The short characteristic of agreements of the World Trade Organization is provided in article: Agricultural industry, Sanitary and fytosanitory actions, Rules of definition of an origin of the goods, Technical barriers in trade, "Protective measures", "Services", "Intellectual property", "Settlement of disputes".
Short characteristic of agreements
Agreements of the WTO extend on trade in the goods, services and intellectual property. In them it is exact and principles of free trade and admissible exceptions are in details painted. Agreements contain obligations of the countries to lower customs tariffs and other trading restrictions, and also to open and not to close domestic markets of services for the foreign partners. In agreements procedures of settlement of disputes are described. Special conditions for developing states are provided.
The governments of the countries within these agreements are obliged to report about foreign trade policy carried out by them, notifying the WTO on laws in force and the accepted measures, and also to send regular reports to the WTO secretariat concerning a trade policy of the states.
Agricultural industry. The sphere of settlement of the Agreement on agricultural industry is trade in fresh agricultural production and products of its processing. The agreement defines three main spheres concerning which members of the WTO assume obligations: access to domestic market, internal support of agricultural industry and export subsidies. In particular, application of non-tariff measures as method of regulation of trade should be excluded. The agreement demands from the countries of adoption of the obligation on reduction of internal support of agricultural industry in that part which makes the distorted impact on trade (for example, export subsidies).
Sanitary and fytosanitory actions. The agreement on sanitary and fytosanitory actions is aimed at ensuring protection of health of the person, plants and animals, and thus shouldn’t lead to unjustified discrimination and the hidden restriction of international trade. The agreement provides harmonization by members of the WTO of national sanitary and fytosanitory actions on the basis of the international standards, instructions and the recommendations developed by the international organizations (The commission “the Code Alimentarius”, the International convention on protection of plants). The agreement allows establishment by the country – the member of the WTO of sanitary and fytosanitory actions for the purpose of achievement of appropriate level of protection which can exceed the international requirements under condition of existence of objective scientific justification of such actions and if they don’t limit essentially international trade.
Ruled definitions of an origin of the goods. The agreement obliges the participating countries of the WTO to harmonize national rules of an origin of the goods and to use them so that not to create additional obstacles for international trade. Rules of definition of an origin are used at application of "most favored nation treatment", the anti-dumping and compensatory duties, protective measures, and also any other quantitative restrictions or the tariff quotas. They also are used at application of any discrimination quantitative restrictions and the tariff quotas at implementation of the state purchases and in a trade policy. Provisions of the agreement define that the application principle of only such information which testifies to an origin of the goods is put in a basis of rules of definition of an origin of the goods. The agreement provides continuation of negotiations in this sphere.
Technical standards in trade. The agreement recognizes the right of each member to establish obligatory technical standards, including requirements concerning packing and marking of the goods which purpose is ensuring quality of production, production requirements, protection of life and safety of people, animals and plants, protection of environment and providing requirements of a homeland security. The agreement divides technical regulations which are obligatory requirements, and "standards" which are voluntary. The agreement demands from members of the WTO of use of the international standards as a basis for development of national standards, except cases when the international standards would be inefficient or insufficient for performance of reasonable additional tasks because of climatic, geographical or technological problems of the member country of the WTO. In this case members of the WTO should provide on request of other members of the WTO an explanation of the bases for those technical regulations which don’t answer the international standards and to report in the WTO Secretariat about introduction of such regulations. The agreement defines accurate rules of certification of the import goods which provide mutual recognition by members of the WTO of processes of certification and certificates. Also the Agreement establishes the obligation of each member of the WTO to organize in the territory information center through which any interested parties could receive information on national standards and standardization system.
Protective measures. The agreement on protective measures allows to limit temporarily to the countries of the WTO volumes of an import of the separate goods if during official investigation it was established that this import causes a damage to a national producer. The agreement defines an order of introduction of protective measures, and also establishes a temporary framework of application of these actions. The agreement forbids application of protective measures which aren’t regulated by rules GATTs and their elimination during 4 – x is required years.
Services. In the General agreement on trade in services principles of more free export and an import of services irrespective of a way of their implementation are documentary fixed. The agreement contains three blocks of the rights and obligations. In the first definition of trade and delivery of services is made and established that the sphere of action of the agreement extends both on cross-border movement of services, and on their implementation and consumption within national territories of member countries of the WTO, principles of use of a national treatment and a most favored nation treatment in the sphere of trade are formulated by services, procedural and other provisions are described. Considering specifics of trade in services, the most favored nation treatment and a national treatment are applied in this sphere with considerable exceptions (individual to each country). Cancellation of quantitative quotas also has selective character, and the decision on it is accepted during negotiations. Members of the WTO assume individual obligations within the General agreement on trade in services in opening of domestic markets of services for foreign suppliers. The second and third blocks – it appendices which determine the status of separate types of service and lists of initial reciprocal concessions by access on the markets of services.
Intellectual property. The agreement of the WTO on trading aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) establishes standards and principles regarding ensuring intellectual property rights, and also procedures and methods of their protection. By definition of Agreement TRIPS by intellectual property are considered: author’s rights, trademarks, place names which are used for the name of the goods, industrial designs (designs), topology of integrated chips, and also unsolved information, for example, trading secrets. The agreement also establishes procedures of consultations between members of the WTO in a case when a certain member of the WTO considers that practice of licensing or a business condition in other country of the WTO is violation of agreement TRIPS, or negatively influences the diligent competition.
Settlement of disputes. The agreement on rules and procedures of settlement of disputes provides system creation, by means of which country could regulate inconsistent questions during consultations. If it isn’t possible to them, the countries can use accurately certain stage-by-stage procedure which provides the solution of questions by attraction of a group of experts, and also provides possibility to appeal on the decision of expert group. The increasing number of complaints which are considered within the WTO testifies to trust to a dispute settlement system.
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