World Trade Organization
Context:
- The recently held 13th Ministerial Conference (MCA 13) of the World Trade Organization announced new rules to streamline the international trade in services.
- These regulations apply on a Most Favored Nation (MFN) basis.
- The regulations aim to make authorization processes more transparent and accessible, with commitments to gender equality.
- However it is important to note that only 72 out of the WTO’s 164 members are a party to the agreement.
- Among the other countries India and South Africa did not sign this agreement.
- Apart from that, global leaders at the meeting, being held in Abu Dhabi argued for the need to reduce the trade in plastics citing greenhouse emissions from its use.
- They also emphasized the need to rationalize, phase out or eliminate harmful fossil fuel subsidies through existing or even through new mechanisms.
- At the conference, 49 members which exclude big economies like India, the US and China, also discussed a fossil fuel subsidy reform initiative.
- The proposed initiative builds on the WTO members’ commitments under Sustainable Development Goal 12(c) of the 2030 Agenda and in the context of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
- India not being signatory to the agreement has said that as a multilateral trade body, the WTO should focus on core issues like WTO reforms, reviving the appellate body, agriculture reforms, etc.
- The proposed regulations are a response to the bureaucratic challenges faced by businesses in cross-border service trade, aiming to simplify procedures and promote equal opportunities for service suppliers worldwide.
About WTO:
- The World Trade Organization(WTO) is an intergovernmental organization which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
- WTO aims to regulate and facilitate international trade.
- Governments across the world use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that govern international trade in cooperation with the United Nations System.
- The WTO is the world’s largest international economic organization representing over 98% of global trade and global GDP.
- The WTO facilitates trade in goods, services and intellectual property among participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements.
- The agreements usually aim to reduce or eliminate tariffs, quotas, and other restrictions; these agreements are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their legislatures.
- It also administers independent dispute resolution for enforcing participants adherence to trade agreements and also resolving trade-related disputes.
- The organization also prohibits discrimination between trading partners, but provides exceptions for environmental protection, national security, and other important goals.
- It officially commenced operations on 1 January 1995, pursuant to the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, thus replacing the previous General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade(GATT) which had been established in 1948.
- Its top decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which is composed of all member states.
- Ministerial Conference usually convenes biennially; consensus is emphasized in all decisions.
- Day-to-day functions are handled by the General Council which is made up of representatives from all members.
