Part III World Trade Law and Regional Trade Agreements, XII The World Trade Organization

Subject(s):

International investment law — International monetary law — International trade — Standards of treatment

This chapter provides an overview of the World Trade Organization (WTO), its membership, and its organs. The WTO is the centre of the new world trade system and operates as the institutional basis for the relations among its members, as governed by all trade agreements and instruments included in the annexes to the WTO Agreement. The WTO Members (currently 162) do not only include States, but also other separate customs territories possessing full autonomy in trade relations covered by WTO law. The inclusion of autonomous customs areas allows entities with disputed status under international law. Finally, the supreme organ of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference with representatives of all the members, which shall meet at least once every two years.