world trade organization
The Czech Republic has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995. As of 1 May 2004 the Czech Republic is a member state of the European Union (EU). All EU member states are WTO members, as is the EU in its own right.
WTO represents multilateral trading system whose overriding purpose is to help trade flow as freely as possible and to help developing, and least developed countries in particular, to integrate into the global trade. Trade policy of the Czech Republic, before joining the EU, was reviewed twice in the WTO. First in 1996 and second TPR took place in 2001. During these reviews members recognized that in addressing economic difficulties, the Czech Government took significant steps to enhance the economic climate, both through domestic reforms and by further trade and investment liberalization. The establishment of a liberal and transparent international trade regime has been a key ingredient in the Czech Republic's transformation to a market economy.
The customs union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic created after the split of the former Czechoslovakia was the only one case where consensus has been reached in an examination of an agreement under Article XXIV GATT.
The Czech Republic, as several other trade - dependent economies advanced the idea of promoting the then-new round of negotiations and since 1998 was part of an informal group of 15 WTO members who came together as The Friends of a New Round. Today, as part of the EU, we remain committed to an open, rules–based, predictable and transparent trading system.
Delegation of the Czech Republic came to the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires with the aim to support and foster multilateral trading system with WTO at its center, and ready to subscribe to all concrete, realistic and meaningful initiatives that it believed could be concluded there. We therefore consider the lack of substantial outcomes disappointing, and regret such missed opportunity.
More about WTO on its website.
