World Trade Organization (WTO)

An international organisation based in Geneva concerned with the regulation of international trade. The WTO currently has 164 members, including all of the world's largest economies. It was created in 1995, and was preceded by the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1947).

WTO members' obligations are set out in the various WTO agreements, which cover trade in goods, trade in services, intellectual property, and government procurement. The agreements also contain institutional and administrative provisions as well as procedures for resolving disputes.

The WTO agreements address a wide range of areas and activities, but there are several basic principles that cut across these different agreements including the most favoured nation treatment rule, which prohibits discrimination between different WTO members, and the national treatment rule, which prohibits discrimination against imported goods and services.

For more information, see Practice note: overview, International Trade Law: Overview: The WTO: Overview.