Directorate-General for Trade

EU & WTO

The World Trade Organisation and the multilateral trading system are at the heart of the EU's trade policy

For the WTO dispute settlement mechanism and cases, see Dispute settlement

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established in 1995. It is an international organization that sets the global rules for trade between nations. The secretariat of the WTO is based in Geneva. As well as mediating in disputes between trade partners, the WTO is also the forum for negotiations between all WTO members to further open trade between them.

As of 2008, 153 countries are members of the WTO. All 27 EU member states are individually members of the WTO, but the EU negotiates and acts within the WTO as a single body.

The WTO and the multilateral trading system are the core focus for EU trade policy. The EU believes that a system of global rules is the best way to ensure that trade between countries is fair and open.