The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental institution that regulates and facilitates international trade among its 166 member states. It was officially established on January 1, 1995, in Geneva, Switzerland, following the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations (1986–1994). The WTO was created by the Marrakesh Agreement signed on April 15, 1994, and succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was a provisional multilateral treaty signed in 1947. The GATT was formed to solve the problem of high tariffs and trade barriers after World War II, but the WTO expanded the scope to cover new areas like services and intellectual property, which the GATT only covered trade in goods.
The WTO works by administering a set of agreements that form the legal framework for international commerce, and its primary functions are to provide a forum for trade negotiations and to resolve trade disputes. Its foundational principles include non-discrimination, which is enshrined in the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) and National Treatment provisions. Key agreements include the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994) for goods, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) provides a binding mechanism for resolving conflicts between members. The WTO is connected to other post-WWII international economic institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While the WTO replaced the GATT, the original GATT 1947 text remains in effect, subject to the modifications of GATT 1994. A significant recent change is the paralysis of the Appellate Body, the final stage of the dispute settlement system, due to blocked appointments, which has weakened the system's ability to enforce its rules.