Twenty years ago, on 15 April 1994, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements were signed in Marrakesh, Morocco. They were the result of the 1986–94 Uruguay Round negotiations and are the basis for the multilateral trading system in its present form. They also created the WTO.
At that time, most of the 123 participating governments signed the agreement, concluding the largest trade negotiation ever and most probably the largest negotiation of any kind in history. Now the number has reached 159. The WTO’s creation on 01 January 1995 marked the biggest reform of international trade since the Second World War. It also brought to reality — in an updated form — the failed attempt in 1948 to create an International Trade Organisation (ITO).
It took seven and a half years, almost twice the original schedule. By the end, 123 countries were taking part. It covered almost all trade, from toothbrushes to pleasure boats, from banking to telecommunications, from the genes of wild rice to AIDS treatments. It was quite simply the largest trade negotiation ever, and most probably the largest negotiation of any kind in history.
Annex 1A: Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods, namely (i) GATT 1994; (ii) Agriculture; (iii) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, (iv) Textiles and Clothing (This Agreement was terminated on 1 January 2005. See Textiles); (v) Technical Barriers to Trade; (vi) Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs); (vii) Anti-dumping (Article VI of GATT 1994); (viii) Customs valuation (Article VII of GATT 1994); (ix) Preshipment Inspection; (x) Rules of Origin; (xi) Import Licensing; (xii) Subsidies and Countervailing Measures; and (xiii) Safeguards. Annex 1B: General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); Annex 1C: Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS); Annex 2: Dispute Settlement Understanding; Annex 3: Trade Policy Review Mechanism; Annex 4: Plurilateral Trade Agreement; Annex 4(a): Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft; Annex 4(b): Agreement on Government Procurement; Annex 4(c): International Dairy Agreement (this Agreement was terminated end 1997); and Annex 4(d): International Bovine Meat Agreement (this Agreement was terminated end 1997).