IGS 10a Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Green Room, Free Trade, International Trade Organization
24 Jan 2017
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Document Summary
Wto established in 1995 with 104 founding members. Its 164 members now account for >90% of world trade. To make trade freer, fairer, more transparent. What the wto does: provide a forum for negotiations. New trade agreements negotiated in rounds (on going period of negotiation) on principle of reciprocity (i do something for you, you do something for me) Reports on policies of all members and provides technical assistance for ldcs. Interprets promises states have made and judges whether they have been broken. 53 nations signed the havana charter for an international trade organization (1948) But the us failed to ratify the ito charter. General agreement on tariffs and trade (gatt) provisionally replaced the ito. Tariffs: tax on imports (products that have to be declared through customs) Gatt held 8 trade rounds from 1947-1994; then it was subsumed into the wto. As tariffs come down in 1940s-1970s, trade steadily increased.
