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WTO Ministerial Conferences Introduction
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The topmost decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference,
which has to meet at least every two years. It brings together all members of
the WTO, all of which are countries or customs unions. The Ministerial
Conference can take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade
agreements.
The WTO is run by its member governments. All major decisions
are made by the membership as a whole, either by ministers (who meet at least
once every two years) or by their ambassadors or delegates (who meet regularly
in Geneva). Decisions are normally taken by consensus.
In this respect,
the WTO is different from some other international organizations such as the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund. In the WTO, power is not delegated
to a board of directors or the organization’s head.
When WTO rules impose
disciplines on countries’ policies, that is the outcome of negotiations among
WTO members. The rules are enforced by the members themselves under agreed
procedures that they negotiated, including the possibility of trade sanctions.
But those sanctions are imposed by member countries, and authorized by the
membership as a whole. This is quite different from other agencies whose
bureaucracies can, for example, influence a country’s policy by threatening to
withhold credit.
Reaching decisions by consensus among some 150 members
can be difficult. Its main advantage is that decisions made this way are more
acceptable to all members. And despite the difficulty, some remarkable
agreements have been reached. Nevertheless, proposals for the creation of a
smaller executive body — perhaps like a board of directors each representing
different groups of countries — are heard periodically. But for now, the WTO is
a member-driven, consensus-based organization.
Highest authority:
the Ministerial Conference
So, the WTO belongs to its members. The
countries make their decisions through various councils and committees, whose
membership consists of all WTO members. Topmost is the ministerial conference
which has to meet at least once every two years. The Ministerial Conference can
take decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade
agreements
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(Editor:Farah Song) (From:WTO Offical website)
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