Difference Between GATT and WTO

GATT WTO

GATT was adhoc and provisional WTO and its agreements are permanent

GATT has contracting parties WTO has members

GATT system allowed existing domestic WTO does not permit this
legislation to continue even if violated a
GATT agreement

GATT was less powerful, dispute settlement WTO is more powerful than GATT,
system slow and less efficient, its ruling dispute settlement mechanism in faster
could be easily blocked and more efficient, very difficult to block
the run buys

Dealt with trade in goods WTO agreements cover trade in goods,

services and intellectual property rights

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 Organizational Structure
• Decision in WTO are made by the entire membership – consensus
• Ministerial Conference
WTO’s top level decision – making body is the Ministerial Conference
which meets at least once in every two years.
• General Council
It is constituted by ambassadors and heads of delegation in Geneva. Some
times officials are sent from members’ capitals. They meet several times a
year in the Geneva Headquarters. The general council also meets the Trade
Policy Review body and the Dispute Settlement body.
• Goods council, Services council and Intellectual Property (TRIPs)
Council – These councils report to the general council
• Specialised Committees, working groups and working parties
The committees deal with the individual agreements and other areas such as
the environment, development, membership applications and regional trade
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agreements.
 GATS
• The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) which extends
multilateral rules and disciplines to services in regarded as landmark
achievement of the UR.
• Because of the special characteristics and the socio-economic and
political implications of certain services, they have been generally subject
to various types of national restrictions.
• Protection measures include visa requirements, investment regulation,
restriction on repatriation, marketing regulations, restrictions on
employment of foreigners, compulsions to use local facilities etc.
• Heavily protected services in different countries include banking and
insurance, transportations, television, radio, film and other forms of
communication

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Mode of Services
GATS cover four modes of international delivery of services.
3. Cross-border Supply (transborder data flow, transportation services)
4. Commercial presence (provision of services abroad through FDI or
representative offices)
5. Consumption abroad (tourism)
6. Movement of personnel (entry and temporary stay of foreign
consultants)
• Industrial countries have offered market access commitment to about
54% services.
• Developing countries opened for 17% of services
• Tourism & travel related services are the only activities in which a
substantial number of developing countries made commitments.

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• Fear of developing countries is that the liberalization of trade in services
will lead to the domination of the services sector of the developing
countries by the multinationals of the industrial countries.
• Although many services are labour intensive and therefore, the developing
countries should be expected to have an advantage, but there have been
several constraints in benefiting from this advantage.
• Immigration laws of developed countries restrict the manpower flow from
the developing to developed countries. This severely limits the scope of
developing countries in benefiting from the comparative advantage.
• Industrial countries, that’s why did not like to bring this issue in the
Uruguay Round