The WTO monitors some 60 different agreements that have the status of international legal texts. Member States must sign and ratify all WTO accession agreements. [111] A discussion ensued on some of the major agreements. Through the WTO, the EU has also sought to promote a multilateral framework for trade negotiations, which would complement bilateral negotiations. However, the deadlock in the Doha Round and the fact that other trading partners have turned to bilateral agreements have forced the EU to partially revise its long-standing strategy and return to regional and bilateral negotiations. THE GATT remains a WTO framework agreement for merchandise trade, updated following the Uruguay Round negotiations (distinction between the 1994 GATT, the updated GATT parts, and the 1947 GATT, the initial agreement that remains the heart of the 1994 GATT). [29] However, the 1994 GATT is not the only legally binding agreement contained in the final deed in Marrakech; a long list of some 60 agreements, annexes, decisions and agreements has been adopted. The agreements are divided into six main parts: a country wishing to join the WTO submits a request to the General Council and must describe all aspects of its trade and economic policy that affect WTO agreements. [95] The application is submitted to the WTO as part of a memorandum reviewed by a working group open to all interested WTO members. [96] However, the dispute resolution system cannot be used to resolve trade disputes arising from political differences. When Qatar called for the creation of a body on the measures imposed by the United Arab Emirates, other GCC countries and the United States immediately rejected their request as a political issue and declared that national security issues were political and unsuitable for the WTO system. [87] WTOs agreements are often regarded as the final act of Uruguay`s 1986-94 trade cycle, although the final act is, strictly speaking, the first of the agreements. You can download these texts as WordPerfect or PDF files.
> Go to a basic statement of agreements … > … or a more technical list > abbreviations As international trade went beyond the exchange of material goods and included services and ideas, GATT was transformed and institutionalized as the World Trade Organization (WTO). Created in 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round trade negotiations, it included previous trade agreements such as the GATT itself, the agriculture agreement and the textile and clothing agreement, as well as other general agreements. The main new agreements were the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS). In February 2017, the Trade Facilitation Agreement – the first multilateral agreement since the creation of the WTO – came into force. Ideas will also be explored on how to bring new developments to the WTO that could modernize the system, for example in the areas of e-commerce, investment facilitation and industrial subsidies, to make it more efficient and adaptable to a rapidly changing trading world. Under the GATT (1949-1979), seven rounds of negotiations took place. The first real gaTT trade cycles (1947-1960) focused on further tariff reductions.