Poor countries stay poor partly because of the rules of world trade.
Oxfam is lobbying that meeting, and needs your help. The WTO, made up of 134 member governments, negotiates trade agreements that are binding on all members. The WTO is unique among multilateral institutions for settling disputes over trade rules through allowing sanctions against governments who break the rules. This means that in practice, WTO agreements can override other international agreements, such as those dealing with human rights or the environment. The WTO was established with the explicit purpose of liberalising world trade, on the assumption that freer trade is better for all countries and people.