World Trade Organization

Introduction
Origins
Objectives and operation
- Resolution of trade disputes
- Trade-policy reviews
Assessment

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

Workers operate sewing machines and stitch green and white garments at a busy garment factory in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Protesters march and hold colorful signs, including one reading Menghapus Subsidi Petani Junk WTO, during a demonstration against a World Trade Organization meeting in Denpasar, Indonesia.

At a Glance

World Trade Organization summary

Quizzes

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Related Questions

How did lower tariffs contribute to the growth of world trade after 1950?
How did the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade become the main system governing global trade before 1995?
How did the Havana Charter propose to regulate international trade after World War II?
How did the Tokyo Round address subsidies and countervailing duties?
How did the Uruguay Round lead to the creation of the World Trade Organization?
How do import quotas differ from tariffs?
How do tariffs limit international trade?
How does voting in the World Trade Organization differ from voting in the International Monetary Fund?
How much did total world trade grow between 1950 and 2000?
Under what conditions does the World Trade Organization allow free-trade areas and customs unions?
What did the Kennedy Round accomplish for tariffs and developing countries?
What goals does the World Trade Organization pursue in international trade?
What happened at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Seattle in 1999?
When did the World Trade Organization begin operating?
Which international trade agreement did the World Trade Organization replace?
Why are World Trade Organization members expected to avoid unilateral action during trade disputes?
Why did China face stricter conditions when it joined the World Trade Organization in 2001?
Why did some developing countries oppose trade sanctions tied to environmental and labour standards?
Why did the proposed International Trade Organization never take effect?
Why does the World Trade Organization cover services and intellectual property as well as goods?
Why have critics argued that the World Trade Organization can weaken national sovereignty?
Why have environmental and labour groups criticized trade liberalization supported by the World Trade Organization?
Why is reciprocity important in trade agreements?
What is the FIA and when was it founded?
What is the role of the FIA General Assembly?
What does UNESCO stand for?
Why was UNESCO founded?
Where does UNESCO get its funding?
What is the UNESCO World Heritage List?
How does UNESCO define literacy?
What challenges does the SCO face?
Who were the monuments men and women?
Was The Monuments Men a true story?

Politics, Law & Government International Relations

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External Websites

Center for Strategic & International Studies - World Trade Organizationï¿½Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way
EH.net - From GATT to WTO: The Evolution of an Obscure Agency to One Perceived as Obstructing Democracy
Official Site of the World Trade Organization
Council on Foreign Relations - What's Next for the WTO?
The Brookings Institution - The WTO and GATT: A Principled History

Britannica Websites

Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.

World Trade Organization - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
World Trade Organization (WTO) - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

World Trade Organization

international trade

Also known as: WTO

Written by

Kym Anderson

Professor of Economics and Foundation Director, Centre for International Economic Studies, University of Adelaide, Australia. Author of numerous monographs on the WTO, including Vietnam's Transforming...

Kym Anderson

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Oct. 8, 2026 •History

World Trade Organization (WTO), international organization established to supervise and liberalize world trade. The WTO is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which was created in 1947 in the expectation that it would soon be replaced by a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) to be called the International Trade Organization (ITO). Although the ITO never materialized, the GATT proved remarkably successful in liberalizing world trade over the next...