Tidbits, WTO, Tariffs & China 4/6/25
- Wright Team
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
The primary purpose of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is to promote fair and free global trade by developing international trade rules, resolving disputes, and facilitating negotiations and discussions on trade matters, ultimately aiming to improve global living standards and foster sustainable development. The WTO was formed in 1995 and replaced the General Agreement on Trades and Tariffs, aka GATT.
The WTO accomplishes its mission by:
Administering Trade Agreements, ensuring that they are followed and that trade flows smoothly.
Providing a Forum for Trade Negotiations for member countries to negotiate new trade agreements.
Handling Trade Disputes via its dispute settlement system ensuring that trade rules are respected.
Monitoring Trade Policies to ensure that they are consistent with the agreements they have signed.
Technical Assistance and Training to developing economies to help them build their trade capacity.
Cooperation with Other International Organizations, such as the World Bank and the United Nations, to promote economic development and sustainable development.
China joined the WTO in 2001 after years of negotiations and broken Chinese promises. One of the requirements to join the WTO, which China desperately wanted to do, was to stop subsidizing Chinese farmers to produce corn and selling the corn into the export market below the cost of production, which is called “dumping.” In the 1990s, China was the top competitor of the U.S. in the world marketplace as a corn supplier.
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