COVER STORY
WTO THE GUARDIAN ANGEL OF TRADE
F ollowing World War II, the USA and the UK took the lead in establishing a system of multilateral institutions which would guarantee peaceful and prosperous development: The UN was founded in 1945 to maintain international peace and security. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were set up in 1944 at the Bretton Woods conference with the aim of rebuilding the postwar economy and promoting international economic cooperation. Delegates in New Hampshire also recommended the establishment of a complementary institution to govern international trade, recognizing the growing importance of trade in an increasingly interlinked world as well as drawing lessons from the Great Depression. Prior to the war, international trade had significantly declined due to massive increases in tariffs which had led to a slowdown in the global production of goods and services. Born out of the ambition to use trade’s capacity to generate prosperity, today the World Trade Organization faces its sternest test By Axel Reiserer, OPEC Fund
A cornerstone of the multilateral trading
system is the most-favored nation status . It says that the best access conditions that have been conceded to one country must automatically be extended to all other participants in the system.
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