Question

What are the major objectives of the World Trade Organisation(WTO) ?

Answer 1

MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF WTO ARE
(i) to implement the new world trade system as visualised in the Agreement;
(ii) to promote World Trade in a manner that benefits every country;
(iii) to ensure that developing countries secure a better balance in the sharing of the advantages resulting from the expansion of international trade corresponding to their developmental needs;
(iv) to demolish all hurdles to an open world trading system and usher in international economic renaissance because the world trade is an effective instrument to foster economic growth;
(v) to enhance competitiveness among all trading partners so as to benefit consumers and help in global integration;
(vi) to increase the level of production and productivity with a view to ensuring level of employment in the world;
(vii) to expand and utilize world resources to the best;
(viii) to improve the level of living for the global population and speed up economic development of the member nations.

Answer 2

The WTO has six key objectives: (1) to set and enforce rules for international trade, (2) to provide a forum for negotiating and monitoring further trade liberalization, (3) to resolve trade disputes, (4) to increase the transparency of decision-making processes, (5) to cooperate with other major international economic institutions involved in global economic management, and (6) to help developing countries benefit fully from the global trading system. Although shared by the GATT, in practice these goals have been pursued more comprehensively by the WTO. For example, whereas the GATT focused almost exclusively on goods—though much of agriculture and textiles were excluded—the WTO encompasses all goods, services, and intellectual property, as well as some investment policies. In addition, the permanent WTO Secretariat, which replaced the interim GATT Secretariat, has strengthened and formalized mechanisms for reviewing trade policies and settling disputes. Because many more products are covered under the WTO than under the GATT and because the number of member countries and the extent of their participation has grown steadily—the combined share of international trade of WTO members now exceeds 90 percent of the global total—open access to trade has increased substantially.