164 member countries are there in wto at present.
164 member countries are there in wto at present.
how many member countries are there in wto at present?
164
in 1994, when negotiations on the wto trips were concluded, governments of all wto member countries (164 countries, as of august 2016) had agreed to set certain basic standards for the protection of gis in all member countries. there are, in effect, two basic obligations on wto member governments relating to gis in the trips agreement:
geographical indication
because the ilos enforcement and sanction mechanisms are weak, there has been significant discussion about incorporating [[labour standards in the world trade organisation]]'s operation, since its formation in 1994. the [[wto]] oversees, primarily, the [[general agreement on tariffs and trade]] which is a treaty aimed at reducing customs, tariffs and other barriers to free import and export of goods, services and capital between its 157 member countries. unlike for the ilo, if the wto rules on trade are contravened, member states who secure a judgment by the [[dispute settlement in the world trade organization|dispute settlement procedures]] (effectively a judicial process) may retaliate through trade sanctions. this could include reimposition of targeted tariffs against the non-compliant country. proponents of an integrated approach have called for a "[[social clause]]" to be inserted into the gatt agreements, for example by amending article xx, which gives an exception to the general trade barrier reduction rules allowing imposition of sanctions for breaches of human rights. an explicit reference to core labour standards could allow action where a wto member state is found to be in breach of ilo standards. opponents argue that such an approach could backfire and undermine labour rights, as a country's industries, and therefore its workforce, are necessarily harmed but without any guarantee that labour reform would take place. furthermore, it was argued in the singapore ministerial declaration 1996 that "the [[comparative advantage]] of countries, particularly low-age developing countries, must in no way be put into question." on this view, countries ought to be able to take advantage of low wages and poor conditions at work as a comparative advantage in order to boost their exports. it is disputed that business will relocate production to low wage countries from higher wage countries such as the uk, because that choice is said to depend on [[productivity]] of workers. however, the view of many labour lawyers and economists remains that more trade, when workers have weaker bargaining power and less mobility, still allows business to opportunistically take advantage of workers by moving production, and that a coordinated multilateral approach with targeted measures against specific exports is preferable. while the wto has yet to incorporate labour rights into its procedures for dispute settlements, many countries began to make bilateral agreements that protected core labour standards instead. moreover, in domestic tariff regulations not yet touched by the wto agreements, countries have given preference to other countries who do respect core labour rights, for example under the eu tariff preference regulation, articles 7 and 8.
united kingdom labour law