The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is not a simple extension of GATT. On the contrary, it completely replaces its predecessor and has a very different character. Among the principal differences are the following:
i. The GATT was a set of rules, a multilateral agreement, with no institutional foundation, only a small associated secretariat which had its origins in the attempt to establish an International Trade Organisation in the 1940s. The WTO is a permanent institution with its own secretariat.
ii. The GATT was applied on a “provisional basis”, even if, after more than forty years, governments chose to treat it as a permanent commitment. The WTO commitments are full and permanent.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
iii. The GATT rules applied to trade in merchandise goods. In addition to goods, the WTO covers trade in service and trade-related aspects of intellectual property.
iv. While GATT was a multilateral instrument, by the 1980s, many new agreements which constitute the WTO are almost all multilateral and, thus, involve commitments for the entire membership.
v. The WTO dispute settlement system is faster, more automatic, and thus much less susceptible to blockages, than the old GATT system.
The implementation of WTO dispute findings will also be more easily assured.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The “GATT 1947′ continued to exist until the end of 1995, thereby allowing time for all GATT member countries to accede to the WTO and permitting an overlap of activity in areas like dispute settlement.
Moreover, GATT lived on as “GATT 1994,” the amended and updated version of GATT 1947, which is an integral part of the WTO Agreement and which continues to provide the key disciplines affecting international trade in goods.
Image Source: authorstream.s3.amazonaws.com