HOW TO JOIN THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION: SOME ASPECTS OF THE ACCESSION PROCESS

Abstract

The World Trade Organization is the first international organization responsible for supervising global trade relations. It was established on January 1 st 1995. The most important bodies of its organizational structure are the Ministerial Conference, the General Council and the Secretariat. It currently has 153 Members with many candidates involved in accession negotiations. Accession to the World Trade Organization is a highly organized process which can be divided into several steps or stages. The successful fulfilment of the conditions of one stage is the condition for movement to the next. Many challenges and opportunities are incorporated in that process and it is up to candidates for the Membership to find a way to face the challenges and use the opportunities.