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The World Trade Organization

తెలుగులో వివరణ

International economic organisations · Part 3 / 3 · Fact-checked on 26 October 2026 · how we check

Written with AI from the sources listed at the bottom of this page, then fact-checked by a separate AI.

How GATT 1947 grew into the WTO through the Uruguay Round, the WTO's bodies and consensus rule, most-favoured-nation and national treatment with their exceptions, bound tariffs and trade remedies, dispute settlement and the Appellate Body crisis, the Agreement on Agriculture and its boxes, public stockholding and the Bali peace clause, TRIPS and India's patent law (Section 3(d), Novartis), GATS modes and TRIMS, and the ministerial conferences from Doha to Abu Dhabi with India's positions.

Each idea is explained first in Telugu (తెలుగు), ending with the English and Hindi exam terms, followed by the same point in exam English. UPSC Prelims is in English or Hindi, so understand it in Telugu and revise it in English.

ఐఎంఎఫ్, ప్రపంచ బ్యాంకు డబ్బు సంగతి చూస్తాయి; ఇప్పుడు వ్యాపార నియమాల వంతు. ఒక పెద్ద వారపు సంతను ఊహించండి — ఎవరు ఎంత పన్ను కట్టాలి, గొడవ వస్తే ఎవరు తీర్చాలి అనే నియమాలు లేకపోతే గందరగోళం. ప్రపంచ సంతకు ఆ నియమాలు రాసి అమలు చేసేది ప్రపంచ వాణిజ్య సంస్థ. మన రైతుల నుంచి ప్రభుత్వం బియ్యం కొనడం, మందుల పేటెంట్లు, విదేశాల్లో మన ఇంజనీర్ల ఉద్యోగాలు — అన్నీ దీని నియమాలతో ముడిపడి ఉన్నాయి. (→ English: World Trade Organization · हिन्दी: विश्व व्यापार संगठन)

In exam EnglishParts 1 and 2 were about money: the IMF steadies payments and the development banks fund long-term projects. The third pillar of the post-war order is trade. The planners of 1944 also wanted an International Trade Organization, but it never came into being, and for almost five decades world trade ran on a stop-gap treaty, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Since 1995 the rules have been run by the World Trade Organization. For India they reach into how the government buys wheat and rice from farmers, how medicines are patented and how Indian engineers work abroad. This part covers the WTO's origin, principles and machinery, its main agreements and India's stand inside it.

1947లో 23 దేశాలు (భారత్‌తో సహా) గాట్ అనే ఒప్పందం చేసుకున్నాయి. ఇది అసలు సంస్థ వచ్చేవరకు వేసుకున్న తాత్కాలిక పందిరి లాంటిది — కానీ అసలు భవనం కట్టనేలేదు, పందిరే యాభై ఏళ్లు నిలిచింది. ఎనిమిది విడతల చర్చల్లో దిగుమతి సుంకాలు తగ్గాయి. చివరిదైన ఉరుగ్వే రౌండ్ 1994లో మరాకేష్ ఒప్పందంతో ముగిసి, వ్యవసాయం, సేవలు, మేధో సంపత్తిని కూడా నియమాల్లోకి తెచ్చి ప్రపంచ వాణిజ్య సంస్థను సృష్టించింది. (→ English: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade · Uruguay Round · हिन्दी: प्रशुल्क और व्यापार पर सामान्य समझौता · उरुग्वे दौर)

In exam EnglishThe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was signed at Geneva in October 1947 by 23 countries, India among them, and applied from 1 January 1948. It was meant to bridge the gap until the trade organisation proposed in the Havana Charter (1948) was set up. When the United States Congress did not approve that charter, GATT simply carried on without legal standing as an organisation; its members were called contracting parties. It lowered tariffs through eight negotiating rounds. Later rounds, such as the Tokyo Round (1973–79), also tackled non-tariff barriers. The eighth, the Uruguay Round, opened at Punta del Este in 1986 and ended with the Marrakesh Agreement of April 1994, which set up the WTO and, for the first time, put farm goods, textiles, services and intellectual property under common rules.

ఒక గ్రామ పంచాయతీని ఊహించండి: ఏడాదికోసారి గ్రామసభ (మంత్రుల సమావేశం — రెండేళ్లకోసారైనా తప్పనిసరి), మధ్యలో రోజువారీ పనులు చూసే కమిటీ (జనరల్ కౌన్సిల్). అదే కమిటీ తగాదాలు తీర్చే పెద్దల సభగా, ప్రతి ఇంటి లెక్కలు తనిఖీ చేసే సభగా కూడా కూర్చుంటుంది. కార్యదర్శి (డైరెక్టర్ జనరల్) సాయం చేస్తారు కానీ నిర్ణయం తీసుకోరు. అందరూ ఒప్పుకుంటేనే నిర్ణయం — అందుకే ప్రపంచ వాణిజ్య సంస్థలో చిన్న దేశం కూడా అడ్డుకోగలదు. (→ English: World Trade Organization · Ministerial Conference · General Council · हिन्दी: विश्व व्यापार संगठन · मंत्रिस्तरीय सम्मेलन · सामान्य परिषद)

In exam EnglishThe World Trade Organization began work on 1 January 1995 with its seat in Geneva, and India has been a member from that day. The top body is the Ministerial Conference of trade ministers, which must meet at least once every two years. Between conferences the General Council of members' envoys runs the WTO, and the same council also sits as the Dispute Settlement Body and as the Trade Policy Review Body. The Secretariat, headed by a Director-General, serves members but does not decide; since March 2021 the post has been held by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria, the first woman and the first African in it. Decisions are normally taken by consensus, so any of the 166 members (2024) can in practice hold up a deal.

అత్యంత అనుకూల దేశ హోదా అంటే పేరు చూసి 'ఒక దేశాన్ని ప్రత్యేకంగా చూడటం' అనుకోవద్దు — అర్థం దానికి వ్యతిరేకం. ఒక దుకాణదారుడు ఒక కస్టమర్‌కి ఇచ్చిన తగ్గింపు అందరికీ ఇవ్వాలి అన్నట్టు. జాతీయ సమాన వ్యవహారం అంటే: విదేశీ సైకిలు సరిహద్దు సుంకం కట్టి లోపలికి వచ్చాక, మన సైకిలు కంటే ఎక్కువ పన్ను వేయకూడదు. ఆసియాన్ లాంటి స్వేచ్ఛా వాణిజ్య ఒప్పందాలు, పేద దేశాలకు ప్రత్యేక రాయితీలు — ఇవి అనుమతించిన మినహాయింపులు. (→ English: most-favoured-nation treatment · national treatment · हिन्दी: सर्वाधिक अनुग्रहप्राप्त राष्ट्र व्यवहार · राष्ट्रीय व्यवहार)

In exam EnglishTwo rules sit at the core of the system. Under most-favoured-nation treatment (GATT Article I), any advantage a member grants to goods from one country must be extended at once and unconditionally to like goods from all members. The name suggests a favourite, but the rule means the opposite: no picking favourites among trading partners. Under national treatment (Article III), imported goods that have cleared customs must be treated no less favourably than local goods in internal taxes and regulations. A higher state tax on imported bicycles than on Indian-made ones would breach it, even if the customs duty was lawful. Article XXIV allows free trade areas and customs unions, which is how India can cut duties only for partners such as ASEAN or the UAE. The Enabling Clause (1979) allows preferences for developing countries, and many agreements give them special and differential treatment.

బౌండ్ టారిఫ్ అంటే ఆటోలో 'మీటర్ మీద ఇంత కంటే ఎక్కువ అడగను' అని రాసి పెట్టడం లాంటిది — తక్కువ తీసుకోవచ్చు, ఎక్కువ కాదు. ఇప్పుడు ఊహించండి: ఒక విదేశీ కంపెనీ తన దేశంలో వంద రూపాయలకు అమ్మే రసాయనాన్ని ఇక్కడ అరవైకి అమ్మి మన ఫ్యాక్టరీలను మూసేయిస్తోంది. అప్పుడు ఆ తేడాను పూడ్చే డంపింగ్ నిరోధక సుంకం వేయొచ్చు. విదేశీ ప్రభుత్వ సబ్సిడీకి ప్రతిగా ఒక సుంకం, హఠాత్తుగా దిగుమతులు పెరిగితే తాత్కాలిక రక్షణ — ఇవి మిగతా రెండు. (→ English: anti-dumping duty · countervailing duty · safeguard · हिन्दी: पाटनरोधी शुल्क · प्रतिकारी शुल्क · रक्षोपाय)

In exam EnglishMembers also bind their tariffs: each lists a ceiling rate for every product in its schedule, and may charge less but not more without offering compensation. India's bound rates on many farm goods are far above its applied rates, leaving room to raise duties. Three trade remedies are allowed. An anti-dumping duty may be imposed when a foreign firm sells abroad below its normal price at home and this injures the importing country's industry; a countervailing duty offsets a subsidy paid by a foreign government; and a safeguard measure temporarily limits a sudden surge of imports, even when the trade itself is fair. In India the Directorate General of Trade Remedies in the Commerce Ministry investigates and recommends, and the Finance Ministry levies the duty.

క్రికెట్‌లో అంపైర్ నిర్ణయంపై థర్డ్ అంపైర్‌కి అప్పీల్ చేస్తాం కదా. ఇక్కడ ప్యానెల్ మొదటి అంపైర్, అప్పిలేట్ బాడీ థర్డ్ అంపైర్. ఇప్పుడు ఊహించండి — థర్డ్ అంపైర్ కుర్చీ ఖాళీ, కొత్తవాళ్లను నియమించనివ్వడం లేదు. ఓడిన జట్టు 'అప్పీల్' అని చెప్పి నిర్ణయాన్ని గాల్లో వేలాడదీయవచ్చు. 2019 డిసెంబర్ నుంచి అదే జరుగుతోంది. కొన్ని దేశాలు తాత్కాలిక ఏర్పాటు చేసుకున్నాయి, భారత్ అందులో చేరలేదు. (→ English: Dispute Settlement Body · Appellate Body · हिन्दी: विवाद निपटान निकाय · अपीलीय निकाय)

In exam EnglishDisputes follow the Dispute Settlement Understanding. The two sides first consult; if that fails within 60 days, a panel of usually three experts hears the case, and either side may appeal on points of law to a standing Appellate Body of seven members. Rulings are adopted unless all members agree to reject them, so a losing country cannot block its own defeat, the key gain over GATT. That machinery has been jammed since December 2019: the United States had blocked new appointments, and the Appellate Body fell below the three members needed to hear an appeal. A losing party can now appeal 'into the void', leaving the ruling in limbo. In 2020 the European Union and others set up the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement as a stand-in; India has not joined it. India itself appealed a 2021 panel ruling against its sugar subsidies.

రంగుల పెట్టెలను ట్రాఫిక్ లైట్లలా అనుకోండి. అంబర్ బాక్స్ (పసుపు లైట్) అంటే 'జాగ్రత్త' — పంట ధరకు, ఉత్పత్తికి నేరుగా ఇచ్చే మద్దతు; దీనికి పరిమితి ఉంది, మనలాంటి అభివృద్ధి చెందుతున్న దేశానికి ఉత్పత్తి విలువలో 10 శాతం. గ్రీన్ బాక్స్ (పచ్చ లైట్) అంటే 'వెళ్లండి' — పరిశోధన, రైతులకు సలహాలు, పంటతో సంబంధం లేని ఆదాయ సాయం; పరిమితి లేదు. పేద, చిన్న రైతులకు ఇచ్చే ఎరువుల లాంటి రాయితీలకు ఆర్టికల్ 6.2 మినహాయింపు ఇస్తుంది. (→ English: amber box · green box · de minimis · हिन्दी: एम्बर बॉक्स · ग्रीन बॉक्स · न्यूनतम स्तर)

In exam EnglishThe Agreement on Agriculture disciplined farm trade on three fronts: market access, export subsidies, and domestic support. Domestic support is sorted into boxes by how much it distorts trade. The amber box holds the most distorting support, such as price support and subsidies tied to output; it is measured as the Aggregate Measurement of Support and capped. Every member may still give amber support up to a de minimis level: 5 per cent of the value of production for developed members and 10 per cent for developing ones. The blue box covers payments under programmes that limit production, and the green box covers support that distorts trade little or not at all, such as research, extension and income support not linked to output or prices; neither box is capped. Article 6.2, often called the development box, exempts investment subsidies and input subsidies for low-income or resource-poor farmers in developing countries.

Domestic farm support under the Agreement on Agriculture
Box	What it holds	Example	Limit
Amber	Trade-distorting support tied to output or prices	Market price support, output-linked subsidies	Capped: de minimis 5% (developed) or 10% (developing) of production value, or a bound AMS
Blue	Payments under production-limiting programmes	Payments on fixed area or herd size	No limit
Green	Support with no or minimal distortion	Research, extension, decoupled income support	No limit
Development (Art 6.2)	Investment and input subsidies for low-income or resource-poor farmers in developing countries	Input subsidies for small farmers	Exempt

ఉదాహరణ: ఒక వస్తువు ధరను ఇప్పటి రేటుతో కాకుండా ముప్పై ఏళ్ల క్రితం రేటుతో పోల్చి 'నువ్వు ఎంత ఎక్కువ ఇచ్చావో' లెక్కపెడితే, తేడా అసలుకంటే చాలా పెద్దగా కనిపిస్తుంది కదా. మద్దతు ధరతో మన ప్రభుత్వం బియ్యం కొనడాన్ని 1986–88 ధరలతో పోల్చడం వల్ల అదే జరుగుతోంది — 10 శాతం గీత దాటినట్టు కనిపిస్తుంది. అందుకే 2013 బాలీలో శాంతి నిబంధన వచ్చింది: పేదలకు ఆహార నిల్వల విషయంలో కేసు వేయరు. 2020లో దీన్ని మొదట వాడుకున్నది భారతే. (→ English: peace clause · public stockholding for food security · हिन्दी: शांति खंड · खाद्य सुरक्षा के लिए सार्वजनिक भंडारण)

In exam EnglishThis is where India's food policy runs into the rules. When the Food Corporation of India buys wheat and rice at minimum support prices for the public distribution system, the support counts in the amber box. It is worked out as the gap between the administered price and a fixed external reference price from 1986–88, multiplied by the quantity eligible for support. Because that reference price is decades old, its rice support can cross the 10 per cent ceiling even when the real benefit to farmers is modest. At the Bali Ministerial Conference (2013) India secured an interim peace clause: members would not bring disputes against developing countries' public stockholding of traditional staple food crops, subject to notification and transparency conditions. A General Council decision of November 2014 kept it in force until a permanent solution is adopted. In 2020 India became the first member to invoke it, after notifying that its rice support for 2018-19 had exceeded the limit.

పేటెంట్ అంటే ఆవిష్కర్తకు 'ఇరవై ఏళ్లు ఇది నీదే, ఇంకెవరూ తయారుచేయకూడదు' అని ఇచ్చే హక్కు. 1970 చట్టంలో మనం మందు తయారీ విధానానికి మాత్రమే పేటెంట్ ఇచ్చేవాళ్లం — వేరే విధానంతో అదే మందు చౌకగా చేయొచ్చు. ట్రిప్స్ వల్ల 2005లో మందుకే పేటెంట్ ఇవ్వాల్సి వచ్చింది. కానీ పాత మందుకు చిన్న మార్పు చేసి కొత్త పేటెంట్ అడిగితే, ప్రభావం పెరగకపోతే ఇవ్వం — సెక్షన్ 3(డి). ప్రజారోగ్యం కోసం ప్రభుత్వం నిర్బంధ లైసెన్సు ఇచ్చి ఇతరులతో తయారు చేయించవచ్చు. (→ English: compulsory licence · TRIPS · Section 3(d) · हिन्दी: अनिवार्य अनुज्ञप्ति · ट्रिप्स · धारा 3(घ))

In exam EnglishThe Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) sets minimum standards for patents, copyright, trademarks, geographical indications and other rights. Patents must be available for inventions in all fields of technology, for products as well as processes, and must last at least 20 years from the filing date. This forced a large change in India, whose Patents Act, 1970 allowed only process patents for medicines, so Indian firms could copy foreign drugs cheaply by another process. India brought in product patents through the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005, but kept Section 3(d), which refuses patents for new forms of known substances unless they enhance the known efficacy. In Novartis v. Union of India (2013) the Supreme Court applied Section 3(d) to deny a patent on a new form of the cancer drug imatinib mesylate. TRIPS also allows a compulsory licence, under which a government lets others make a patented product without the owner's consent; the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health (2001) affirmed this right.

సేవల వ్యాపారం నాలుగు రకాలు: బెంగళూరులో కూర్చొని అమెరికా కంపెనీకి సాఫ్ట్‌వేర్ రాయడం (మోడ్ 1), విదేశీ రోగి చెన్నైకి వచ్చి వైద్యం చేయించుకోవడం (మోడ్ 2), విదేశీ బ్యాంకు ఇక్కడ శాఖ తెరవడం (మోడ్ 3), మన ఇంజనీర్ కొన్ని నెలలు యూరప్ వెళ్లి పని చేయడం (మోడ్ 4). మనకు ముఖ్యమైనది మోడ్ 4. ట్రిమ్స్ అంటే 'మా దేశంలో పెట్టుబడి పెడితే మా విడిభాగాలే వాడాలి' అని షరతు పెట్టకూడదు — సోలార్ కేసులో మనం ఓడింది ఇందుకే. ఇది జాతీయ సమాన వ్యవహారం నియమం నుంచే వస్తుంది. (→ English: GATS · Mode 4 · TRIMS · हिन्दी: गैट्स · मोड 4 · ट्रिम्स)

In exam EnglishThe General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) carried trade rules into services. It defines four modes of supply, set out in the table below. India presses hardest on Mode 4, the temporary movement of skilled people, while richer members tend to push Mode 3, the right to set up businesses abroad. The Agreement on Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS) bans conditions on investors that break national treatment or the ban on quantitative restrictions in goods, such as a rule that a firm must buy a fixed share of local inputs. India lost a case on exactly this point in 2016, when the WTO ruled against domestic content requirements in its National Solar Mission. The agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) allow food safety, health and product standards, provided they rest on science or legitimate aims and are not disguised protection.

The four modes of supply under GATS
Mode	What moves	Example
1. Cross-border supply	Only the service	Software written in India for a foreign client over the internet
2. Consumption abroad	The consumer	A foreign patient treated in an Indian hospital
3. Commercial presence	The supplier sets up abroad	A foreign bank opening a branch in India
4. Presence of natural persons	The individual, temporarily	An Indian engineer working at a client's site in Europe

దోహా రౌండ్ అంటే పాతికేళ్లుగా కడుతూనే ఉన్న, ఎప్పటికీ పూర్తి కాని ఇల్లు లాంటిది. పూర్తి ఒప్పందం రాకపోయినా, మధ్యమధ్యలో గదులు మాత్రం కట్టారు: బాలీ (2013)లో కస్టమ్స్ పనులు సులభం చేసే ఒప్పందం, నైరోబీ (2015)లో పంట ఎగుమతి సబ్సిడీల రద్దు, జెనీవా (2022)లో చేపల వేట సబ్సిడీలపై నియమాలు, కోవిడ్ టీకాలకు ఊరట. అబుదాబీ (2024)లో ఏమీ తేలలేదు. మన రైతులు, ఆహార నిల్వలు, పేద దేశాలకు ప్రత్యేక వెసులుబాటు — ఇవే భారత్ ఎప్పుడూ పట్టుబట్టే అంశాలు. (→ English: Doha Development Agenda · Trade Facilitation Agreement · हिन्दी: दोहा विकास एजेंडा · व्यापार सुविधा समझौता)

In exam EnglishThe Doha Development Agenda, launched at Doha in November 2001, promised a round centred on developing countries but has never been finished; talks collapsed at Cancún in 2003 and in Geneva in 2008. Bali (2013) gave the Trade Facilitation Agreement on simpler customs procedures, in force from February 2017, along with the peace clause. Nairobi (2015) ended farm export subsidies. The twelfth conference, in Geneva (2022), agreed rules curbing harmful fisheries subsidies, which came into force in September 2025, and a decision easing TRIPS rules for making COVID-19 vaccines. The thirteenth, at Abu Dhabi in 2024, closed without agreement on agriculture or a second stage of fisheries rules. India's line has been steady: protect public stockholding and small farmers, keep special and differential treatment, restore the Appellate Body, resist a permanent ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions, and oppose bringing plurilateral deals, such as one on investment facilitation, into the WTO without consensus.

మొత్తం అధ్యాయాన్ని ఒక ఇంటితో పోల్చండి: అంతర్జాతీయ ద్రవ్య నిధి అత్యవసర ఖర్చుల డబ్బా, ప్రపంచ బ్యాంకు ఇల్లు కట్టడానికి దీర్ఘకాల రుణం, ప్రపంచ వాణిజ్య సంస్థ ఇరుగుపొరుగుతో అమ్మకం-కొనుగోలు నియమాలు. బేరం సింపుల్: అందరితో ఒకేలా ఉంటాను, సుంకాలు గీత దాటించను, తీర్పు ఒప్పుకుంటాను — బదులుగా నా సరుకుకు నీ మార్కెట్ తెరిచి ఉంచు. భారత్ ఈ బేరంలో తన రైతులు, మందుల కోసం వెసులుబాటు అడుగుతూ వస్తోంది. (→ English: World Trade Organization · International Monetary Fund · World Bank · हिन्दी: विश्व व्यापार संगठन · अंतरराष्ट्रीय मुद्रा कोष · विश्व बैंक)

In exam EnglishTaken together, the WTO rests on a simple bargain: members accept non-discrimination, bound tariffs and binding rulings, and in return gain secure access to one another's markets. The Uruguay Round stretched that bargain from goods to farming, services and ideas, which is why the rules now touch Indian grain procurement, drug patents and IT workers. India has acted as a defender of policy space: it uses trade remedies, shields its food stocks through the peace clause and argues that developing members need longer timelines and flexibility. The World Trade Organization completes the picture begun with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank: one body for payments, one for development finance and one for trade rules. The chapter's quick recap brings all three parts onto one page.

Exam traps

Most-favoured-nation treatment means no discrimination among WTO members, not special favour to one country; free trade areas and customs unions (GATT Article XXIV) are the main exception.
National treatment applies to imported goods after they have entered the market; it does not forbid customs duties at the border.
The General Council also sits as the Dispute Settlement Body and the Trade Policy Review Body; the Ministerial Conference must meet at least once every two years.
The Appellate Body has been unable to hear appeals since December 2019; India has not joined the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (2020).
De minimis is 5 per cent of the value of production for developed and 10 per cent for developing members; blue and green box support is not capped. Procurement at MSP counts in the amber box.
The peace clause came from Bali (2013) and was extended in November 2014 until a permanent solution; it covers public stockholding of traditional staple food crops. India first invoked it in 2020, for rice.
TRIPS requires patents of at least 20 years from filing; India introduced product patents in 2005, and Section 3(d) was applied in Novartis (2013) to refuse a patent.
GATS Mode 4 is the presence of natural persons and Mode 3 is commercial presence. The Trade Facilitation Agreement was agreed at Bali (2013) and came into force in February 2017.

Recap

GATT signed October 1947 by 23 countries including India, applied from 1 January 1948; the ITO of the Havana Charter never came into being.
Uruguay Round 1986–1994; Marrakesh Agreement April 1994; WTO from 1 January 1995, Geneva; India a founding member.
Ministerial Conference at least every two years; General Council also sits as the Dispute Settlement Body and Trade Policy Review Body; decisions by consensus.
Core rules: MFN (Article I), national treatment (Article III); exceptions: FTAs and customs unions (Article XXIV), Enabling Clause (1979).
Bound tariffs; trade remedies: anti-dumping, countervailing duties, safeguards (DGTR investigates, Finance Ministry levies).
Appellate Body stalled since December 2019; MPIA (2020) not joined by India.
Agriculture: amber (capped, de minimis 5%/10%), blue and green (not capped), development box (Article 6.2).
Peace clause: Bali 2013, made open-ended in November 2014; India first to invoke it (2020, rice).
TRIPS: 20-year patents, compulsory licences, Doha Declaration 2001; India's 2005 amendment, Section 3(d), Novartis 2013. GATS: four modes; TRIMS: no local content conditions (India's solar case, 2016).

Practice questions

Q1. With reference to the World Trade Organization, which one of the following statements is correct?

It was created at the Bretton Woods conference of 1944.
It came into existence on 1 January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round.
India joined it only after the Doha Ministerial Conference of 2001.
Its Director-General can adopt binding decisions on behalf of members.

Show answer

Answer: B. It came into existence on 1 January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round.

The Marrakesh Agreement (April 1994) that closed the Uruguay Round set up the WTO from 1 January 1995. Bretton Woods created the IMF and the IBRD, not a trade body; India is a founding member; and the Secretariat under the Director-General serves members but does not take decisions.

Q2. Consider the following statements:
1. Under the most-favoured-nation principle, a WTO member must extend any tariff concession given to one member to all other members.
2. The national treatment principle prohibits a member from levying customs duties on imported goods.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct: MFN means no discrimination among members, subject to exceptions such as free trade areas. Statement 2 is wrong: national treatment applies only after goods have cleared customs and bars higher internal taxes or stricter rules, not border duties. So '2 only', 'Both' and 'Neither' are wrong.

Q3. Match the modes of supply under GATS with the examples:
A. Cross-border supply — 1. A foreign bank opens a branch in Mumbai
B. Consumption abroad — 2. An Indian engineer works for three months at a client's site in Germany
C. Commercial presence — 3. A patient from Kenya is treated in a Chennai hospital
D. Presence of natural persons — 4. A Bengaluru firm delivers software to a US client over the internet
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2
A-3, B-4, C-2, D-1
A-4, B-1, C-3, D-2
A-2, B-3, C-1, D-4

Show answer

Answer: A. A-4, B-3, C-1, D-2

Only the service crosses the border in Mode 1 (software over the internet); the consumer travels in Mode 2 (the patient); the supplier sets up abroad in Mode 3 (the bank branch); and a person moves temporarily in Mode 4 (the engineer). The other codes mix up at least two of these pairs.

Q4. Consider the following statements about the WTO Agreement on Agriculture:
1. Green box support is subject to an overall ceiling of 10 per cent of the value of production for developing countries.
2. Purchases of rice at minimum support prices for public stockholding are counted as amber box support.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Show answer

Answer: B. 2 only

Statement 1 is wrong: the 10 per cent de minimis limit applies to amber box support; the green box is not capped. Statement 2 is correct: support through administered prices is measured against the 1986–88 reference price and counted in the amber box, which is why India needed the peace clause. So '1 only', 'Both' and 'Neither' are wrong.

Q5. The 'peace clause', often in the news in the context of the WTO, relates to

a ban on military goods in the WTO's tariff schedules
protection of developing countries' public stockholding of staple foods from WTO disputes
suspension of anti-dumping duties during a global recession
a pledge by members not to retaliate while the Appellate Body is vacant

Show answer

Answer: B. protection of developing countries' public stockholding of staple foods from WTO disputes

The peace clause, agreed at Bali in 2013 and extended in 2014 until a permanent solution, shields developing countries' public stockholding of traditional staple foods from disputes even if their support crosses the limit. It has nothing to do with military goods, anti-dumping duties or the Appellate Body vacancy.

Q6. Consider the following statements:
1. The WTO Appellate Body has been unable to hear appeals since December 2019 because new members could not be appointed.
2. India is a participant in the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2

Show answer

Answer: A. 1 only

Statement 1 is correct: appointments were blocked and the Appellate Body fell below the three members needed for an appeal. Statement 2 is wrong: the MPIA was set up in 2020 by the EU and others, and India has not joined it. So '2 only', 'Both' and 'Neither' are wrong.

Q7. In the context of India's patent law, Section 3(d) of the Patents Act, 1970 is known for

allowing only process patents for medicines
refusing patents for new forms of known substances that do not enhance their known efficacy
fixing the term of a patent at 14 years
barring compulsory licences for life-saving drugs

Show answer

Answer: B. refusing patents for new forms of known substances that do not enhance their known efficacy

Section 3(d), retained when product patents came in 2005, bars patents on new forms of known substances without enhanced efficacy; the Supreme Court applied it in Novartis (2013). Process-only patents for drugs were the pre-2005 regime, TRIPS requires at least 20 years, and the Act provides for compulsory licences rather than barring them.

Q8. Match the WTO Ministerial Conferences with their outcomes:
A. Doha (2001) — 1. Trade Facilitation Agreement and the peace clause
B. Bali (2013) — 2. Decision to abolish agricultural export subsidies
C. Nairobi (2015) — 3. Agreement on fisheries subsidies
D. Geneva (2022) — 4. Launch of the Development Agenda
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3
A-1, B-4, C-3, D-2
A-4, B-2, C-1, D-3
A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4

Show answer

Answer: A. A-4, B-1, C-2, D-3

Doha (2001) launched the Doha Development Agenda; Bali (2013) gave the Trade Facilitation Agreement and the peace clause; Nairobi (2015) decided to end farm export subsidies; and MC12 in Geneva (2022) agreed the fisheries subsidies agreement. Each other code misplaces at least two conferences.

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Sources

World Trade Organization: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (1947); Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO (1994) and its annexes (GATT 1994, Agreement on Agriculture, GATS, TRIPS, TRIMS, SPS and TBT Agreements, Dispute Settlement Understanding) — https://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/legal_e.htm
World Trade Organization: ministerial declarations and decisions (Doha 2001, Bali 2013, Nairobi 2015, MC12 Geneva 2022, MC13 Abu Dhabi 2024), Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, members and Director-General, dispute settlement records (DS456 solar cells; DS579–581 sugar) and the Appellate Body — https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/thewto_e.htm
Ministry of Commerce and Industry: Directorate General of Trade Remedies (anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguard investigations); PIB releases — https://www.dgtr.gov.in
World Trade Organization: domestic support in agriculture (the boxes), Annex 2 and Article 6 of the Agreement on Agriculture; India's domestic support notifications — https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/agboxes_e.htm
Ministerial Decision on Public Stockholding for Food Security Purposes (Bali, December 2013) and General Council Decision of 27 November 2014; PIB releases of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on the Bali, MC12 and MC13 outcomes — https://pib.gov.in
The Patents Act, 1970, as amended by the Patents (Amendment) Act, 2005 (section 3(d); Chapter XVI, compulsory licences) — https://www.indiacode.nic.in
Novartis AG v. Union of India, Supreme Court of India, judgment of 1 April 2013 — https://www.sci.gov.in