In addition to its Members, the WTO also has a number of “observers”. Newly granted observer status must begin WTO accession negotiations within five years. This obligation does not apply to the Vatican, which has observer status in the WTO. In addition, a number of international organizations have permanent observer status, such as the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the World Intellectual Property Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. There are also international organizations which, according to their mandate, have only observer status in certain WTO for a, such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission (a joint agency of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations with the World Health Organization), which has observer status in the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. [59] The system itself has two types of institutions, namely political institutions in the form of dispute settlement bodies and judicial institutions such as panels and appellate bodies. The Dispute Settlement Body is essentially a special meeting of the WTO General Council. It is composed of diplomats representing all WTO Members, and Article 2.1 of the DSU states that the task of this body is to establish a dispute settlement system, including by establishing panels, certifying panel reports and appeals, monitoring the implementation of the content of rulings, and allowing countermeasures against Members that violate WTO law. [112] It may also appoint members of the Appellate Body and establish rules of conduct for the dispute settlement system. With respect to certain important decisions (such as the establishment of panels, the appointment of panels and appellate bodies, and the granting of authorizations to suspend trade concessions), the Dispute Settlement Body has a system of “reverse consensus”: decisions are taken unless WTO Members have reached a consensus not to take such decisions.
[113] The establishment of the modern trading system was based on the experience of the interwar period, when countries sought to improve their economic conditions by taking measures that harmed other countries, such as protectionism, currency devaluation and capital controls. One example is the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930 in the United States, which raised rates from 38% to 52%. As a result of this law, the United States` trading partners took countermeasures. Then there is a domino effect after trade starts moving to other markets, because the country that becomes the new market also takes protectionist measures, which leads to countermeasures. As a result, WTO members are generally not allowed to prohibit the import or export of certain goods, nor to set quotas for goods. With regard to trade in services, this rule applies only to services sectors liberalized by these members. [78] In the Fourth Regulation, the Fourth Regulation is a broad category, e.B lack of transparency of commercial law, unfair trading practices, customs procedures, poor protection of intellectual property rights, sanitary and plant protection measures or the existence of technical barriers. [86] Rules on the protection of intellectual property rights, sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers are regulated in separate agreements. For example, technical regulations imposed by a country must comply with the most-favoured-nation principle, and members applying these rules must ensure that no unnecessary barriers to trade are created. [88] The WTO has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
In 2016, the organization consisted of 164 countries and customs territories representing 99.5% of the world`s population and 98% of world trade. All WTO Members are required to comply with the basic rules set out in the Marrakesh Agreement. One of these rules is “equal treatment of all Members”, which means that the privileges that one WTO Member grants to another WTO Member must also be granted to all WTO Members. In addition, under “national treatment” rules, WTO members must treat foreign products that have entered their domestic market as “like” products in their country. Meanwhile, the two main decision-making bodies of the WTO are the Ministerial Conference and the General Council. WTO members take decisions on the basis of consensus, but if no consensus is reached, decisions are taken by vote. The World Trade Organization also has a legally binding dispute settlement system. Trade matters between members are first referred to a body specially set up for this issue. Parties dissatisfied with the panel`s decision may submit it to the Appellate Body. .