Establishment of international trade rules  reasons: 1)elimination of trade-restrictive measures in national legal orders; 2) need for security and predictability of trade rules; 3) challenges presented by economic globalisation (environmental issues, consumer safety, labour standards, cultural identity); 4) achievement of a greater measure of equity in international economic relations.

ITO Charter Havana Conference 1948 Complementarity with IMF and WB No entry into force: USA didn’t support the project anymore  Congress controlled by Republicans).

GATT 1947 The GATT 1947 contains substantive trade rules (most-favoured nation clause, national treatment, barrier to market access, subsidies and countervailing duties, antidumping etc.). No entry into force  provisional application as from 1st January 1948  adoption of a specific Protocol.

Birth defects of GATT 1947 (Jackson) The lack of a charter: no legal personality, no procedural and institutional structure; Provisional character of its application; Grandfather rights; Ambiguity and confusion about GATT’s authority.

Birth defects of GATT 1947 (II) Very scant institutional structure (art. XXV GATT 1947): - meetings of Contracting Parties (one State, one vote; majority rule  actual use of consensus method); - decisions of GATT Contracting Parties and Panels reports.

The evolution from GATT to WTO Lengthy Negotiating Rounds: failure of Tokyo Round: adoption of Plurilateral agreements, binding only on States which accepted them. Uruguay Round ( ): success in creating a new multilateral organization

Marrakesh Final Act (1994) -institution of the World Trade Organization and signature of the WTO Agreement -creation of a Multilateral Trade Organization and modification of FOGS (functioning of GATT system) -the single undertaking: Members of the Organization should be bound by all the agreements in the GATT system

Package of agreements annexed to the WTO Agreement Annex 1A: Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods  GATT 1994 (incorporating GATT 1947 and legal instruments adopted by GATT Contracting Parties with reference to it) + agreements on specific matters; Annex 1B: General Agreement on Trade in Services; Annex 1C: Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; Annex 2: Disputes Settlement Understanding; Annex 3: Trade Policy Review Mechanism; Annex 4: Plurilateral Trade Agreements.

Objectives of the WTO To raise standards of living; to ensure full employment, the growth of real income and effective demand; to encourage the expansion of production of, and trade in, goods and services. The Wto Agreement must be interpreted in the light of these objectives.

Objectives of the WTO (II) Need to take into account: 1)sustainable economic development principle; 2)preservation of the environment and health; 3)integration of developing countries, esp. the least-developed ones.

Objectives of the WTO (III) Means for the achievement of those objectives: -reduction of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade; -elimination of discriminatory treatment in international trade.