The History and Future of the World Trade Organization


Book Description

The History and Future of the World Trade Organization is a comprehensive account of the economic, political and legal issues surrounding the creation of the WTO and its evolution. Fully illustrated with colour and black-and-white photos dating back to the early days of trade negotiations, the publication reviews the WTO's achievements as well as the challenges faced by the organisation, and identifies the key questions that WTO members need to address in the future. The book describes the intellectual roots of the trading system, membership of the WTO and the growth of the Geneva trade community, trade negotiations and the development of coalitions among the membership, and the WTO's relations with other international organisations and civil society. Also covered are the organisation's robust dispute settlement rules, the launch and evolution of the Doha Round, the rise of regional trade agreements, and the leadership and management of the WTO.




WTO Ministerial Conferences


Book Description

WTO Ministerial Conferences: Key Outcomes contains all the key outcomes from World Trade Organization Ministerial Conferences since the organization was established in 1995. Covering 12 Ministerial Conferences held between 1996 and 2022, the key outcomes include Ministerial Decisions and Declarations as well as Chairpersons' statements. This publication also reproduces relevant ministerial outcomes of the Uruguay Round adopted in connection with the establishment of the WTO that were not formally integrated into the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO. This publication complements The WTO Agreements, published by Cambridge University Press and the WTO, which contains the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO and its Annexes.




The WTO at Twenty


Book Description

This research explores how multilateralism in trade has worked over the past twenty years - and provides some lessons about how it can work in the future. It describes the WTO's achievements across a number of key areas, including: strengthening the institutional foundations of the trade system; widening its membership and increasing participation; deepening trade integration through lower barriers and stronger rules; improving transparency and policy dialogue; strengthening dispute settlement; expanding cooperation with other international organizations; and enhancing public outreach. It concludes that the WTO has achieved much over its first twenty years but the success of the WTO has inevitably given rise to new challenges.