World Trade Organization (WTO) Established

The WTO turned the postwar tariff agreement into a permanent organization with binding dispute settlement, and its rules still underpin how goods are valued, assigned an origin and taxed at borders. Where the GATT covered only trade in goods, WTO agreements also cover services and intellectual property. Members commit to maximum bound tariff rates and to treating trading partners equally, with exceptions for free trade agreements and trade remedies such as antidumping duties. For importers, WTO rules explain the most favored nation rates in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and recent tariff disputes show how much trade depends on whether members follow those rules.

• Harmonized Tariff ScheduleHTSUS product codes that set import duty rates
• Antidumping DutyADExtra duty on goods sold below fair value
• Country of OriginCountry where goods were made

• Uruguay Round1986–1994 · GATT talks end by creating the WTO
• Kennedy Round1964–1967 · GATT talks cut industrial tariffs by about 35 percent
• Bretton Woods Conference1944 · 44 nations create the IMF and World Bank

• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)1947 · Postwar treaty that set most-favored-nation tariff rules
• Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA)1974–2004 · 1974 to 2004 quota system for textile and apparel trade
• Information Technology Agreement1996, expanded 2015 · WTO deal eliminating tariffs on IT products

1. World Trade Organization (Wikipedia) en.wikipedia.org
2. Marrakesh Declaration of 15 April 1994 (World Trade Organization) wto.org