Good order is the foundation of all things.
—E. Burke （British statesman）
Prompt compliance with recommendations or rulings of the DSB is essential in order o ensure effective resolution of disputes to the benefit of all Members.
—World Trade Organization， Article 21.1of the DSU
世界贸易组织（ WTO）成立于1995年1月1日，总部设在日内瓦，是一个独立于联合国的永久性国际组织。该组织的基本原则和宗旨是通过实施市场开放、非歧视和公平贸易等原则，来达到推动实现世界贸易自由化的目标。
该组织作为正式的国际贸易组织在法律上与联合国等国际组织处于平等地位。它的职责范围除了关贸总协定原有的组织实施多边贸易协议及提供多边贸易谈判场所和作为一个论坛外，还负责定期审议其成员的贸易政策和统一处理成员之间产生的贸易争端，并负责加强同国际货币基金组织和世界银行的合作，以实现全球经济决策的一致性。
世贸组织的最高决策权力机构是部长级会议，至少每两年召开一次会议。下设总理事会和秘书处，负责世贸组织日常会议和工作。总理事会设有货物贸易、非货物贸易（服务贸易）、知识产权三个理事会和贸易与发展、预算两个委员会。总理事会还下设贸易政策核查机构，监督各个委员会并负责起草国家政策评估报告。
Introduction to WTO
The World Trade Organization （ WTO） is an international organization designed by its founders to supervise and liberalize international capital trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1， 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement， replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade （ GATT） ， which commenced in 1947. The World Trade Organization deals with regulation of trade between participating countries； it provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements， and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants adherence to WTO agreements which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations， especially fromthe Uruguay Round （ 1986 - 1994） . Theorganization is currently endeavoring to persist with a trade negotiation called the Doha Development Agenda （ or Doha development Round） ， which was launched in 2001 to enhance equitable participation of underdeveloped countries which represent a majority of the world s population. However， the negotiation has been dogged by“disagreement between exporters of agricultural bulk commodities and countries with large numbers of subsistence farmers on the precise terms of a‘special safeguard measure’to protect farmers from surges in imports. At this time， the future of the Doha Round is uncertain”.
The WTO has 153 members， representing more than 95% of total world trade and 30 observers， most seeking membership. The WTO is governed by a ministerial conference， meeting every two years；a general council，which implements the conference s policy decisions and is responsible for day-to-day administration； and a director-general，who is appointed by the ministerial conference.The WTO s headquarters is at the Centre William Rappard， Geneva， Switzerland.
Functions of the WTO
Among the various functions of the WTO， these are regarded by analysts as the most important：
It oversees the implementation， administration and operation of the covered agreements；
It provides a forum for negotiations and for settling disputes. Additionally， it is the WTO s duty to review and propagate the national trade policies， and to ensure the coherence and transparency of trade policies through surveillance in global economic policy-making. Another priority of the WTO is the assistance of developing， least-developed and low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines through technical cooperation and training. The WTO is also a center of economic research and analysis： regular assessments of the global trade picture in its annual publications and research reports on specific topics are produced by the organization. Finally， the WTO cooperates closely with the two other components of the Bretton Woods system， the IMF and the World Bank.
Principles of the trading system
The WTO establishes a framework for trade policies； it does not define or specify outcomes. That is， it is concerned with setting the rules of the trade policy games. Five principles are of particular importance in understanding both the pre-1994 GATT and the WTO.
（ 1） Non-Discrimination. It has two major components： the most favoured nation（ MFN） rule， and the national treatment policy. Both are embedded in the main WTO rules on goods， services， and intellectual property， but their precise scope and nature differ across these areas. The MFN rule requires that a WTO member must apply the same conditions on all tradewith other WTO members， i.e. a WTO member has to grant the most favorable conditions under which it allows trade in a certain product type to all other WTO members.“Grant someone a special favor and you have to do the same for all other WTO members.”National treatment means that imported goods should be treated no less favorably than domestically-produced goods （ at least after the foreign goods have entered the market） and was introduced to tackle non-tariff barriers to trade（ e.g. technical standards， security standards et al. discriminating against imported goods） .
（ 2） Reciprocity. It reflects both a desire to limit the scope of free-riding that may arise because of the MFN rule， and a desire to obtain better access to foreign markets. A related point is that for a nation to negotiate， it is necessary that the gain from doing so be greater than the gain available from unilateral liberalization； reciprocal concessions intend to ensure that such gains will materialize.
（ 3） Binding and enforceable commitments. The tariff commitments made by WTO members in a multilateral trade negotiation and on accession are enumerated in a schedule （ list） of concessions. These schedules establish“ceiling bindings”： a country can change its bindings， but only after negotiating with its trading partners， which could mean compensating them for loss of trade.If satisfaction is not obtained，the complaining country may invoke the WTO dispute settlement procedures.