[20220121]IF10002_世界贸易组织 .pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov Updated January 21, 2022The World Trade Organization Overview 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) administering existing agreements; (2) serving as a negotiating forum for new trade liberalization and rules; and (3) providing 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 tradefor example, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade (TBT), intellectual property rights (IPR), and government procurement. The agreements are based on the principles of nondiscrimination among countriesmost-favored nation (MFN) treatment, national treatment, fair competition, and transparency of trade rules and regulations. Some exceptions, such as preferential treatment for developing