World Trade Organization

General information

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is part of the United Nations system. It was established on 15 April 1994 in Marrakesh, Morocco and is based in Geneva, Switzerland. Like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the WTO  is an important institution that was created to regulate and facilitate global economic cooperation.

Once every two years ministers of the 164 WTO member countries meet to discuss how they can reduce customs tariffs for trade between countries, for instance, or whether such tariffs can be abolished altogether. The main objective of all the rules and monitoring the WTO introduces is to ensure that trade relations are as liberal and simple as possible and that no country is placed at a disadvantage as a result.

Further information
World Trade Organization website

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