WTO

Question 1

HQ and official languages

Answer 1

Geneva, Switzerland

eng, fr, spanish

Question 2

budget 2020

Answer 2

197.2 million Swiss francs (approx. 220 million US$) in 2020.

Question 3

when was the WTO founded

Answer 3

Founded: 1 January 1995

Question 4

purpose

Answer 4

Purpose: Reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade

The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade between nations. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern international trade.

Question 5

how many members does the WTO have

Answer 5

164

160 un countries + macau, hk, taiwan, eu

Question 6

The WTO operates the global system of trade rules and helps developing countries build their trade capacity. It also provides a ________ for its members to negotiate trade agreements and to resolve the trade problems they face with each other.

Answer 6

forum

Question 7

wto represents over _______-of global trade and global GDP

Answer 7

98%

Question 8

Director-General

Answer 8

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Since March 2021, Okonjo-Iweala has been serving as Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Nigerian American

Question 9

first Director-General of the World Trade Organization

Answer 9

Peter Sutherland

term four years

Question 10

what is the name of the agreement that founded of the wto

Answer 10

Marrakesh Agreement, manifested by the Marrakesh Declaration, 1994

Question 11

Marrakesh Agreement, manifested by the Marrakesh Declaration

Answer 11

The Marrakesh Agreement, manifested by the Marrakesh Declaration, was an agreement signed in Marrakesh, Morocco, by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, marking the culmination of the 8-year-long Uruguay Round and establishing the World Trade Organization, which officially came into being on 1 January 1995.

Question 12

the wto replaced the

Answer 12

gatt

Question 13

GATT

Answer 13

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

Question 14

what kind of treaty is the gatt

Answer 14

Multilateral Treaty

Question 15

The GATT was the outcome of the failure of negotiating governments to create the _____________

Answer 15

International Trade Organization (ITO).

Question 16

when and where was gatt signed

Answer 16

Signed 30 October 1947
Location Geneva, Geneva Canton, Switzerland
23 nations

Question 17

since when was it applicable on a provisional basis

Answer 17

Provisional application 1 January 1948

Question 18

what happened to the gatt agreement

Answer 18

The WTO is the successor to the GATT, and the original GATT text (GATT 1947) is still in effect under the WTO framework, subject to the modifications of GATT 1994.

Question 19

what led to the proposal of ito

Answer 19

The GATT was first conceived in the aftermath of the Allied victory in the Second World War at the 1947 United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment (UNCTE), at which the International Trade Organization (ITO) was one of the ideas proposed. It was hoped that the ITO would be run alongside the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Question 20

why did ito discussions collapse

Answer 20

More than 50 nations negotiated ITO and organizing its founding charter, but after the withdrawal of the United States these negotiations collapsed.

Question 21

why is wto facing an existential crisis

Answer 21

us has weakened the ab or appellate body by blocking any appointments made to it and vetoing any proposals to find solutions (like stalling that of the eu to est. a temporary apellate arbitration mechanism)

Question 22

since ______________, the ab has stopped functioning due to rising vacancies

Answer 22

dec 2019

Question 23

what is the function of the ab

Answer 23

It presides over appeals against judgments passed by WTO panels in trade-related disputes brought by WTO members.
Over 500 international disputes had been brought to the WTO and over 350 rulings had been issued since 1995.
With this, WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism is one of the most active in the world.

Question 24

when was the ab instituted

Answer 24

The Appellate Body of the WTO was set up in 1995 and is a standing committee of 7 members.

Question 25

are the judgements of the ab binding

Answer 25

yes | must be implemented in 30 days and non-compliance may invite sanctions

Question 26

what are the main trade disputes among two members

Answer 26

countervailing (anti-subsidy) anti-dumping measures zeroing methodology that inflates anti-dumping duties

Question 27

what are the reasons why us feels like the wto hasn't served american national interests

Answer 27

has indicted the us in several trade disputes | has not stemmed china's rise

Question 28

how does biden's policy differ from that of trump's

Answer 28

no difference us has accepted favourable rulings but has raised concerns over adversee decisions

Question 29

washington has repeatedly accused the appelllate body of straying from the dsu in several disputes where us measures have been challenged. esp in countervailing and anti-dumping cases. what is dsu.

Answer 29

dispute settlement understanding

Question 30

it also claims that the ab hasn't given decisions within the deadline of ___________

Answer 30

90 days

Question 31

what actions of the us have weakened the ab

Answer 31

blocking funds and starving it | blocking the filling of six vacancies and thereby leading to it shut down in dec 2019

Question 32

the wto is the only intl org that deals with the rules of ______

Answer 32

intl trade

Question 33

“Nairobi Package”

Answer 33

adopted in 2015 at the Tenth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), held in Nairobi, Kenya. Under the Ministerial Decision on Export Competition: Developed countries had to abolish the farm export subsidies with immediate effect, with the exception of a handful of farm products. The deadline for developing countries to eliminate the export subsidies on agricultural exports was fixed as 2018. Flexibility was given to the developing countries for covering marketing and transport costs for farm exports extending the timeline to 2023. Poorest and food-importing nations were given an additional time frame. The countries also struck a deal on IT trade. As per the deal, tariffs on 201 IT products were to be eliminated each year. The purpose behind the deal was to ensure that all IT products would become duty-free by 2019.

Question 34

how many observer governments does the wto have

Answer 34

23

Question 35

what was the last country to join the wto

Answer 35

afghanistan in july 2016 | became the 194th member

Question 36

india is a ________member of gatt(1947) and its successor wto(1995)

Answer 36

founder members

Question 37

who recently became the first african and woman director general of the wto

Answer 37

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala | only an administrative member with real power due to consensus-based nature of wto

Question 38

____________ gave birth to the wto

Answer 38

uruguay round

Question 39

The Uruguay Round

Answer 39

The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), spanning from 1986 to 1994 and embracing 123 countries as "contracting parties". It took seven and a half years, almost twice the original schedule.

Question 40

_______________ is the highest policy making body of the wto

Answer 40

the ministerial conference

Question 41

on what basis are the decisions taken at the ministerial conference

Answer 41

consensus (unanimous) | they are binding

Question 42

while the gatt only deals in _____________, the wto is more comprehensive and deals with goods, services, ip, and several investment policies

Answer 42

goods

Question 43

when was the last ministerial conference held, at least how often should MCs be held

Answer 43

2017, Buenos Aires, Capital of Argentina (ecom duties, fishery subsidies, etc) at least every 2 years

Question 44

what are the three bodies part of the governing structure of the wto

Answer 44

``` the ministerial conference (highest authority, all mems) general council (all wto mem) - which convenes in two forms the dispute settlement body and trade policy review body (of indivdual trade policies of membs.) ```

Question 45

general council reports to the

Answer 45

ministerial conference

Question 46

when will MC12 be held

Answer 46

postponed indefinitely as of feb 2022

Question 47

when was mc12 supposed to be held

Answer 47

26 nov 2021 - 3 dec 2021 in geneva hosted by kazakhstan second time it has been postponed

Question 48

when was it supposed to be held initially

Answer 48

June 2020 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.

Question 49

why did both postponements of mc12 happen

Answer 49

corona (2nd postponement due to omicron) The General Council agreed on 26 November 2021 to postpone the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) after an outbreak of a particularly transmissible strain of the COVID-19 virus led several governments to impose travel restrictions that would have prevented many ministers from reaching Geneva. MC12 was due to start on 30 November 2021 and run until 3 December 2021. No date has been set for the rescheduling of the Ministerial Conference. This marks the second time that the pandemic has forced a postponement of MC12. The meeting was originally due to take place in June 2020 in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.