The WTO plays an important role in supporting efforts to achieve international regulatory cooperation (IRC) and to facilitate trade. First, the WTO provides a multilateral framework for trade among its 164 members, with a view to ensuring that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as...

“The WTO Analytical Index” is an article-by-article guide to the interpretation and application of the WTO agreements by WTO bodies. It covers the jurisprudence of the WTO Appellate Body, panels and arbitrators as well as related decisions and other significant actions taken by other...

WTO members have notified over 25,000 draft regulatory measures to the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Committee over the past 20 years, covering imports ranging from food to medical devices. Over 470 of these measures have undergone detailed scrutiny by WTO members in the TBT Committee. But...

Agricultural products worth over US$ 1,765 billion were traded in 2013. WTO rules help to ensure that these products are traded safely and that health protection measures are not used as an excuse for protecting domestic producers. This brochure, produced to mark the WTO’s 20th anniversary,...

The WTO Secretariat has prepared this booklet to assist public understanding of the SPS Agreement, it concerns the application of food safety and animal and plant health regulations. The first section of the booklet presents the basic structure of WTO agreements; the second looks at the key...

The Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement aims to ensure that regulations, standards, testing and certification procedures followed by WTO members do not create unnecessary obstacles to trade. The WTO Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade conducts an annual review of the implementation of the...