The World Trade Oganization began life on 1 January 1995, but its trading system is half a century older. Since 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) had provided the rules for the system. [from WTO website]
"Essentially, the WTO is a place where member governments go, to try to sort out the trade problems they face with each other. The first step is to talk. The WTO was born out of negotiations, and everything the WTO does is the result of negotiations.
Where countries have faced trade barriers and wanted them lowered, the negotiations have helped to liberalize trade. But the WTO is not just about liberalizing trade, and in some circumstances its rules support maintaining trade barriers — for example to protect consumers or prevent the spread of disease."
This week poker players around the world learned a very big lesson: When the biggest, wealthiest, most powerful government on earth does not want you to play online, you are not going to play online.
Today the WTO Antigua-Barbuda dispute with the United States was settled for $21 Million a year not the $3.2 Billion previously awarded. A few days ago the European Union settle its similar dispute with the United State with some minor trade concessions.
