Glossary & Chronology
Amber
box : supports considered to distort trade and therefore subject to
reduction commitments.
ASEAN:
Association of South East Asian Nations, created in 1967; headquarters in
Jakarta.
Blue
box : permitted supports linked to production, but subject to production
limits and therefore minimally trade distorting.
Box
: agriculture : category of domestic support
CJEC : Court of
Justice of the European Comunities. Set up in 1952, the Court is the judicial
institution of the EU. Based
in Luxembourg.
DSB:
The Dispute Settlement Body is responsible for overseeing the dispute settlement
mechanism within the WTO.
Dumping
: occurs when goods are exported at a price less than they are sold in the
domestic market or third-country market or at less than production cost.
EBRD :
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Established in 1991. It exists
to foster the transition towards open market-oriented economies in the 27
countries of central and eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent
States. Based in London.
ECB :
European Central Bank. Established on June 1, 1998. With the 11 national central
banks of the participating member States, it constitutes the Euro system. Based
in Frankfurt-am-Main (Germany).
EU:
European Union, name given in 1991 to the association of European States which
was created in Rome in 1957 and later renamed European Communities.
FAO:
Food and Agricultural Organization, created in 1945; headquarters in Rome.
GATS:
General Agreement on Trade in Services, signed in Marrakech on the 15 April
1994. The WTO Council for Trade in
Services oversees the operation of the agreement.
GATT:
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (see below : chronology).
GATT 1994: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, integrated in the approved texts in 1994 at the end of the Uruguay Round and named Marrakech Agreements.
Green box : supports considered not to distort trade and therefore permitted with no limit.
G
7 : seven leading industrial countries : Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, United Kingdom, United States.
G
8 : G 7 + Russia
G 77 : group of developing countries set up in 1964 at the end of the first UNCTAD (originally 77, but now more than 130 countries)
ICFTU :
International Confederation of Free rade Unions. Set up in 1949. It has 221
affiliates organisations in 148 countries with a membership of 155 million. Based
in Brussels
ICJ :
International Court of Justice. Judicial organ of the UNO. It decides disputes
of a legal nature submitted by States. The inaugural setting took place in 1946.
It was the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice ( PCIJ )
that was set up in 1922. Based in The Hague (The Netherlands).
ILO:
International Labour Organization, created in 1919; headquarters in Geneva.
IMO:
International Maritime Organization, created in 1958; headquarters in London.
IMF:
International Monetary Fund, created in 1945; headquarters in Washington.
LAS:
League of Arab States, created in 1945; headquarters in Cairo.
LDC : Least Developed Countries. The 49 countries - of which the population does not exceed 75 million inhabitants - below fixed criteria on income (less than 900 US $ per capita), economical diversification and social development. The number of LDCs has almost doubled since the category was created by the United Nations in 1971.
MFA:
Multifibre Arrangement concerning the international trade of textiles.
A modified version of this agreement was integrated in the Agreement on
Textiles and Clothing itself part of the Multilateral Agreements on Trade in
Goods adopted in Marrakech in 1994.
MFN : most-favoured-nation : the principle of not discriminating between one's trading partners.
National
treatment : the principal of giving others the same treatment as one's own
nationals.
NAFTA : North American Free Trade Agreement. In force as of 1994, it binds Canada, the USA and Mexico.
OAS:
Organization of American States, created in 1948; headquarters in Washington.
OAU:
Organization of African Unity, created in 1963; headquarters in Addis Ababa.
OIC:
Organization of the Islamic Conference, created in 1969; headquarters in Jeddah.
OECD:
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, created in 1960 ;
headquarters in Paris. The rejection of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment
(MAI) in 1998 (certain elements of which are being introduced in internal WTO
negotiations) was an important setback for the OECD.
OIF:
Organisation Internationale de la
Francophonie, French acronym for the international organization of
French-speaking countries, created in 1998; headquarters in Paris.
Quad
: co-ordination within the WTO between the EU, the USA, Japan and Canada.
TBT : Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade. One of the agreements ruled by the WTO.
TMB:
Textiles Monitoring Body, created by the MFA.
TPRB:
The Trade Policy Review Body oversees the operation of the review mechanism
whereby the respect of WTO rules and agreements by the Member States is examined.
TRIPS:
Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, signed in
Marrakech on the 15 April 1994. The
WTO TRIPS Council monitors the operation of the agreement.
UNO:
United Nations Organization, created in 1945; headquarters in New York.
UNCTAC:
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, created in 1964;
headquarters in Geneva.
UNEP:
United Nations Environment Program, created in 1972; headquarters in Nairobi.
UNESCO:
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, created in
1945; headquarters in Paris.
UNFCCC:
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, created in 1995;
headquarters in Bonn.
UNFPA:
United Nations Population Fund, created in 1969; headquarters in New York.
UNIDO:
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, created in 1966;
headquarters in Vienna.
UNICEF:
United Nations Children Fund, created in 1946; headquarters in New York.
UPOV
: International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants
WB: World Bank, created in 1945 at Bretton Woods under the name of
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; headquarters in
Washington.
WHO:
World Health Organization, created on the 7 April 1948 which became the
international health day; headquarters in Geneva.
WIPO:
World Intellectual Property Organization, created in 1970; headquarters in
Geneva.
WTO:
World Trade Organization, created by the Marrakech Agreement signed on the 15
April 1994; headquarters in Geneva.
The
websites for the above institutions are given in the ‘links’ page.
1944: Creation of the World Bank (WB) and of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); project backed up by 50 countries, the creation of an International Trade Organisation (ITO) which would be integrated within the UN system together with a number of other technical agencies then in the making.
1946-1947: In Geneva, at the initiative of the United States who give a weak support to the ITO project, 23 countries negotiate between themselves the reduction of trade tariffs; they sign the first agreements of the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade).
1948: The GATT comes into effect; the United Nations conference on trade and employment is held in Havana: the ITO charter is adopted.
1949: In Annecy, second cycle of negotiations between the contracting parties of the GATT. 13 countries participate.
1950: The American government refuses to ratify the ITO charter.
1951: In Torquay, third cycle of the GATT negotiations. 38 countries participate.
1956: In Geneva, fourth cycle of the GATT negotiations. 26 countries participate.
1960-1961: In Geneva, fifth cycle of the GATT negotiations. 26 countries participate.
1964-1967: Kennedy Round, sixth cycle of the GATT negotiations. 62 countries participate.
1973-1979: Tokyo Round, seventh cycle of the GATT negotiations. 102 countries participate.
1986: The Uruguay Round is inaugurated in Punta del Este, eighth cycle of the GATT negotiations. 123 countries participate. For the first time, the negotiations do not exclusively concern customs duties. They also include discussions on measures relating to non-tariff barriers (national legislation) and those concerning natural resources, subsidies, investments, services, in particular, public services, intellectual property rights, textile trade, agriculture. A new mechanism for settling disputes and the creation of an international organisation in charge of managing the agreements are also discussed.
1994: The Marrakech Agreements are signed (22,500 pages).
1995: The Marrakech Agreements come into effect. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is created.
1996: Singapore: first WTO ministerial conference.
1998: Geneva: second WTO ministerial conference.
1999: Seattle: the third WTO ministerial conference is convened.