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World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO - world trade organization, Russia's accession to the WTO The highest governing body of the WTO is

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was founded in 1995. It is the continuation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded in 1947.

The WTO is both an organization and a set of legal documents that define the rights and responsibilities of governments in the field of international trade in goods and services.

The legal basis of the WTO consists of:

1. General Agreement on Trade in Goods (GATT) as amended in 1994.

2. General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

3. Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

Main tasks of the WTO - liberalization of international trade, ensuring its fairness and predictability, creating a favorable environment for economic growth and improving the economic well-being of people.

The highest governing body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference. It is convened at least once every two years, usually at the level of ministers of trade or foreign affairs of WTO member countries. The conference has the authority to make decisions on the most fundamental issues relating to new rounds of multilateral negotiations.

The current management of activities and monitoring of the agreement and ministerial decisions is carried out by the General Council. It meets several times a year in Geneva. The General Council usually includes ambassadors and heads of representative offices of WTO members. The functions of the General Council also include resolving trade disputes between WTO member countries and conducting periodic reviews of their trade policies.

The General Council controls the activities subordinate bodies:

the Council for Trade in Goods, which oversees implementation of the GATT;

the Council for Trade in Services, which oversees implementation of the GATS;

Intellectual Property Council, which oversees the implementation of TRIPS.

In addition to the above bodies, the WTO includes working and expert groups and specialized committees. Their functions are to consider the implementation of individual parts of multilateral agreements, as well as other issues of interest to participating countries, for example, regarding competition rules, investment, the operation of regional trade agreements, trade aspects of environmental protection and the admission of new members.

Currently, 145 countries are members of the WTO, about 30 are observers. Observers are mainly countries that are negotiating accession to the WTO and intend to join this organization in the next five years.

The World Trade Organization has the following character traits:

1. The WTO is, first and foremost, an organization created to ensure freer international trade. WTO actions are aimed at eliminating trade barriers between countries.

2. The WTO is not any supreme body whose decisions are binding on the governments of all member countries of this organization.

3. WTO member countries agree among themselves on issues of international trade, but in compliance with WTO rules.

4. WTO membership does not prohibit the establishment of customs duties on certain types of goods. However, the usual amount of such duties does not exceed an average of 5-7%.

5. The WTO is a democratic organization where decisions are made on the basis of consensus and only in exceptional cases (and such were only in GATT practice) - by majority vote.

6. All WTO member countries are equal to each other, regardless of their size and level of economic development.

7. The WTO agreements contain provisions that allow governments of participating countries to take measures to protect the environment, to protect the life and health of people, animals and plants.

Problems of Russia's accession to the WTO

When joining the WTO, according to the rules of this organization, Russia is obliged to agree on its membership in this international organization with all participating countries. Therefore, the process of Russia's accession to the WTO is quite long and may take some more time.

The main problem of Russia's accession to the WTO is, first of all, the removal of restrictions on the supply of goods from abroad, in a sense, restrictions on competition from foreign companies. This will lead to the fact that domestic manufacturers may not be able to compete on equal terms with both very high-quality Western products and very cheap Chinese ones. Another thing is that this process will occur gradually (that is why such long negotiations are underway), and our enterprises will have time to adapt to new conditions.

Therefore, experts believe that, despite increased competition from foreign manufacturers when Russia joins the WTO, the impact of this event on domestic industry will not be very significant or catastrophic, although each enterprise will have to take care of itself and improve the efficiency of its own work.

The leaders of the Russian Federation and the United States consider Russia's membership in the WTO realistic by the end of the year

Russian President Dmitry Medvedeva and US President Barack Obama discussed in detail in a telephone conversation the situation in the negotiation process on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, the Kremlin press service reported.

In accordance with the agreement reached during the previous telephone conversation on July 11, the heads of state discussed in detail the situation in the negotiation process on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization.

“It was noted with satisfaction that the impulses given by both sides contributed to the achievement of significant progress in the negotiations. In this regard, it was emphasized that the solution to the priority task - ensuring Russia’s membership in the WTO by the end of this year - seems quite realistic. The leaders of the two countries exchanged views on further steps to stimulate and coordinate work in this direction,” the statement says.

The head of the Russian negotiating delegation, director of the department of trade negotiations of the Ministry of Economic Development, Maxim Medvedkov, said at the end of July that negotiations on Russia’s accession to the WTO, as evidenced by the preliminary plan of the chairman of the working group Stefan Johanneson, could be completed by the meeting of the WTO General Council on December 14-16.

After completion of the negotiations, the working group on Russia's accession to the WTO will have to prepare all the documents, check them with all members of the organization and present this package of documents along with a recommendation for acceptance to the general council of this organization. Then, according to Medvedkov, the General Council, which meets approximately once every two months, must approve these documents and admit Russia to the organization. After this, all documents will be submitted for ratification to the Russian parliament, which usually takes three to five months, and 30 days after the ratification documents are signed by the president, Russia will become a member of the WTO. Earlier, Medvedkov noted that the State Duma could ratify all WTO documents faster - in one or two months.

The next consultations are scheduled for mid-September, and the final meeting of the working group on Russia's accession to the WTO is scheduled to take place in November.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was founded in 1995. It is the continuation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), concluded immediately after World War II.

In 1998, the golden anniversary of the GATT was celebrated in Geneva. This system, designed to regulate global trade through a mechanism to curb unilateral actions, has existed for almost 50 years and has proven its effectiveness as the legal basis for multilateral trade. The years following World War II were marked by exceptional growth in world trade. The growth of goods exports averaged 6% per year. Total trade volume in 1997 was 14 times the 1950 level.

The system developed during the process of conducting a series of trade negotiations (rounds) within the GATT framework. The early rounds focused primarily on tariff reductions, but later negotiations expanded to other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures. The last round – 1986-1994, so-called. The Uruguay Round led to the creation of the WTO, which significantly expanded the scope of the GATT to include trade in services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights.

Thus, the GATT mechanism has been improved and adapted to the modern stage of trade development. In addition, the GATT system, although in fact an international organization, was not formally one.

WTO structure

The WTO is both an organization and at the same time a set of legal documents, a kind of multilateral trade agreement that defines the rights and responsibilities of governments in the field of international trade in goods and services. The legal basis of the WTO is the General Agreement on Trade in Goods (GATT) as amended in 1994 (GATT 1994), the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The WTO agreements have been ratified by the parliaments of all participating countries.

“The main tasks of the WTO are to liberalize international trade, ensure its fairness and predictability, promote economic growth and improve the economic well-being of people. WTO member countries, of which there were 148 as of May 2005, solve these problems by monitoring the implementation of multilateral agreements, conducting trade negotiations, trade settlements in accordance with the WTO mechanism, as well as providing assistance to developing countries and reviewing the national economic policies of states."

Decisions are made by all member states usually by consensus, which is an additional incentive to strengthen harmony within the WTO. Making a decision by a majority vote is also possible, but such practice has not yet existed in the WTO; During the work of the predecessor of the WTO, GATT, such isolated cases occurred.

Decisions at the highest level in the WTO are made by the Ministerial Conference, which meets at least once every two years. The first conference in Singapore in December 1996 reaffirmed the commitment of member countries to trade liberalization and added three new working groups to the existing organizational structure of the WTO, dealing with the relationship between trade and investment, the interaction between trade and competition policy, and transparency in government procurement The second conference, held in 1998 in Geneva, was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the GATT\WTO; In addition, WTO members agreed to study global e-commerce issues. The third conference, which was convened in December 1999 in Seattle (USA) and was supposed to decide on the start of a new round of trade negotiations, ended with virtually no results. The next Ministerial Conference is scheduled to take place in November 2001 in Doha (Qatar).

Subordinate to the Ministerial Conference is the General Council, which is responsible for carrying out day-to-day work and meets several times a year at the headquarters in Geneva, composed of representatives of WTO members, usually ambassadors and heads of delegations of member countries. The General Council also has two special bodies: for the analysis of trade policy and for the resolution of disputes. In addition, the Trade and Development Committees report to the General Council; on restrictions related to the trade balance; on budget, finance and administrative issues.

The General Council delegates functions to three councils at the next level of the WTO hierarchy: the Council for Trade in Goods, the Council for Trade in Services and the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

The Council for Trade in Goods, in turn, manages the activities of specialized committees that monitor compliance with WTO principles and the implementation of GATT 1994 agreements in the field of trade in goods.

The Council for Trade in Services monitors the implementation of the GATS agreement. It includes the Committee on Trade in Financial Services and the Working Group on Professional Services.

The Council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, in addition to monitoring the implementation of the relevant agreement (TRIPS), also deals with issues of preventing the emergence of conflicts related to the international trade in counterfeit goods.

Numerous specialized committees and working groups deal with individual WTO agreements and issues in areas such as environmental protection, developing country issues, WTO accession procedures and regional trade agreements.

The WTO Secretariat, which is based in Geneva, has approximately 500 full-time staff; it is headed by the general director. The WTO Secretariat, unlike similar bodies of other international organizations, does not make decisions, since this function is assigned to the member countries themselves. The Secretariat's main responsibilities are to provide technical support to the various councils and committees as well as the Ministerial Conference, provide technical assistance to developing countries, conduct global trade analysis and explain WTO provisions to the public and the media. The Secretariat also provides some forms of legal assistance in the dispute resolution process and advises governments of countries wishing to become members of the WTO. Today there are more than twenty such countries.

Basic agreements and principles of the WTO

WTO member countries interact within a non-discriminatory trading system, where each country is guaranteed fair and consistent treatment of its exports in the markets of other countries, while committing to provide the same conditions for imports into its own market. Developing countries are provided with relatively greater flexibility and freedom of action in fulfilling their obligations.

The basic rules and principles of the WTO are reflected in multilateral trade agreements, which cover trade in goods and services, as well as trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, dispute resolution and the trade policy review mechanism.

Goods. The core principles of the WTO were first formulated in the GATT of 1947. From 1947 to 1994, GATT provided a forum for negotiations to reduce customs duties and other trade barriers; the text of the General Agreement stipulated important rules, in particular non-discrimination. Subsequently, as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-1994), the basic principles were expanded and developed and clarified in other agreements. Thus, new rules were created on trade in services, on important aspects of intellectual property, on dispute resolution and trade policy reviews.

The GATT, as amended in 1994, is now the main set of WTO rules for trade in goods. It is complemented by agreements covering specific sectors such as agriculture and textiles, as well as specific topics such as government trading, product standards, subsidies and anti-dumping actions.

The two fundamental principles of GATT are non-discrimination and market access.

The principle of non-discrimination is implemented through the application of most favored nation (MFN) treatment, in which a country provides equal terms of trade for all WTO participants, and national treatment, in which imported goods cannot be discriminated against in the domestic market.

Market access is ensured, in addition to the application of MFN and national treatment, also through the abolition of quantitative restrictions on imports in favor of customs tariffs, which are a more effective means of regulating trade turnover, as well as openness and transparency in matters of trade regimes of participating countries.

Services. The principles of freer export and import of services, regardless of the mode of their supply, be it cross-border trade, consumption of services abroad, commercial presence or presence of individuals, were documented for the first time in the new General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). However, due to the specific nature of trade in services, most favored nation and national treatment are applied here with significant exceptions, which are individual for each country. Similarly, the abolition of quantitative quotas is selective; decisions on it are made during negotiations.

WTO members make individual commitments under the GATS in which they state which service sectors and to what extent they are willing to open to foreign competition.

Intellectual property. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is a set of rules on trade and investment in ideas and creative activities that outline how intellectual property should be protected in trade transactions. “Intellectual property” refers to copyrights, trademarks, geographical names used to name products, industrial designs (designs), layout designs of integrated circuits, and undisclosed information such as trade secrets.

Dispute resolution. The Agreement on Rules and Procedures Governing Dispute Resolution provides for a system in which countries can resolve their differences through consultation. If this fails, they can follow a well-defined step-by-step procedure that allows for issues to be decided by a panel of experts and provides the opportunity to appeal those decisions with appropriate legal justification. Confidence in this system is evidenced by the number of disputes that were brought to the WTO: 167 cases by March 1999, compared to 300 cases that were considered during the entire period of the GATT's existence (1947-94).

Policy review. The purpose of the trade policy review mechanism is to enhance transparency, explain the trade policies of certain countries, and assess the consequences of their implementation. The policies of all WTO member countries are subject to regular “review”; Each review contains reports from the relevant country and the WTO Secretariat. Since 1995, the policies of 45 member countries have been reviewed.

Advantages of the WTO trading system

The advantages of the WTO system are proven not only by the fact that almost all major trading nations are now its members. In addition to the purely economic benefits that are achieved by reducing barriers to the free exchange of goods, this system has a positive effect on the political and social situation in the member countries, as well as on the individual well-being of citizens. The benefits of the WTO trading system are manifested at all levels - the individual citizen, the country and the world community as a whole.

Benefits of the WTO for consumers

Lower cost of living. The most obvious benefit of free trade to the consumer is the lower cost of living due to the reduction of protectionist trade barriers. There have been eight rounds of negotiations in the organization's 50 years of existence, and trade barriers around the world are now lower than they have ever been in the history of modern trade.

As a result of lowering trade barriers, not only finished imported goods and services become cheaper, but also domestic products, the production of which uses imported components.

Import tariffs, government production subsidies (for example, in agriculture) and quantitative restrictions on imports (for example, in textile trade) ultimately lead not to the desired results of protecting the domestic market, but to increasing the cost of living. Thus, according to statistical calculations, consumers in the UK pay 500 million pounds a year more for clothing due to trade restrictions on textile imports; for Canadians, this amount is approximately C$780 million. The situation is similar in the services sector: liberalization of the telecommunications sector in the European Union has led to price reductions of 7-10 percent on average.

The WTO system encourages competition and lowers trade barriers, resulting in benefits for consumers. Thus, the major reform of trade in textiles and clothing under the WTO, which will be completed in 2005, includes the removal of restrictions on the volume of imports.

Wider selection of goods and services.

A wider choice of goods and services is also an undoubted advantage of a free trading system for the consumer. In addition to finished foreign products, we are also talking about domestic goods and services, the range of which is expanding due to lower prices for imported materials, components and equipment. Import competition stimulates the most efficient domestic production and, therefore, indirectly reduces prices and improves the quality of products.

In addition, as a result of more active trade, new technologies are being developed, as happened, for example, with mobile communications.

Increasing the export of domestic products also increases the income of producers, tax revenues to the treasury and, consequently, the income and well-being of the population as a whole.

Benefits of the WTO for the country's economy as a whole

Economic benefits.

Increasing income.

It is impossible to draw a clear line between the effects of free trade on consumers, producers and the government. Thus, lowering trade barriers contributes to increased trade, which leads to an increase in both government and personal income. Empirical evidence shows that after the Uruguay Round, global income increased from $109 billion to $510 billion as a result of the transition to a new system of trade deals. The single market across the European Union has also contributed to increased incomes and prosperity.

Increasing government revenue through the activities of successful exporters allows the additional resources received to be reallocated and help other companies facing foreign competition to increase productivity, expand the scale of production, improve their competitiveness, or switch to new activities.

Increased employment.

The development of trade leads in the long term to increased employment, especially in the export sectors of the economy. However, in the short term, job losses as a result of competition between domestic enterprises and imported manufacturers are almost inevitable.

Protectionism cannot solve this problem. On the contrary, an increase in trade barriers causes a decrease in the efficiency of production and the quality of domestic products, which, when imports are limited, leads to higher prices and a negative impact on sales volumes, and ultimately on the number of jobs. A similar situation arose, for example, in the United States in the 1980s, when strict restrictions were introduced on the import of Japanese cars. Conversely, EU market liberalization has created at least 300 thousand new jobs in the Community countries. US export industries employ at least 12 million workers; In the Russian metallurgy industry, out of about 1 million employees, 600 thousand also work for export.

The judicious use of protective measures and an effective scheme for the redistribution of additional government revenue can help the country overcome the difficulties of the period of adaptation to a free trade system.

Increasing the efficiency of foreign economic activity.

The application of WTO principles makes it possible to increase the efficiency of the state’s foreign economic activity by, first of all, simplifying the system of customs duties and other trade barriers. As a result, predictability and transparency of the economy attract partners and increase trade turnover. Non-discrimination, transparency, greater trade certainty and facilitation all contribute to lowering company costs, optimizing their operations and creating a favorable climate for trade and investment.

In turn, the influx of capital into the country, in particular in the form of foreign direct investment, creates additional jobs and improves the well-being of the population as a whole.

Political benefits.

In addition to the economic benefits from freer foreign trade, the state also receives certain political benefits.

Lobbying protection.

The government is more able to protect itself from lobbying groups because trade policy is implemented in the interests of the economy as a whole.

The government's policy of protectionism for certain industries implies a certain political influence of representatives of these areas of production. In the early decades of the 20th century, increasing trade restrictive policies led to a trade war with no winners, as such restrictions ultimately hurt even sectors that needed to be protected, slowing economic growth and reducing overall prosperity.

Joining the WTO system helps to avoid such situations, since the policy pursued by the state is focused on the development of all sectors of the economy, and not its individual parts, which helps to avoid distortions of the competitive environment.

Fight against corruption.

A free trade system also creates the preconditions for making sound political decisions, fighting corruption and introducing positive changes in the legal system, which ultimately contributes to the influx of investment into the country. The use of some forms of non-tariff restrictions, for example, import quotas, is inevitably associated with the danger of corruption among officials distributing these quotas and, consequently, the receipt of excess profits by importing companies - the so-called. “quota rent”. Currently, the WTO is working to reduce and eliminate many of the still existing quotas, especially on textiles.

Transparency and publicity, i.e. ensuring that all information on trading rules is accessible to the public; clearer criteria for regulations covering safety issues and product standards; The application of the principle of non-discrimination also has a positive impact on the political environment, reducing the possibility of arbitrary decision-making and deception.

Benefits of the WTO system for relations between countries

Ensuring equal chances for all participants.

The WTO system levels the playing field for all members by giving voting rights to smaller countries, thereby limiting the economic dictates of larger countries that would be inevitable in bilateral negotiations. Moreover, by joining together in alliances, small countries are able to achieve greater success in negotiations. At the same time, large member states are freed from the need to negotiate trade agreements with each of their many trading partners, since, according to the principle of non-discrimination, the levels of commitments reached during negotiations automatically apply to all WTO participants.

Effective dispute resolution mechanism.

The WTO system provides an effective mechanism for resolving trade disputes that, if left to their own devices, could lead to serious conflict. Before World War II, this opportunity did not exist. After the war, trading countries negotiated trade rules that are now in effect within the WTO. These include obligations to bring their disputes to the WTO and not to resort to unilateral actions.

Each dispute brought to the WTO is considered primarily from the point of view of existing rules and regulations. Once a decision is made, countries focus their efforts on its implementation, and possibly subsequent revision of the rules and regulations through negotiations. Since the establishment of the WTO in 1995, approximately 200 disputes have been brought before it. The WTO agreements provide the legal basis for a clear decision.

The increasing number of disputes brought to the WTO does not indicate increasing tensions in the world, but rather the strengthening of economic ties and the increasing confidence of countries in this system of dispute resolution.

Strengthening international stability.

The WTO trading system facilitates the smooth flow of trade and provides countries with a constructive and fair mechanism for resolving trade disputes, thereby creating and strengthening international stability and cooperation.

A prime example of the impact of trade on international security is the trade war of the 1930s, when countries competed to erect protectionist trade barriers. This exacerbated the Great Depression and ultimately played a role in the outbreak of World War II.

A repetition of pre-war trade tensions after World War II in Europe was avoided through the development of international cooperation on trade in coal and ferrous metals within the framework of the European Coal and Steel Community, which served as the basis for the future creation of the European Union. Globally, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was established and became the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.

The system has proven its viability, because political conflict between countries with established stable trade relations is less likely. In addition, people who are more prosperous and prosperous are less prone to conflict.

The GATT/WTO system, in which agreements are negotiated by consensus and the rules of the agreements are strictly enforced, is also an important confidence-building tool. When the government is confident that other countries will not raise their trade barriers, it is not tempted to do the same. Nations will also be much more willing to cooperate with each other, avoiding situations like the trade war of the 1930s.

Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Founded: January 1, 1995
Created: based on the results of the Uruguay Round negotiations (1986-94)
Number of members: 164
Secretariat staff: about 640 employees
Chapter: Roberto Covalho di Azvevedo

Goals and principles:

The World Trade Organization (WTO), which is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), in force since 1947, began its activities on January 1, 1995. The WTO is designed to regulate the trade and political relations of the Organization's members on the basis of a package of Agreements of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations (1986-1994). These documents are the legal basis of modern international trade.

The agreement establishing the WTO provides for the creation of a permanent forum of member countries to resolve problems affecting their multilateral trade relations and monitor the implementation of agreements and agreements of the Uruguay Round. The WTO functions in much the same way as the GATT, but oversees a wider range of trade agreements (including trade in services and trade-related intellectual property rights issues) and has much greater powers to improve decision-making and implementation by members organizations. An integral part of the WTO is its unique mechanism for resolving trade disputes.

Since 1947, discussions of global problems of liberalization and prospects for the development of world trade have taken place within the framework of multilateral trade negotiations (MTP) under the auspices of the GATT. To date, 8 rounds of ICC have been held, including the Uruguay one, and the ninth is ongoing. The main goal of the WTO is to further liberalize world trade and ensure fair competition conditions.

Fundamental principles and rules GATT/WTO are:

reciprocal provision of most favored nation (MFN) treatment in trade;
mutual provision of national treatment (NR) to goods and services of foreign origin;
regulation of trade primarily by tariff methods;
refusal to use quantitative and other restrictions;
trade policy transparency;
resolution of trade disputes through consultations and negotiations, etc.

The most important functions WTO are:

monitoring the implementation of agreements and arrangements of the Uruguay Round package of documents;
conducting multilateral trade negotiations between interested member countries;
resolution of trade disputes;
monitoring national trade policies of member countries;
technical assistance to developing countries within the competence of the WTO;
cooperation with international specialized organizations.

Are common benefits of WTO membership can be summarized as follows:

obtaining more favorable conditions for access to world markets for goods and services based on the predictability and stability of the development of trade relations with WTO member countries, including the transparency of their foreign economic policies;
eliminating discrimination in trade through access to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism, which ensures the protection of national interests if they are infringed by partners;
the opportunity to realize their current and strategic trade and economic interests through effective participation in the ICC in the development of new rules of international trade.

world Trade organisation- a multilateral interstate organization operating since January 1, 1995. It emerged as the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) as a result of the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations of 1986-1994, held under the auspices of the GATT. The Uruguay Round ended on April 15, 1994 with the Marrakech Protocol (Final Act), which opened for signature the Agreement establishing the WTO.

As of January 1, 2006, 150 states became members of the WTO. 30 states, including Russia, have observer status and are in the process of joining the WTO. The WTO headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland (154 Rue de Lausanne, CH-1211). The WTO is not part of the UN system of institutions, but, having the status of a legal entity, enjoys all the privileges of special UN agencies. Official languages are English, French and Spanish. WTO Internet address – www.wto.org

The Organization's budget and the amount of contributions of individual member countries are based on traditional practices and rules of GATT 1947 (a country's share in the WTO budget is equal to its share in international trade).

The agreement consists of a preamble, in general form repeating the GATT preamble, 16 articles and four annexes containing the legal instruments of the WTO. The agreement provides for the creation of a single multilateral structure for the implementation of 56 legal instruments that make up the WTO legal system. Article II of the Agreement establishes that the legal documents named in Annexes 1, 2, 3 are integral parts of the Agreement; their provisions create rights and obligations for all WTO members. Countries that have joined the WTO must accept them without any exceptions or exceptions and are obliged to bring their national legislation into compliance with the norms of these documents. Annex 4 contains the Civil Aircraft Trade Agreement and the Government Procurement Agreement, which create obligations only for signatory countries.

The functions of the WTO are defined in Article III of the Agreement as promoting the implementation and application of WTO legal instruments; organizing negotiations between its members on issues of multilateral trade relations; ensuring the functioning of the mechanism for periodic review of the trade policies of WTO members and the implementation of the Agreement on Rules and Procedures for Dispute Resolution.

Currently, newly acceding states, including Russia, are following the following path. Article XII of the Agreement states that any state or separate customs territory having full autonomy in the conduct of its foreign trade may accede to the WTO on terms to be agreed upon between that state and the WTO. The decision on accession is made by the Ministerial Conference with a two-thirds vote of WTO members. However, according to GATT tradition, decisions are made by consensus.

The acceding country notifies the Director General of the WTO of its intention to join the WTO and submits to the WTO a Memorandum on the Foreign Trade Regime (goods and services). After this, the issue of accession conditions is considered by the Working Group, which is created by the WTO General Council. The working group is studying the country's foreign trade regime, its legislation and practice. A significant part of the work in the Group is transferred to informal meetings and consultations, during which the conditions for the country’s accession to the WTO are gradually developed. At the same time, bilateral negotiations are underway on the issue of reducing trade barriers, which should result in a list of concessions and obligations of the acceding country in these areas. The outcome of the meetings of the Working Group is the report of the Group to the General Council (Conference) of the WTO, containing a summary of the discussion, the conclusions of the Working Group, as well as draft decisions of the General Council (Conference) of the WTO and the protocol on accession. The report of the Working Group, the decision and the protocol on accession must be approved by the General Council (Conference) of the WTO. The decision on the accession of a country comes into force 30 days after its adoption by the acceding country.

The legal framework of the WTO is multilateral agreements covering trade in goods, services and trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights. The legal framework of the WTO can be outlined by a list of documents attached to the Agreement, constituting its integral part and creating rights and obligations for the governments of WTO member countries.

Annexes 1, 2, and 3 include:

Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods - GATT 1994, together with mutual understandings, decisions, and agreements interpreting and developing the GATT Articles: (Understandings regarding the interpretation of Articles II, XVII, XXIV, XXVIII); Agreement on the Application of Article VI (Anti-Dumping Code); Agreement on the Application of Article VII (Customs Value); agreements on subsidies and countervailing measures, on safeguard measures, on import licensing procedures, on rules of origin, on technical barriers to trade, on the application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, on pre-shipment inspection, on agriculture, on textiles and clothing; Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures - TRIMS Agreement;

General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS);

Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - TRIPS Agreement;

Mutual understanding regarding dispute resolution rules and procedures;

Trade Policy Review Mechanism.

The WTO legal instruments also include 23 declarations and ministerial decisions related to the above documents, and an agreement on obligations in the field of financial services. An integral part of the WTO legal documents are national protocols on access to markets for goods and services, which emerged as a result of the Uruguay Round, and which fix tariff conditions for access to markets of individual countries, as well as obligations for access to markets for services. Multilateral agreements included in the WTO contain legal rules that must guide governments in mutual trade in goods and services. As such, they replace more than 30,000 bilateral agreements and create the legal basis for modern international trade. Their main principles are most favored nation treatment, national treatment and transparency in the use of regulatory measures.

The organizational structure of the WTO was formed on the basis of the development of the principles laid down in the GATT and improved over about 50 years. Article XVI of the Agreement states that the WTO shall be guided by the decisions, procedures and customary practices followed by the contracting parties and bodies of the GATT. However, the Agreement notes that the GATT included in the WTO (GATT 1994) is legally different from the GATT dated September 30, 1947 (GATT 1947). The main body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which meets once every two years. This Conference has all the rights of the WTO and can carry out all its functions and make decisions. During breaks between conferences, its functions are performed by the General Council. The Council can act as a Dispute Settlement Body and a Trade Policy Review Body. In these cases, the Council has separate chairmen and its own legal procedures. In addition, there is a Council for Trade in Goods to monitor the implementation of multilateral agreements on trade in goods, a Council for Trade in Services to monitor implementation of the GATS, and an Intellectual Property Council to monitor the implementation of this agreement. Committees on trade and development have also been organized; on budgetary, financial and administrative issues. In addition, committees formed within the framework of the above-mentioned individual multilateral agreements regularly operate within the WTO bodies. There is a WTO Secretariat headed by the Director General, who is given the authority to appoint other employees of the Secretariat and determine the terms of reference and functions. Currently, the total number of Secretariat employees exceeds 600 people. Within the WTO, the system of decision-making by consensus adopted in GATT 1947 continues to operate. In cases where consensus cannot be reached, a decision may be made by vote, with each WTO member country having one vote. However, the voting system in the WTO is used extremely rarely. Articles IX and X of the Agreement define the procedural aspects of voting.

The agreement provides for various ways to join the WTO. In accordance with the Final Act of the Uruguay Round, the acceding countries were divided into several groups. GATT parties became members of the WTO by adopting the Agreement, multilateral trade agreements, as well as the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Countries participating in the Uruguay Round that are not members of the GATT, in order to become members of the WTO, had to complete negotiations on accession to GATT 1947, provide a list of their tariff concessions under the GATT and specific obligations under the GATS. Developing countries that accepted the provisions of the GATT on the so-called de facto basis were in approximately the same position. These conditions were fulfilled by 132 states that formed the WTO. They were called the original members of the WTO. Currently, any state joins on the basis of Article XII of the Agreement.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body that oversees global trade. The organization, which is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), in force since 1947, began its activities on January 1, 1995.

The main goal of the WTO is to liberalize world trade and ensure fair competition conditions.

The WTO headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Head of the WTO (Director General) - Roberto Carvalho di Azevedo.

What functions does the WTO perform?

The most important functions of the WTO are:

monitoring the implementation of agreements and understandings of the Uruguay Round package of documents;
conducting multilateral trade negotiations between interested member countries;
resolution of trade disputes;
monitoring national trade policies of member countries;
cooperation with international specialized organizations.

What advantages does WTO membership provide?

The main benefits of WTO membership:

obtaining more favorable conditions for access to world markets for goods and services;
access to the WTO dispute resolution mechanism, which ensures the protection of national interests if they are infringed by partners.

How can you become a member of the WTO?

The procedure for joining the WTO consists of several stages. This process takes on average 5-7 years.

At the first stage, within the framework of special working groups, a detailed consideration of the economic mechanism and trade and political regime of the acceding country takes place for their compliance with the norms and rules of the WTO.

After this, consultations and negotiations begin on the terms of membership of the applicant country in this organization. These consultations are usually carried out at a bilateral level with all interested member countries of the working group. During negotiations, participants discuss the concessions that the acceding country will be willing to make in order to provide WTO members with access to its markets. In turn, the acceding country, as a rule, receives the rights that all other WTO members have.

When did Russia become a member of the WTO?

Negotiations on Russia's accession to the WTO lasted 18 years. The Russian Federation became a full member of the organization on August 22, 2012. The most difficult negotiations were with the United States and the European Union. In particular, for a long time it was not possible to resolve issues with Washington on access to the Russian market for American pork and on the protection of intellectual property rights, with the EU on export duties on timber, on agriculture, and on the conditions for the industrial assembly of cars in the Russian Federation.