Permanent Representative of Australia to the World Trade Organization Permanent Representative of Australia to the World Trade Organization The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the World Trade Organization is an officer of the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the head of the Permanent Mission of the Commonwealth of Australia to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, Switzerland. The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and continues Australia's representation to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT; 1948–1995), as a charter member joining the WTO to replace the GATT on 1 January 1995. The Permanent Mission to
Member states of the World Trade Organization is an observer state and begun negotiations in 1996. The following table lists all current members, their accession date and previous GATT membership. The following table lists all 23 WTO observers. Within five years of being granted observer status by the WTO, states are required to begin negotiating their accession to the organization. The following table lists all the UN member states and UN observer states which are neither members nor observers of the WTO. Member states of the World Trade Organization The original member states of the World Trade Organization are the parties to the GATT after ratifying the