Write a short note on WTO.
World Trade Organisation (WTO) is an international body which aims at liberalising international trade. It was started at the initiative of the developed countries.
i. WTO establishes rules regarding international trade,
ii. It sees that these rules are obeyed by the member countries,
iii 149 countries of the world are currently members of the WTO (2006).
WTO Head Quarters is situated in Geneva, Switzerland. It was established in the year 1995. There are 151 member countries in WTO and its budget for the year 2007 is 182 million Swiss francs.
The functions of the WTO are as follows:
• Administering WTO trade agreements.
• Forum for trade negotiations.
• Handling trade disputes.
• Monitoring national trade policies.
• Technical assistance and training for developing countries.
• Cooperation with other international organizations.
What are the various ways in which MNCs set up, or control, production in other countries?
How has liberalisation of trade and investment policies helped the globalisation process?
What was the reasons for putting barriers to foreign trade and foreign investment by the Indian government? Why did it wish to remove these barriers?
Why do developed countries want developing countries to liberalise their trade and investment? What do you think should the developing countries demand in return?
How does foreign trade lead to integration of markets across countries? Explain with an example other than those given here.