WTO Words


关贸总协定，世界贸易组织的前身 GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)


世界贸易组织 WTO (World Trade Organization)


乌拉圭回合 Uruguay Round


最惠国待遇（现通常称"正常贸易关系"）MFN（most-favored-nation) treatment


争端解决机构 dispute settlement body


《关于争端解决规则与程序的谅解》 DSU (Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes)


《北美自由贸易协定》 NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)


东盟自由贸易区 ASEAN Free Trade Area


东部和南部非洲共同市场 COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa)


反倾销措施 anti-dumping measures against…


非配额产品 quota-free products


非生产性投资 investment in non-productive projects


风险管理/评估 risk management/ assessment


国际收支 balance of international payments/ balance of payment


实行国民待遇 grant the national treatment to


瓶颈制约 "bottleneck" restrictions


非洲、加勒比和太平洋国家集团（洛美协定） ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific Group)


（补贴协议）可诉补贴 actionable subsidy


上诉机构 appeal body


基础税率 base tariff level


国际收支条款 BOP(Balance-of-payments) Provisions


既定日程 built-in agenda


约束水平 bound level


(欧盟）共同农业政策 Common Agriculture Policy


规避 circumvention


反补贴税 countervailing duty


交叉报复 cross retaliation


海关完税价值 customs value


环保型技术 EST(Environmentally-sound technology)


出口实绩 export performance


出口补贴 export subsidy


粮食安全 food security


免费搭车者(享受其他国家最惠国待遇而不进行相应减让的国家) free-rider


政府采购government procurement


灰色区域措施 grey area measures


WTO最不发达国家高级别会议 HLM (WTO High-level Meeting for LDCs)


协调制度（商品名称及编码协调制度） HS (Harmonized Commodity and Coding System)


进口许可 import licensing


进口渗透 import penetration


最初谈判权(初谈权) INRs (Initial Negotiating Rights)


知识产权 IPRs (Intellectual property rights)


最不发达国家 LDCs (Least-developed countries)


当地含量 local content


市场准入 market access


专门的营销机构 market boards


(服务贸易)自然人 national person


国民待遇 national treatment


(利益的)丧失和减损 nullification and impairment


(争端解决)专家组 panel


(《农业协议》中关于反补贴的)和平条款 peace clause


诸边协议 plurilateral agreement


(服务贸易)自然人流动 presence of natural person


生产补贴 production subsidy


消费膨胀 inflated consumption　


慢性萧条 chronic depression　


进口环节税 import linkage tax


北美自由贸易区 NAFTA (North American Free Trade Area)


全球配额 global quota


祖父条款 grandfather clause


贸易和投资自由化和便利化 TILF (Trade and Investment Liberalization and Facilitation)


国际清算 international settlement


横向兼并 horizontal merger


垂直兼并 vertical merger


垃圾融资 junk financing


申报制度 reporting system; income declaration system


市场准人的行政管理措施 AAMA (Administrative Aspects of Market Access)

History of WTO



The World Trade Organization came into being in 1995. It is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War.


The multilateral trading system was developed through a series of trade negotiations, or rounds. The first rounds dealt mainly with tariff reductions but later negotiations included other areas such as anti-dumping and non-tariff measures. The latest round, the 1986*94 Uruguay Round, led to the WTO's creation.



The negotiations did not end there. Some continued after the end of the Uruguay Round. In February 1997 agreement was reached on telecommunications services, with 69 governments agreeing to wide-ranging liberalization measures that went beyond those agreed in the Uruguay Round.



In the same year 40 governments concluded negotiations for tariff-free trade in information technology products, and 70 members concluded a financial services deal covering more than 95% of trade in banking, insurance, securities and financial information.



At the May 1998 ministerial meeting in Geneva, WTO members agreed to study trade issues arising from global electronic commerce.



The next ministerial conference is due to be held in Seattle of the United States in late 1999.



In 2000, new talks are due to start on agriculture and services and possibly a range of other issues.

Organization of WTO




Ministerial Conference

The WTO's top level decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference which meets at least once every two years.



General Council


Below the Ministerail Conference is the General Council (normally ambassadors and heads of delegation in Geneva, but sometimes officials sent from members' capitals) which meets several times a year in the Geneva headquarters. The General Council also meets as the Trade Policy Review Body and the Dispute Settlement Body.



At the next level, the Goods Council, Services Council and Intellectual Property (TRIPS) Council report to the General Council.



Committees, working groups


Numerous specialized committees, working groups and working parties deal with the individual agreements and other areas such as the environment, development, membership applications and regional trade agreements.



The first Ministerial Conference in Singapore in 1996 added three new working groups to this structure. They deal with the relationship between trade and investment, the interaction between trade and competition policy and transparency in government procurement.



At the second Ministerial Conference in Geneva in 1998 ministers decided that the WTO would also study the area of electronic commerce, a task to be shared out among existing councils and committees.



Secretariat


The WTO Secretariat, based in Geneva, has around 500 staff and is headed by a director-general. It does not have branch offices outside Geneva. Since decisions are taken by the members themselves, the Secretariat does not have the decision-making role that other international bureaucracies are given.



The Secretariat's main duties are to supply technical support for the various councils and committees and the ministerial conferences, to provide technical assistance for developing countries, to analyze world trade, and to explain WTO affairs to the public and media. The Secretariat also provides some forms of legal assistance in the dispute settlement process and advises governments wishing to become members of the WTO. The annual budget is roughly 117 million Swiss francs.