Global trading has been a part of the world since the 1940s. As trade between countries began to grow so did the need for some sort of international commerce. In 1948, the International Trade Organization (ITO) was established, but fell through and triggered the creation of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). GATT was created through several negotiations, known as rounds. For many years, GATT's policies held strong and offered many countries the international support they needed to remain prosperous in global trade. Though, as time went on, certain trade policies established by GATT were being undermined by countries in order for them to continue conducting business.
GATT's rules and regulations were becoming obsolete in the rapid changing global economy. "By the early 1980s the General Agreement was clearly no longer relevant to the realities of world trade as it had been in the 1940s. For a start, world trade had become far more complex and important than 40 years before: the globalization of the world economy was underway, trade in services - not covered by GATT rules - was of major interest to more and more countries, and international investment had expanded" (Web,1). The eighth round (Uruguay Round 1986-1994) was the most recent and thorough of them all. The Uruguay Round had 125 countries participating, it is the largest trade negotiation to ever take place. Though this round was expected to fail from the start, it actually started some of the largest trade reforms since GATT and WWII. This round, lasting some 7 1/2 years, established the World Trade Organization (WTO) and a new set of agreements.
The World Trade Organization was enacted on January 1, 1995. There are three main purposes of the WTO stated in the WTO web site. These three main goals are to help......
