X-Nico

7 unusual facts about World Trade Organization


Champagne, Switzerland

In 1974, vintners in the Swiss city were ordered by the World Trade Organization to cease using "champagne" in the name of the white wine produced there since the 9th century.

Daniel H. Rosen

Prior to his work with Rhodium Group, he was Senior Advisor for International Economic Policy at the United States National Economic Council and National Security Council from 2000–2001, where he worked on China's accession to the World Trade Organization.

Jean Rénald Clérismé

Clérsimé was ambassador of Haiti to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Trade Center (ITC), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland, from 2001 to 2003.

K. N. Govindacharya

Govindacharya foresaw the disastrous impact of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations and the prospects of World Trade Organization (WTO).

Mickey Kantor

An advocate of free trade, Kantor, as Trade Representative, led U.S. negotiations that created the World Trade Organization (WTO), such as the Uruguay Round, and North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

World Trade Organization

The fourth ministerial conference was held in Doha in the Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.

Richard Harold Steinberg (2002) argues that although the WTO's consensus governance model provides law-based initial bargaining, trading rounds close through power-based bargaining favouring Europe and the U.S., and may not lead to Pareto improvement.


2006 Russian ban of Moldovan and Georgian wines

EU's external relations commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner stated that the EU was worried about what she called an "embargo" against Moldova, but the EU couldn't take any measures since Russia was not a member of the World Trade Organization.

AnimeSuki

Though fansubs are technically copyright violations, AnimeSuki's legal page alleges that the WTO TRIPS Agreement specifies that the distribution of copyrighted material is only necessarily illegal when done on a commercial scale, thus making it difficult for anyone besides the copyright holder to prosecute fansubbers.

Asia-Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade

Since its launch, the Network has attracted 40 member research institutions from the developing countries of the region and has gained some additional partners, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Charlene Barshefsky

In 1999 she was the primary negotiator with China's Zhu Rongji, laying out the terms for China's eventual entry into the World Trade Organization in December 2001.

Chief Agricultural Negotiator

During negotiation of the Uruguay Round of GATT talks that led ultimately to creation of the World Trade Organization, Charles J. O'Mara, a Senior Foreign Service officer of the Foreign Agricultural Service, was appointed Counsel for International Affairs to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and Special Trade Negotiator for Agriculture.

Global Semiconductor Alliance

China is accepted as a member of the World Trade Organization, paving the way for many semiconductor companies to enter China.

Intellectual Property Watch

Intellectual Property Watch is a Geneva based publication reporting on policy issues and influences relating to international organizations (IOs), especially those in Geneva such as the World Intellectual Property Organization, World Trade Organization, World Health Organization and International Telecommunication Union.

Liberal international economic order

The World Trade Organization, for example, creates and implements free trade agreements, while the World Bank issues structural adjustment loans to Third World governments that include conditions ranging from opening up their markets to Western businesses to privatizing public utilities.

Mari Pangestu

In late December 2012 the Indonesian Government nominated Mari Pangestu as a candidate for the position of Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to succeed the incumbent Director-General, Pascal Lamy, whose term ends in 2013.

Peoples' Global Action

Subsequent Global Action Days have included the 'carnival against capital' (June 18, 1999), the 3rd World Trade Organization summit in Seattle (November 30, 1999), the International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting in Prague (September 26, 2000), the G8 meeting in Genoa (June 21, 2000) the 4th WTO summit in Qatar (November 9, 2001), etc.

Summer Palace Dialogue

Merit E. Janow: Professor of International Trade/WTO Law, Director of International Finance and Economic Policy Program, and Co-Director of the APEC Study Center, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University; Former Member, Appellate Body from North America, World Trade Organization (WTO).


see also

RGF

Really Good Friends, sub-group of members of the World Trade Organization

Yerxa

Rufus Yerxa, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO)