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1 1 (December 6, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govcaag0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0 , ri . E, .,, , --,- , The World Trade Organization - mmm, go mppm qq\ , q I as 11LULANJILiN, Updated December 6, 2019 The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established on January 1, 1995, following the ratification of the Uruguay Round Agreements, and today includes 164 members. It succeeded the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), created as part of the post-WWII effort to build a stable, open international trading system. The WTO has three basic functions: (1) administers existing agreements; (2) serves as a negotiating forum for new trade liberalization and rules; and (3) provides a mechanism to settle disputes. The multiple WTO agreements cover trade in goods, services, and agriculture; remove tariff and nontariff barriers; and establish rules on government practices that directly relate to trade for example, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade (TBT), intellectual property rights (IPR), and government procurement (Table 1). The agreements are based on the principles of nondiscrimination among countries most-favored nation (MFN) treatment, national treatment, fair competition, and transparency of trade rules and regulations. Some exceptions, however, such as preferential treatment for developing countries and regional and bilateral trade agreements outside the WTO, are allowed. The GATT/WTO system over time has led to a significant reduction of trade barriers, supported trade expansion and economic growth, and helped manage trade frictions. At the same time, the WTO has faced serious challenges, some long-standing and some emerging more recently. One fundamental concern is that the WTO could lose relevance due to its inability to adapt to the modern global economy and the lack of a successful round of major trade liberalization since 1994. These and other concerns have led several members to propose reforms to the institution in attempts to safeguard and improve it. Congress has recognized the WTO as the foundation of the global trading system within U.S. trade statutes and plays a direct legislative and oversight role over WTO agreements. As debates over the WTO's future intensify, a number of issues may be of interest to Congress, including how WTO agreements affect the U.S. economy, the outcomes of ongoing reform and negotiation efforts, and the value of U.S. membership and leadership in the WTO. The D'oha Ro -,, d The Doha Development Agenda, the latest round of multilateral trade negotiations, was launched in 2001 but ended in stalemate, with no clear path forward. The WTO's large and diverse membership and the single undertaking approach made consensus on the broad Doha mandate difficult. The negotiations were characterized by persistent differences among the United States, European Union (EU), and developing countries on major issues, such as agriculture, industrial tariffs and nontariff barriers, services, and trade remedies. For example, developing countries (including emerging economic powerhouses, China, Brazil, and India) sought the reduction of agriculture tariffs and subsidies among developed countries, nonreciprocal market access for manufacturing sectors, and protection for their services industries. In contrast, developed countries sought reciprocal trade liberalization, especially commercially meaningful access to advanced developing countries' industrial and services sectors, while retaining some measure of protection for their own agricultural sectors. The lasting legacy of Doha may be the successful negotiation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which entered into force in early 2017 and aims to remove customs obstacles and inefficiencies at the border. At the latest Ministerial Conference in December 2017, WTO members were unable to announce major deliverables or negotiated outcomes. However, separate groups of members announced initiatives, work programs or plurilateral talks in areas including e-commerce and investment facilitation. The United States signed on in support of e-commerce talks. While many members were disappointed by the limited progress, in the view of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the Ministerial will be remembered as the moment when the impasse at the WTO was broken.. like-minded WTO Members... are not held back by the few Members that are not ready to act. Table I. GATTIWTO Rounds Year Name Subjects covered Countries 1947- Geneva, 5 rouids of tariff reductioiis 23 (1947) 1961 Annecy, 26 (1961) Torquay, Geneva 11, Dillon 1964- Kennedy Tariffs -ian antidu mpin g measu res 62 1967 1973- Tokyo Tariffs, antiumping, s ubsidies, TBT, 102 1979 government procurement 1986- Uruguay Tariffs, nontariff measures, rules, 123 1994 services, PR, dispute settlement, textiles, agricultu re, WTO institution 2001- Dohia Tariffs, nontariff measures, agricul1ture, 142 (2001) 201 5a ser-vices, trade facilitation, trade 164 remedies, and development (current) Source: WTO. Notes: *At the 2015 Ministerial, WTO members acknowledged divisions over reaffirming Dohas mandates. As a result, many observers considered the round to be effectively over. ,krp cukbke and )~~T*n Agriculture is one of the thorniest issues on the WTO's agenda. While no breakthroughs were reached at the 2017 Ministerial, members committed to continue negotiations on fisheries subsidies, now with a goal of completion by the

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