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bill of landing can be used in different means of transport differently such as
Airway bill under airways, Railway bill/receipt under railway transport.
WTO
The current institutional framework of the global trading system – the WTO – was
created on 1 January 1995 replacing the then General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs
(GATT). WTO is a global trade organization of all member countries. Prior to this,trade
rules had been developing under GATT to meet the evolving needs of the participating
countries and the global community. GATT entered into force in January 1948 by
23 founding member countries (officially “contracting parties”) to salvage what was
left of the original proposition called the Havana declaration, whose objective was
to establish the International Trade Organization. GATT was instrumental in the
creation of a strong multilateral trading system that introduced successive rounds
of more liberalized, more stable and predictable trading rules. The original GATT
rules have been modified to address new international trade challenges but the basic
principles have never changed. One major area of modification occurred with respect
to the treatment of developing countries when Trade and Development was added
to the original rules. This ministerial decision was adopted at the end of the Uruguay
Round, which offers least developed countries extra flexibility in implementing WTO
agreements. Another major reform occurred in the Uruguay Round, when the entire
system was revised and updated to meet the challenges of introducing new areas into
negotiations. The revised set of rules is now known as GATT 1994 to differentiate
it from the original rules i.e. GATT 1947. During the period of 1948 to 1994, GATT
presided over eight multilateral liberalization rounds. Several early rounds were most
focused on reducing tariffs and it was not until the Tokyo Round that the non-tariff
barriers and other issues were introduced into the negotiations. The longest round so
far, the Uruguay Round, introduced negotiations of 15 subjects including three new
areas: agriculture, services and intellectual property.
In addition, the Uruguay Round resulted in the establishment of the WTO that
replaced GATT as a separate international agency.
Nepal applied for membership of GATT in 1989 as necessitated by its geopolitical
feature. During 1990s, the process of liberalization gained momentum and Nepal
applied for membership of WTO. The fifth Ministerial Conference of WTO held in
Cancoon in September 2003 approved Nepal’s accession and on 23 April 2004, Nepal
got the membership and became 147th member of WTO .
Functions of WTO
a. Its major function is to administer and implement trade agreement.
b. Acts as a forum for trade negotiations.
c. It settles the trade disputes among its members.
d. It reviews national trade policy of member countries and advises if neccesary.
e. Assist developing countries and least developed countries(LDCs) through
technical help .
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