Vol. 3, Issue 6, Part P (2017)

One of the youngest of the international organizations, the WTO is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) established in the wake of the Second World War. The system was developed through a series of trade negotiations, or rounds, held under GATT. The World Trade Organization came into being in 1995. The General Council delegates responsibilities to three major bodies- namely the council for trade in goods, trade in services, trade-related aspects of intellectual property. The structure of WTO is dominated by its highest authority, the Ministerial Conference, composed of representative of all WTO members, which is required to meet at least every two years and which can make decision on all matters. The WTO Secretariat is located in Geneva. The WTO is specialized agency and would address not only trade barriers but other issue indirectly related to trade, including employment, investment, restrictive business practices, and commodity agreements. WTO’s current Director-General is Roberto Azevedo, who leads a staff of over 600 people in Geneva, Switzerland. The total member of the WTO is 159. India is one of the founder members of WTO. WTO is receiving the deepest indulgence of everyone, as it is affecting the major sector of Indian Economy and agriculture in particular now and more intensively in coming years. This paper includes Objectives and Functions of WTO, Council for Trade in Goods, Council for Trade in Services, Council for Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), Dispute Settlement, Trade Related Investment Measures (TRIMS), Organizational structure of WTO and WTO and India.