Page 552 - SSB Interview: The Complete Guide, Second Edition

supported by the United States of America. During the period of 1986 to
1994, Uruguay negotiations took place. On 15 April 1994, the agreement
known as the Marrakesh Agreement was accepted by 123 nations. The WTO
was officiated on 1 January 1995 after the Cold War period.

WTO and GATT

The WTO emerged as a replacement for GATT. GATT came into existence
as a set of pacts made after World War II. GATT was enforced by nations
who won World War II, but the WTO is a mutual association of all the

countries.

Members and Observers

India has been one of the founder members of the WTO since 1 January 1995
and was also a member of GATT from 8 July 1948. The WTO has 23
observer countries and 164 members. All these numbers are mentioned as per

the information available in December 2017.

Principles of the WTO

1. Non-Discrimination:

a. Most powerful nation treating other nations equally

No country is allowed to discriminate in trading except under a few
exceptional circumstances.

b. National Treatment: Treating foreigners and locals equally

This principle is applied to an item or commodity only after it is
introduced in the market.

2. Free Trade:
This aspect focuses more on reducing customs duties to lift import bans,

to increase import quota and to remove trading restrictions.