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The World Trade Organization ( Wto )

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1. Introduction The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established on 1995 as the result of Uruguay Round negotiations (1986 – 1994) and replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) with the purposes of developing free trade without barriers and discrimination towards sustainable development . The relationship between the WTO and diverse non-commercial concerns was also raised in the debate of Uruguay Round, including government transparency, human rights in generally, cultural issues and even the fight against terrorism . This explanation will present two given contradictory positions about the relationship between the WTO and non-commercial concerns primarily based on the principles of the trading system, the exceptions related to non-commercial concerns under Article XX of GATT 1994 (hereafter: GATT), one of the most debatable issues – environmental concerns and some GATT/WTO disputes. 2. For Leyla’s position The WTO is a multilateral trading system regulating not only goods but also investment, intellectual property and services such as healthcare and education . Such services, Simon Retallack believes, are responsibility of national governments but then are governed by the WTO, which ‘run totally by and for the benefit of multinational corporations’ . Similarly, environmentalists accuse the WTO of undermining ‘necessary environmental legislation’ . • The WTO and the environment concerns The Preamble of the Marrakesh Agreement Establishing the WTO states

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