The World Trade Organization: membership, seat and the round that created it
Background
The World Trade Organization is the only international organization dealing with the global rules of trade, and it came into being in 1995.
It was created by the Uruguay Round negotiations held from 1986 to 1994 and is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
From 1947 to 1994 the GATT was the forum for negotiating lower tariffs and other trade barriers.
Since 1995 the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO and its annexes have been the WTO's umbrella agreement.
The WTO has 166 members, accounting for 98% of world trade, and a total of 22 countries are negotiating membership.
Decisions are made by the entire membership, typically by consensus, and the agreements have been ratified in all members' parliaments.
The top level decision-making body is the Ministerial Conference, which meets usually every two years; below it is the General Council.
The WTO Secretariat, based in Geneva, has around 600 staff, is headed by a Director-General and has no branch offices outside Geneva.
In plain words
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade — The WTO's predecessor, the trade negotiating forum from 1947 to 1994.
Ministerial Conference The WTO's highest decision-making body — It usually meets every two years.
Marrakesh Agreement Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization — The umbrella agreement with annexes on goods, services and intellectual property.