How can the World Trade Organization help your small trading business?

World Trade Organization is an autonomous body that works for free and transparent trade between its member countries. As an organization, its rules and functions are looked upon in bigger context, it is essentially meant for free trade, irrespective of the size of trading businesses. World Trade Organization main objective is to facilitate free, transparent and non-discriminative trade, for this purpose they make rules and issue guidelines that its member countries must follow. These rules are a result of intensive negotiations between the representatives of its member countries, who then sign on these contracts. In addition to free trade facilitation, it helps brining consistency in rules and regulations related to trade, taking out the uncertainty factor from the international trade, to some extent.

Criticism:

Although, it calls for equal opportunities and economic growth, it is often being criticized for doing exactly the opposite. Mainly because the under-developed nations is the least influential group during the decision making process. According to activists speaking against World Trade Organization, the organization actually safeguard the interests of developed nations most of the times. Plenty of economists completely turn down the idea of trade liberalization as a tool for economic growth, stating that it actually opens up under developed markets for the exploitation of the developed ones.

How can it help a small trading business?

As stated earlier, WTO is not intended to help businesses directly, but you can benefit from the information and statistic available at their website or other forums. World Trade Organization publishes various research reports and trade statistics on annual basis. For example, international trade statistics provides figures, charts and other trading details for International traders. Other equally useful publications include World Tariff Profiles, Trade profiles and WTO annual report. In case you are planning to start exporting to some particular region, you must consult these reports and look for the demand, existing trade and tariffs that may apply to your trade. You can also find information on dispute settlement, competition policies, electronic commerce, regional trade agreements or trade policies.

WTO offers internships and other learning resources for students from all over the world, such as online training, distance learning and training videos. Some of the courses available are General Agreement on Trade in Services, WTO dispute settlement system, barriers to trade and WTO legal underpinnings. Anybody can go through these courses to perk up their own trade business, or to work as a consultant for other businesses.

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Alternative trading systems and organization

Fair trade is a relatively old phenomenon that presents an alternate trading system, which facilitates small scale producers and workers (mainly from undeveloped countries), so that they can sell their products in the developed markets without being duped by the middleman or the capitalist who pay these workers the smallest amount but sells the product to consumers at a hefty price. At the end of the day, it is the middlemen or industrialist, who takes home the larger profits while the real worker is left with little or no opportunities to grow, which is quite unfair. For that reason a fair trading system has been introduced that tends to be directed more by socialist viewpoint than the capitalist.

Alternative Trade Organizations:

Fair trade (also known as alternative trade) calls for market access for low level producers, so that they’ll be able to sell their products at reasonable price. This is what these alternative trade organizations (or fair trade organizations) works for. Fair trade movement, which was started back in 1940’s, was initially based on religious or ethical commandments. With the passage of time, as more and more people including NGO’s and students joined in the cause, it is now becoming more and more popular especially in Europe and North America. For the reason that it’s not only the worker who benefits, but the whole society, especially the consumers who will be paying fair price.

To achieve their ultimate goal (which is to empower destitute workers towards economic prosperity), fair trade organizations works toward promoting this trade system, and spreading awareness among consumers. Such products are not easily available in all markets, so these organizations have to endorse the locations and stores where such merchandise is available. There is a type of certification known as Fair trade Certification, granted to businesses who meet the standards (works pretty much the same like ISO certification). Some of these standards are no gender discrimination, decent wages for workers, no child labor and safe working conditions. Though there’s no restraint but till now the fair-trade is normally limited to simple household stuff like tea and coffee, fruits, chocolate or handicrafts. 

Alternate trading systems:

Some people confuse alternative trade with alternate trading system, because of the similarity in the names. Alternate trading systems are actually unconventional trading system set up for the convenience of stocks buyers and sellers. These are not necessarily stock exchange, though a set of regulations made by SEC applies on them. Online trading system is an example of alternate trading.