Issues covered by the WTO’s committees and agreements

GATT and the Goods Council 

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) covers international trade in goods. The workings of the GATT agreement are the responsibility of the Council for Trade in Goods (Goods Council) which is made up of representatives from all WTO member countries. The current chair is .

The Goods Council has 10 committees dealing with specific subjects (such as agriculture, market access, subsidies, anti-dumping measures and so on). Again, these committees consist of all member countries.

Also reporting to the Goods Council are a working party on state trading enterprises, and the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) Committee.

See also:
> WTO Agreements and Public Health — A joint study by WHO and the WTO Secretariat

> GATT 1947 and GATT 1994: what’s the difference ?

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News 

 

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Introduction 

Information on GATT and the Goods Council links to the GATT and Goods Council section of the WTO guide “Understanding the WTO”.

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The mandate 

Summary of the legal texts of the GATT

Browse or download the text of the “Multilateral Agreement on trade in goods” from the legal texts gateway

Buy the WTO Agreements series: GATT 1994 & 1947 from the Online Bookshop

Find decisions of WTO bodies concerning the GATT agreement in the Analytical Index — Guide to WTO Law and Practice

History of the GATT

Twenty-three countries signed the Final Act of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) on 30 October 1947 after a period of intensive negotiations. The lead negotiators had profoundly disagreed on the level of ambition to be achieved by the negotiations but finally overcame their differences.

 

DISPUTES 

> List of disputes citing GATT 1994

> List of disputes citing GATT 1947

 

COUNCIL MEETINGS