Question.
What is the basic function of the World Trade Organisation?
(Class 12 geography, Fundamentals of Human Geography, Chapter 9. International Trade )
Answer.
About World Trade Organization (WTO):
In 1948, the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) was formed by some countries to remove trade barriers between member countries.
In 1994, GATT was changed to WTO and started functioning on 1 January 1995.
The headquarter of WTO is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
In December 2016, 164 countries were members of the WTO.
India was one of the founding members of the World Trade Organization.
Basic Functions of the World Trade Organization (WTO):
The WTO is the only international organization that deals with global rules of trade between nations.
It sets the rules for the global trading system regarding free and fair trade between nations.
It resolves trade disputes between its member countries.
In addition to trade services, the WTO covers other issues such as telecommunications, banking, and intellectual rights in its work.
Criticism of the World Trade Organization (WTO):
The WTO supports free trade but many developed countries have not fully opened their markets to products from developing countries.
Free trade does not make the lives of common people more prosperous and free trade actually widens the gap between rich and poor by making rich countries richer.
The WTO does not focus on issues such as health, workers' rights, child labor, and environmental issues.
You may like also:
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon