ZAGREB, July 16 (Hina) - On Monday, Croatia will join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), as a result of seven-year-long negotiations. By signing a Protocol in Geneva tomorrow, Croatia will enter the WTO and not later than October the
country can be given the status of a full-member country of this organisation. The WTO, a world leading economic organisation established in 1995, is currently gathering 136 countries and covering 85 percent of the trade in the world. Its budget for 2000 comes to 127 million Swiss francs. The WTO main headquarters are in Geneva and its incumbent General Director is Mike Moore. The supreme body is the Ministerial Conference, gathering member-states' Finance Ministers who convene at least once in two years. When a country submits an application for admission to the WTO, the Organisation sets up a working group and initiates multilateral negotiations on bids of the country-
ZAGREB, July 16 (Hina) - On Monday, Croatia will join the World
Trade Organisation (WTO), as a result of seven-year-long
negotiations.
By signing a Protocol in Geneva tomorrow, Croatia will enter the WTO
and not later than October the country can be given the status of a
full-member country of this organisation.
The WTO, a world leading economic organisation established in 1995,
is currently gathering 136 countries and covering 85 percent of the
trade in the world. Its budget for 2000 comes to 127 million Swiss
francs. The WTO main headquarters are in Geneva and its incumbent
General Director is Mike Moore. The supreme body is the Ministerial
Conference, gathering member-states' Finance Ministers who
convene at least once in two years.
When a country submits an application for admission to the WTO, the
Organisation sets up a working group and initiates multilateral
negotiations on bids of the country-applicant to adjust its
legislation to WTO rules and standards.
Topics of negotiations are how much the country-applicant's acts
and legislation on trade, customs, foreign currencies and tax are
adjusted to the WTO rules.
The membership in the WTO is often a condition for admission of a
country into another regional trading and economic associations.
The membership in the WTO implies that trade polices of the country
in question must be in accordance with WTO rules on the national
treatment and non-discrimination in the import of services and
goods, customs tariffs as the exclusive element of the protective
policy of the domestic production and strictly defined
implementation of quantity limits for the import only in some
extraordinary cases.
(hina) ms