WTO agreements and ongoing negotiations

The WTO is founded on a series of agreements regulating international trade in goods, services and intellectual property. The central agreement is GATT 1994, which covers trade in goods and promotes the reduction of tariffs and other trade barriers. This is complemented by the GATS, which liberalises cross-border trade in services, and the TRIPS Agreement, which sets international standards for protecting intellectual property rights such as patents and trademarks.

Il direttore generale Okonjo-Iweala dà il benvenuto al presidente della Svizzera Alain Berset all'OMC. — © SECO

Existing WTO agreements

Another key agreement is the Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU), which provides a structured procedure for settling trade disputes between member states. Technical regulations in trade are primarily governed by the TBT Agreement, while the SPS Agreement contains specific rules on sanitary and phytosanitary measures. The Agreement on Agriculture sets out rules for subsidies and market access in the agricultural sector.

Alongside these multilateral agreements are plurilateral agreements that not all WTO members have joined, including the Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA), which regulates access to government tenders. Others are the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) and the Agreement on Trade in Civil Aviation, covering specific sectors.

WTO reform

The WTO has faced significant challenges for years: new agreements are difficult to conclude and important decision-making processes remain blocked. Members increasingly recognise that the organisation needs both substantive and structural reform to strengthen the WTO as the central forum for rules-based global trade and ensure it remains fit for purpose.

Plurilateral agreements

Switzerland participates in plurilateral initiatives where interested WTO members work together in smaller groups on specific issues. It is committed to ensuring that outcomes from these initiatives are integrated into WTO rules and sees such plurilateral initiatives as part of broader reform efforts.

Switzerland has been actively involved in the following negotiations:

• Digitalisation of trade
• Investment facilitation

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