The General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) came into existence in 1947 .It sought substantial reduction in tariff and other barriers to trade with elimination of discriminatory treatment in international commerce. India is signatory to GATT 1947 along with twenty two other countries. Eight rounds of negotiations had taken place during five decades of its existence.
WTO came into existence in the year 1995 with the conclusion of Uruguay Round Multilateral Trade Negotiations at Marrakesh on 15th April 1994, to facilitate:
Transparent, free and rule-based trading system
Provide common institutional framework for conduct of trade relations among members
Facilitate the implementation, administration and operation of Multilateral Trade Agreements
Rules and Procedures Governing Dispute Settlement
Trade Policy Review Mechanism
Concern for LDCs and NFIDCs
Concern on Non-trade issues such as Food Security, environment, health, etc.
Participants