkel, 1980 -- 1993 Olivier Long, 1968 -- 1980 Eric Wyndham White, 1948 -- 1968 Criticism of the organization Main article : Criticism of the World Trade Organization See also Agreement on Trade Related Investment Measures Agreement on Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Aide - mémoire Anti-globalization movement Foreign Affiliate Trade Statistics Global administrative law Globality Information Technology Agreement International Trade Centre Labour Standards in the World Trade Organisation List of member states of the World Trade Organization North American Free Trade Agreement Subsidy Swiss Formula Trade bloc Washington Consensus World Trade Report World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity China and the World Trade Organization Geographical indication Geographical Indications of Goods ( Registration and Protection ) Act, 1999 List of Geographical Indications in India List of trade organisations Notes and references Jump up ^ Members and Observers at WTO official website Jump up ^ Languages, Documentation and Information Management Division at WTO official site Jump up ^ `` WTO Secretariat budget for 2017 ''. WTO official site. Retrieved 25 August 2008. Jump up ^ Understanding the WTO : What We Stand For_ Fact File Jump up ^ http://www.nber.org/reporter/winter00/krueger.html Jump up ^ World Trade Organization -- UNDERSTANDING THE WTO : BASICS ^ Jump up to : Understanding the WTO Handbook at WTO official website. ( Note that the document 's printed folio numbers do not match the pdf page numbers. ) Jump up ^ Malanczuk, P. ( 1999 ). `` International Organisations and Space Law : World Trade Organization ''. Encyclopædia Britannica. 442. p. 305. Bibcode : 1999ESASP. 442... 305M. Jump up ^ Bourcier, Nicolas ( 21 May 2013 ). `` Roberto Azevedo 's WTO appointment gives Brazil a seat at the top table ''. Guardian Weekly. Retrieved 2 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` Roberto Azevêdo takes over ''. WTO official website. 1 September 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` Overview of the WTO Secretariat ''. WTO official website. Retrieved 2 September 2013. Jump up ^ Ninth WTO Ministerial Conference WTO -- MC9 Archived 1 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ BBC News -- WTO agrees global trade deal worth $1 tn Jump up ^ https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news17_e/trip_23jan17_e.htm Jump up ^ A.E. Eckes Jr., US Trade History, 73 * A. Smithies, Reflections on the Work of Keynes, 578 -- 601 * N. Warren, Internet and Globalization, 193 Jump up ^ P. van den Bossche, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization, 80 Jump up ^ Palmeter - Mavroidis, Dispute Settlement, 2 Jump up ^ Fergusson, Ian F. ( 9 May 2007 ). `` The World Trade Organization : Background and Issues '' ( PDF ). Congressional Research Service. p. 4. Retrieved 15 August 2008. Jump up ^ It was contemplated that the GATT would be applied for several years until the ITO came into force. However, since the ITO was never brought into being, the GATT gradually became the focus for international governmental cooperation on trade matters with economist Nicholas Halford overseeing the implementation of GATT in members policies. ( P. van den Bossche, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization, 81 ; J.H. Jackson, Managing the Trading System, 134 ). Jump up ^ The GATT Years : from Havana to Marrakesh, WTO official site Jump up ^ Footer, M.E. Analysis of the World Trade Organization, 17 Jump up ^ B.S. Klapper, With a `` Short Window '' Jump up ^ Lula, Time to Get Serious about Agricultural Subsidies ^ Jump up to : P. Gallagher, The First Ten Years of the WTO, 4 ^ Jump up to : The Uruguay Round, WTO official site Jump up ^ `` Legal texts -- Marrakesh agreement ''. WTO. Retrieved 30 May 2010. Jump up ^ including the GATT 1994 and the Trade Related Investment Measures ( TRIMS ) Jump up ^ `` '' Resolving Trade Disputes, the Mechanisms of GATT / WTO Dispute Resolution '' by Daniel H. Erskine ``. digitalcommons.law.scu.edu. Retrieved 3 April 2016. Jump up ^ Overview : a Navigational Guide, WTO official site. For the complete list of `` The Uruguay Round Agreements '', see WTO legal texts, WTO official site, and Uruguay Round Agreements, Understandings, Decisions and Declarations Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine., WorldTradeLaw.net ^ Jump up to : Principles of the Trading System, WTO official site Jump up ^ https://www.wto.org/english/theWTO_e/minist_e/min11_e/min11_e.htm Jump up ^ `` Five Years of China WTO Membership. EU and US Perspectives about China 's Compliance with Transparency Commitments and the Transitional Review Mechanism ''. Papers.ssrn.com. SSRN 916768. Missing or empty url = ( help ) ; access - date = requires url = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` In the twilight of Doha ''. The Economist. The Economist : 65. 27 July 2006. Jump up ^ European Commission The Doha Round Jump up ^ Fergusson ps, Ian F. ( 18 January 2008 ). `` World Trade Organization Negotiations : The Doha Development Agenda '' ( PDF ). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 26 July 2008. Jump up ^ Documents from the negotiating chairs, 21 April 2011 at WTO official website Jump up ^ Bali Ministerial Declaration and decisions Archived 18 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. at WTO official website. Accessed 31 December 2013 Jump up ^ Walker, Andrew ( 7 December 2013 ). `` WTO agrees global trade deal worth $1 tn ''. BBC News. Retrieved 7 December 2013. Jump up ^ Understanding the WTO : The Doha Agenda Jump up ^ The Challenges to the World Trade Organization : It 's All About Legitimacy Archived 2 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION, Policy Paper 2011 - 04 Jump up ^ GROUPS IN THE WTO Updated 1 July 2013 Jump up ^ Functions of the WTO Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine., IISD ^ Jump up to : Main Functions Archived 30 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine., WTO official site ^ Jump up to : A Bredimas, International Economic Law, II, 17 ^ Jump up to : C. Deere, Decision - making in the WTO : Medieval or Up - to - Date ? Jump up ^ WTO Assistance for Developing Countries, WTO official site Archived 12 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Sinha, Aparijita. ( 1 ). `` What are the functions and objectives of the WTO ? ''. Retrieved on 13 April 2014. Jump up ^ Economic research and analysis, WTO official site ^ Jump up to : B. Hoekman, The WTO : Functions and Basic Principles, 42 ^ Jump up to : B. Hoekman, The WTO : Functions and Basic Principles, 43 ^ Jump up to : B. Hoekman, The WTO : Functions and Basic Principles, 44 ^ Jump up to : Understanding the WTO : What we stand for Jump up ^ Farah, Paolo Davide and Cima, Elena, World Trade Organization, Renewable Energy Subsidies and the Case of Feed - In Tariffs : Time for Reform Toward Sustainable Development ? ( 1 December 2015 ). Georgetown International Environmental Law Review ( GIELR ), Vol. 27, No. 1, 2015. Available at SSRN : http://ssrn.com/abstract=2704398 ^ Jump up to : `` Fourth level : down to the nitty - gritty ''. WTO official site. Retrieved 18 August 2008. Jump up ^ `` Intellectual property -- overview of TRIPS Agreement ''. Wto.org. 15 April 1994. Retrieved 30 May 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Services Council, its Committees and other subsidiary bodies ''. WTO official site. Retrieved 14 August 2008. Jump up ^ `` The Trade Negotiations Committee ''. WTO official site. Retrieved 14 August 2008. Jump up ^ `` WTO organization chart ''. WTO official site. Retrieved 14 August 2008. Jump up ^ Decision - making at WTO official site Jump up ^ Decision - Making in the World Trade Organization Abstract from Journal of International Economic Law at Oxford Journals Jump up ^ Steinberg, Richard H. `` In the Shadow of Law or Power ? Consensus - based Bargaining and Outcomes in the GATT / WTO. '' International Organization. Spring 2002. pp. 339 -- 74. Jump up ^ `` 1.2 The Dispute Settlement Understanding ''. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2005. Jump up ^ Stewart - Dawyer, The WTO Dispute Settlement System, 7 Jump up ^ S. Panitchpakdi, The WTO at ten, 8. Jump up ^ Settling Disputes : a Unique Contribution, WTO official site Jump up ^ `` 3.3 Panels ''. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2005. Jump up ^ `` 3.1 The Dispute Settlement Body ( DSB ) ''. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2015. Jump up ^ `` 3.4 Appellate Body ''. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2005. Jump up ^ `` 3.2 The Director - General and the WTO Secretariat ''. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2005. Jump up ^ `` 3.5 arbitrators ''. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2005. Jump up ^ `` 3.6 Experts ''. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2005. Jump up ^ `` '' Mutually Agreed Solutions '' as `` Preferred Solution '' ``. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2005. Jump up ^ `` 1.3 Functions, objectives and key features of the dispute settlement system ''. WTO official website. 2005. Retrieved 7 March 2005. ^ Jump up to : Accessions Summary, Center for International Development Jump up ^ Ministerial Conference approves Russia 's WTO membership WTO News Item, 16 December 2011 Jump up ^ `` Kazakhstan ''. www.wto.org. Retrieved 23 February 2016. Jump up ^ Accession status : Vanuatu. WTO. Retrieved on 12 July 2013. Jump up ^ C. Michalopoulos, WTO Accession, 64 ^ Jump up to : Davis, Christina L. ; Wilf, Meredith ( 10 May 2017 ). `` Joining the Club : Accession to the GATT / WTO ''. The Journal of Politics. 79 ( 3 ) : 964 -- 978. doi : 10.1086 / 691058. ISSN 0022 - 3816. Jump up ^ `` Summary Table of Ongoing Accessions ''. World Trade Organization. April 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014. ^ Jump up to : Membership, Alliances and Bureaucracy, WTO official site Jump up ^ C. Michalopoulos, WTO Accession, 62 -- 63 Jump up ^ How to Become a Member of the WTO, WTO official site Jump up ^ Napier, Nancy K. ; Vuong, Quan Hoang ( 2013 ). What we see, why we worry, why we hope : Vietnam going forward. Boise, ID : Boise State University CCI Press. p. 140. ISBN 978 - 0985530587. Jump up ^ `` Members and Observers ''. World Trade Organization. 24 August 2012. Jump up ^ `` Liberia clears last hurdle to WTO accession International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development ''. www.ictsd.org. Retrieved 25 June 2016. Jump up ^ `` Afghanistan to become 164th WTO member on 29 July 2016 ''. Retrieved 1 July 2016. Jump up ^ `` The European Union and the WTO ''. World Trade Organization. Retrieved 2 August 2016. Jump up ^ Jackson, J.H. Sovereignty, 109 Jump up ^ ROC Government Publication Jump up ^ `` Accession in perspective ''. World Trade Organization. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` Annex 1. Statistical Survey ''. World Trade Organization. 2005. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Jump up ^ Arjomandy, Danial ( 21 November 2013 ). `` Iranian Membership in the World Trade Organization : An Unclear Future ''. Iranian Studies. 47 : 933 -- 50. doi : 10.1080 / 00210862.2013. 859810. Retrieved 22 December 2013. Jump up ^ International intergovernmental organizations granted observer status to WTO bodies at WTO official website Jump up ^ `` Legal texts -- the WTO agreements ''. WTO. Retrieved 30 May 2010. Jump up ^ Understanding the WTO - Intellectual property : protection and enforcement. WTO. Retrieved on 29 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` A Summary of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round ''. Wto.org. Retrieved 30 May 2010. Jump up ^ Zarocostas, John ( 7 December 2013 ). `` Global Trade Deal Reached ''. WWD. Retrieved 8 December 2013. Jump up ^ `` WT / L / 509 ''. WTO. Retrieved 18 February 2013. Jump up ^ `` Deputy Directors - General ''. 1 October 2017. Retrieved 31 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` Previous GATT and WTO Directors - General ''. WTO. Retrieved 21 May 2011. External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : World Trade Organization Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Trade Organization. Official pages Official WTO homepage `` WTO 10th Anniversary '' ( PDF ). ( 1.40 MB ) -- Highlights of the first decade, Annual Report 2005 pp. 116 -- 66 Glossary of terms -- a guide to ' WTO - speak ' International Trade Centre -- joint UN / WTO agency World Trade Organization System Accession and membership Appellate Body Dispute Settlement Body International Trade Centre Chronology of key events Issues Criticism Doha Development Round Singapore issues Quota Elimination Peace Clause Agreements General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Agriculture Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Technical Barriers to Trade Trade Related Investment Measures Trade in Services Trade - Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Government Procurement Information Technology Marrakech Agreement Doha Declaration Bali Package Ministerial Conferences 1st ( 1996 ) 2nd ( 1998 ) 3rd ( 1999 ) 4th ( 2001 ) 5th ( 2003 ) 6th ( 2005 ) 7th ( 2009 ) 8th ( 2011 ) 9th ( 2013 ) 10th ( 2015 ) People Roberto Azevêdo ( Director - General ) Pascal Lamy Supachai Panitchpakdi Alejandro Jara Rufus Yerxa Members Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belize Benin Bolivia Botswana Brazil Brunei Burkina Faso Burma Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Costa Rica Côte d'Ivoire Cuba Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Fiji Gabon The Gambia Georgia Ghana Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea - Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Iceland India Indonesia Israel Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Macau Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Norway Oman Pakistan Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Qatar Russia Rwanda St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Saudi Arabia Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Suriname Swaziland Switzerland Tajikistan Taiwan Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Uruguay Venezuela Vietnam Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe European Union Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Special administrative regions of the People 's Republic of China, participates as `` Hong Kong, China '' and `` Macao China ''. Officially the Republic of China, participates as `` Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu '', and `` Chinese Taipei '' in short. International trade Terminology Absolute advantage Balance of payments Balance of trade Capital account Comparative advantage Current account Export - oriented industrialization Fair trade Foreign exchange reserves Globalization Import substitution industrialization Net capital outflow Outsourcing Tariff Trade justice Trade war Trading nation Organizations and policies International Monetary Fund ( IMF ) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development World Bank Group World Trade Organization ( WTO ) International Trade Centre Bilateral investment treaty Economic integration Free - trade zone Special economic zone Trade agreement Trade barrier Trade bloc Political economy Free trade ( Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, Repeal of the Corn Laws ) Mercantilism Protectionism ( Economic nationalism, Autarky ) Regional organizations ACU ASEAN CACM CAN CARICOM CEMAC CUBKR EAC EAU EU GCC Mercosur RCEP SAARC SACU WAEMU Exports by product Aircraft & Spacecraft Aircraft parts Aluminium Cars Car parts Coal Coffee Computers Copper Corn Cotton Diamonds Electricity Engines Gas turbines Gold Integrated circuits Iron ore Natural gas Oil Petrol Pharmaceuticals Ships Steel Telecommunications equipment Telephones Trucks Wheat Wine Category Commons International organizations Intergovernmental organizations Non-cultural IGOs International Criminal Court International Monetary Fund International Seabed Authority Inter-Parliamentary Union Interpol New Development Bank Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons United Nations World Bank Group World Trade Organization Cultural IGOs Commonwealth of Nations Community of Portuguese Language Countries Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Economics Economic theory Econometrics Applied economics Macroeconomics Adaptive expectations Aggregate demand Balance of payments Business cycle Capacity utilization Capital flight Central bank Consumer confidence Currency Demand shock Depression ( Great Depression ) DSGE Economic growth Economic indicator Economic rent Effective demand General Theory of Keynes Hyperinflation Inflation Interest Interest rate Investment IS -- LM model Microfoundations Monetary policy Money NAIRU National accounts PPP Rate of profit Rational expectations Recession Saving Shrinkflation Stagflation Supply shock Unemployment Macroeconomics publications Microeconomics Aggregation problem Budget set Consumer choice Convexity Cost -- benefit analysis Deadweight loss Distribution Duopoly Economic equilibrium Economic shortage Economic surplus Economies of scale Economies of scope Elasticity Expected utility hypothesis Externality General equilibrium theory Indifference curve Intertemporal choice Marginal cost Market failure Market structure Monopoly Monopsony Non-convexity Oligopoly Opportunity cost Preference Production set Profit Public good Returns to scale Risk aversion Scarcity Social choice theory Sunk costs Supply and demand Theory of the firm Trade Transaction cost Value Uncertainty Utility Microeconomics publications Applied fields Agricultural Business Demographic Development Economic history Education Engineering Environmental Financial Health Industrial organization International Knowledge Labour Law and economics Monetary Natural resource Public Service Transportation Urban Welfare Methodology Behavioral economics Computational economics Econometrics Economic systems Experimental economics Mathematical economics Methodological publications Economic thought Ancient economic thought Austrian school of economics Chicago school of economics Classical economics Feminist economics Heterodox economics Institutional economics Keynesian economics Mainstream economics Marxian economics Neoclassical economics Post-Keynesian economics Schools overview Notable economists and thinkers within economics Kenneth Arrow Gary Becker Francis Ysidro Edgeworth Milton Friedman Ragnar Frisch Friedrich Hayek Harold Hotelling John Maynard Keynes Tjalling Koopmans Paul Krugman Robert Lucas Jr. Jacob Marschak Alfred Marshall Karl Marx John von Neumann Vilfredo Pareto David Ricardo Paul Samuelson Joseph Schumpeter Amartya Sen Herbert A. Simon Adam Smith Robert Solow Léon Walras more International organizations Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Cooperation Organization European Free Trade Association International Monetary Fund Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development World Bank World Trade Organization Category Index Lists Outline Publications Business and economics portal VIAF : 153400694 LCCN : no94018277 ISNI : 0000 0001 2296 2735 GND : 2145784 - 0 SELIBR : 135910 SUDOC : 032375824 BNF : cb12341756k ( data ) ULAN : 500292980 HDS : 13811 NLA : 35451455 NDL : 00577475 NKC : kn20010711437 BNE : XX4574846 Business and economics portal International relations portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=World_Trade_Organization&oldid=836708473 '' Categories : World Trade Organization International trade International trade organizations Organisations based in Geneva Organizations established in 1995 World government Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Pages using web citations with no URL Pages using citations with accessdate and no URL Use dmy dates from April 2018 Use British English Oxford spelling from August 2016 Articles with French - language external links Articles with Spanish - language external links Coordinates not on Wikidata Articles containing potentially dated statements from June 2012 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2017 Pages using div col without cols and colwidth parameters Pages using Columns - list with deprecated parameters Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ULAN identifiers Wikipedia articles with NLA identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Afrikaans Alemannisch አማርኛ Aragonés অসমীয়া Asturianu Azərbaycanca বাংলা Bân - lâm - gú Башҡортса Беларуская Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Fiji Hindi Føroyskt Français Frysk Galego ગુજરાતી 客家 語 / Hak - kâ - ngî 한국어 Հայերեն हिन्दी Hrvatski Ido Ilokano Bahasa Indonesia Interlingua Íslenska Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ಕನ್ನಡ Къарачай - малкъар ქართული Қазақша Kiswahili Кыргызча Latina Latviešu Lietuvių Limburgs Magyar मैथिली Македонски മലയാളം मराठी مصرى Bahasa Melayu Baso Minangkabau Mirandés Монгол မြန်မာဘာသာ Nederlands नेपाली नेपाल भाषा 日本 語 Нохчийн Norsk Norsk nynorsk Occitan Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی پښتو Patois ភាសា ខ្មែរ Piemontèis Polski Português Română Русиньскый Русский Саха тыла Scots Shqip සිංහල Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Tagalog தமிழ் Татарча / tatarça తెలుగు ไทย Тоҷикӣ Türkçe Türkmençe Українська اردو ئۇيغۇرچە / Uyghurche Tiếng Việt Winaray ייִדיש Yorùbá 粵語 Žemaitėška 中文 108 more Edit links This page was last edited on 16 April 2018, at 11 : 52. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how many member countries are there in wto at present
Answer: 164