Organizational structure of the World Trade Organization

Svetovna trgovinska organizacija (World Trade Organization) je mednarodna organizacija s sedežem v Ženevi. Organizacija je naslednica Splošnega sporazuma o trgovini in carinah, znanega po kratici GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). Zadnji, osmi krog pogajanj v okviru GATT, imenovan Urugvajski krog pogajanj, je formalno pripeljal do ustanovitve WTO (1. januarja 1995). Slovenija je postala članica WTO 30. julija 1995. Cilj oziroma namen te organizacije je odstranjevanje ovir v mednarodni trgovini, prizadeva si torej za liberalizacijo svetovne trgovine. Deluje s širšim namenom zmanjšati ali odpraviti mednarodne trgovinske omejitve. WTO je prevzela principe in sporazume GATT ter skrbela za njihovo uvedbo in širitev. V nasprotju z GATT — om ima WTO trdno ustanovno strukturo. Organi WTO si sledijo po hierarhiji: Ministrska konferenca kot najvišji organ, sledi ji Generalni svet, pod njegovim nadzorom delujejo razni Sveti. Pod okriljem Svetov delujejo posamezni Odbori oziroma Komiteji, za reševanje konkretnih problemov pa so ustanovljene Delovne skupine. Vse naštete organe podpira Sekretariat. WTO nadzira veliko število sporazumov, ki določajo pravila trgovanja med njenimi državami članicami. WTO spodbuja ekonomsko globalizacijo in svobodno trgovino. V Svetovni trgovinski organizaciji deluje sistem za reševanje sporov, ki je eden največjih dosežkov Urugvajskega kroga pogajanj. Leta 2001 so države članice WTO sprožile nov krog pogajanj namenjen večji liberalizaciji svetovne trgovine (Doha razvojna agenda—DDA) . Po večkratnih prekinitvah pogajanj prizadevanja za njihov ponovni zagon in uspešni zaključek še vedno potekajo. Po optimističnih napovedih bi naj bila zaključena do konca leta 2010. WTO sodeluje tudi z drugimi mednarodnimi organizacijami, na primer z Mednarodnim denarnim skladom (IMF), Svetovno banko in z drugimi institucijami. Danes je v WTO vključenih 153 držav članic, 30 držav pa ima status opazovalk.World Trade Organization is an international organisation with its headquarters in Geneva. The organisation is the successor of the General Agreement in Tariffs and Trade, known by its abbreviation GATT. The last, eight round of negotiation within GATT, called the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations, formally lead to the establishment of the WTO (1. January 1995). Slovenia is a member of the WTO since 30. July 1995. The goal or the purpose of the organisation in elimination of obstacles in the international trade, its efforts are focused on liberalisation of world trade. Its broader purpose is reduction or elimination of international trade restrictions. WTO has taken over the principles and agreements of the GATT and took care of its implementation and expansion. In contrast with the GATT, the WTO has a solid institutional structure. The boards of the WTO are arranged hierarchically: the Ministerial Conference as the highest board, then comes the General council, there are many Councils working under its supervision. Under the supervision of the Councils we have many Committees and when it comes to solving concrete problems we have Working Groups. All these boards are supported by the Secretariat. WTO supervises many agreements, which define the rules of trading among member states. The WTO stimulates an economic globalisation and free trade. There is a system for solving conflicts working in the World Trade Organisation. This is one of the biggest achievements of the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations. In 2001 the member states of the WTO started a new round of negotiations, which should increase the liberalisation of the world trade (Doha development agenda – DDA). Due to many interruptions in the negotiations, the efforts of its renewed beginning and successful conclusion are still in progress. The most optimistic forecasts say, that the negotiations could be concluded till 2010. WTO cooperates with other international organisations, such as IMF (International Monetary Fund), the World Bank and other institutions. Today the WTO has 153 member states, 30 states have an observer status