Abstract
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body, the purpose of which is to promote free trade by persuading countries to abolish import tariffs and other barriers. It has little by little become closely associated with globalisation. The WTO is the only international institution supervising the rules of world trade. It rules the free trade agreements, controls trade disputes between states and organizes trade negotiations. The WTO was created in 1995 and is based in Geneva. It is the successor of another international organization: the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) which was set up by 23 countries in 1948 to reduce customs tariffs. The WTO agreements have been negotiated and signed by the majority of the world trading nations and ratified by their parliaments. It counts around 150 countries nowadays.
