About the WTO
Introduction
The overall objective of the WTO is to help its members use trade as a means to raise living standards create jobs and improve people’s lives. The WTO operates the global system of trade rules and helps developing economies build their trade capacity. It also provides a forum for its members to negotiate trade agreements and to resolve the trade problems they face with each other.
Annual Report 2023
The WTO Annual Report 2023 provides a comprehensive account of the WTO’s activities in 2022 and the early part of 2023. At the start of the report Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reflects on the current challenges facing world trade and the role of the WTO in helping the world address these challenges.
What we do
The WTO operates the global system of trade rules guaranteeing WTO member governments important trade rights.
What we stand for
Simple fundamental principles form the foundations of the multilateral trading system. These principles have lain at the core of all WTO activities since its creation in 1995.
Who we are
The WTO is run by its member governments. All major decisions are made by the membership as a whole either by ministers (who meet at least once every two years) or by their ambassadors or delegates (who meet regularly at the WTO’s headquarters in Geneva). Decisions are normally taken by consensus. The WTO Secretariat coordinates the activities of the WTO.