A Glossary of Terms for the World Trade Talks

    

        The World Trade Organization (WTO) was set up to be a powerful watchdog of international commerce. The following is a GLOSSARY of terms used by the WTO.

        ACP: African, Caribbean and Pacific group.

        APEC: The Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum grouping Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China's mainland, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States.

        ANZERTA: Australia and New Zealand Closer Economic Relations and Trade Agreement.

        ASEAN: Association of South East Asian Nations comprising Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

        ATC: Agreement on Textiles and Clothing. A WTO accord to return trade in this sector to GATT rules within 10 years

        CAP: Common Agricultural Policy. System of production targets and marketing mechanisms designed to manage agriculture trade within the European Union and the rest of the world.

        DSB: Dispute Settlement Body. A meeting of the WTO general council to settle trade disputes.

        EEP: Export-Enhancement Programme. Export subsidy programme which helps the United States compete with subsidized European agricultural exports.

        GATS: General Agreement on Trade in Services.

        GATT: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. An agreement reached in 1947 governing trade in goods. Incorporated in 1994 into the WTO which supersedes the GATT and covers trade in both goods and services.

        IPRs: Intellectual property rights. Ownership of ideas, including music, art and literature along with inventions and signs for distinguishing goods.

        ITA: Information Technology Agreement. Proposed by Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United States to “eliminate” tariffs on all information technology products by 2000.

        ITCB: International Textiles and Clothing Bureau. Geneva-based group of some 20 developing country exporters of textiles and clothing.

        MERCOSUR: Southern Common Market in Latin America, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

        MFA: Multifibre Arrangement. A 20-year arrangement starting in 1974 which allowed countries disrupted by increased imports of textiles and clothing from other countries to negotiate quota restrictions.

        MFN: Most-Favoured-Nation treatment. The first article in 1994 agreement requiring countries not to discriminate between goods on the basis of where they're coming from or where they're going to.

        NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement. Between Canada, Mexico and the United States.

        NTMs: Non-Tariff Measures. Including quotas, import-licensing systems, sanitary rules and prohibition.

        PSI: Pre-Shipment Inspection. Employing specialized private companies to check details such as price, quality and quantity of goods ordered abroad.

        TRIMS: Trade-Related Investment Measures.

        TRIPS: Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.

        UR: Uruguay Round. Global trade talks launched in Punta del Este in Uruguay in September 1986, concluded in Geneva in December 1993 and signed by ministers in Marrakesh in Morocco in April 1994.

        WCO: World Customs Organization. A Brussels-based body which seeks to simplify and rationalize customs procedures.

        VER, VRA: Voluntary Export Restraint, Voluntary Restraint Arrangement. Bilateral deals where exporters reduce or restrict exports without importers resorting to quotas, tariffs or other controls.