World Trade Organization (WTO)

It was established on 1 January 1995. Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland. It is the continuation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was created after World War II. While GATT mainly focused on trade in goods, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has a broader structure because it also covers areas such as trade in services and intellectual property rights. For this reason, the WTO is the most comprehensive organization that forms the institutional and legal framework of global trade.

The organization has 166 members that account for about 98% of world trade, and all members have joined the system through negotiations. For a country to become a member of the organization, the government must align its economic and trade policies with WTO rules. The organization obtains a large part of its annual budget from the contributions of its members. These contributions are based on a formula that takes into account each country's share in international trade.

The main aim of the WTO is to reduce barriers to trade, liberalize international trade, and thereby improve people's living standards. Reducing customs duties and making trade rules more transparent are among the efforts made to achieve this goal. The organization aims to ensure that trade operates in a predictable, rule-based, and stable manner, and it seeks to create opportunities for economic growth and development for both developing and developed countries.

One of the most important principles of the WTO is the principle of non-discrimination. According to this principle, if a country gives a trade advantage to another country, it must also provide the same advantage to other WTO members. In addition, according to this principle, domestically produced goods and imported goods must be treated equally. In this way, it is aimed to create a fair competition environment.

The WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism helps resolve trade disputes between member countries through panels and appellate bodies established within the organization. This contributes to preventing trade wars and supports the continuation of international trade on a legal basis. Through the Trade Policy Review Mechanism, the organization also monitors the practices of member countries and increases transparency.

The WTO aims to further liberalize trade through the negotiations it conducts. One of the most important negotiation rounds was the Uruguay Round, which took place between 1986 and 1994. This round led to the official establishment of the WTO.

Over the past 75 years, there has been extraordinary growth in world trade, and merchandise exports have increased by an average of 6% per year.

The WTO also receives various criticisms. One of the main criticisms is that issues such as environmental protection, workers’ rights, and social justice are not sufficiently included in trade rules. In recent years, trade tensions between major economies and the operational problems of the Appellate Body have also made the effectiveness of the WTO a subject of debate.

In conclusion, the WTO, which is one of the fundamental pillars of the global economic order, aims to ensure that international trade is conducted in a rule-based and transparent manner, while also containing both opportunities and debates within its structure. In today’s world, where globalization has accelerated, reforming the WTO to create a more inclusive and balanced trading system is of great importance.

References:

World Trade Organization. “World Trade Organization”. Available at: https://www.wto.org/ (Accessed: 10 March 2026).