WTO's origins are in postwar era

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KEY POINTS ABOUT THE WTO

Membership: The World Trade Organization has 148 member nations, including China, which joined in December 2001. There are also 33 observer nations, including Russia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq.

Key players: European Union, United States, China, Cairns Group (agricultural producers), Japan, Brazil, India.

Doha: The Doha agenda takes its name from a ministerial meeting in the Qatari capital in November 2001, at which it was agreed to launch new trade negotiations.

Cancun: The September 2003 ministerial meeting at the Mexican resort of Cancun broke up without agreement on agriculture and the "Singapore issues", which deal with trade and investment facilitation and transparency in government procurement.

Hong Kong: Key issues for discussion at the Hong Kong ministerial meeting include agriculture, services, textiles and clothing, intellectual property rights, subsidies, rules of origin, customs valuation, anti-dumping, investment, sanitary measures and technical barriers.

Potential stumbling blocks: Agricultural reform, intellectual property rights, particularly for medicines.

(CNN) -- This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the World Trade Organization. But the economic group can trace its origins to the end of World War II. The following is a timeline recounting the origins and creation of the WTO.

GATT: The WTO's predecessor

1945: Following the end of World War II, 15 countries begin talks in December to reduce and bind customs tariffs -- a legacy of protectionist measures installed in the early 1930s.

1947: After expanding by eight countries, 23 states sign the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in Geneva, Switzerland, in October.

1947: In November, the 23 Gatt delegates meet with almost 30 representatives from other countries in Havana, Cuba, to start negotiating the charter of a proposed International Trade Organization (ITO). Its charter includes rules on employment, commodity agreements and international investment.

1948: The ITO Charter is agreed to in Havana in March, but serious opposition -- especially from the U.S. Congress -- kills off the proposal. Consequently, Gatt became the only governing instrument of world trade until 1995.

1948--1973: These years see five further rounds of Gatt, with the earlier meetings continuing to concentrate on the reduction of tariffs. In the 1964-67 Kennedy Round, Gatt also pursues and implements the Anti-Dumping Agreement.

1973--79: The Tokyo Round, involving 102 countries, sees Gatt cut customs duties in the world's nine major industrial markets to 4.7 percent.

1986--93: Probably the most ambitious round to date, Gatt trade ministers meet in Uruguay and cover trade issues ranging from toothbrushes to pleasure boats to AIDS treatments. The final results lead to major agreements in intellectual property rights, access to textiles and clothing, and cuts in import duties on tropical products. Moreover, the round also discusses the formation of a new trade body, the World Trade Organization (WTO).

1994: In April, the Uruguay Round deal is signed in Marrakech, Morocco by most of the 123 participating governments. The establishment of the WTO is further discussed. Whereas Gatt focused heavily on trade in goods, the WTO would expand trade into services, and in traded inventions, creations and designs.

The WTO

1995: The World Trade Organization is officially created in Geneva, Switzerland on January 1.

1996--98: WTO Ministerial Conferences are held in Singapore (9-13 December, 1996) and Geneva, Switzerland (18-20 May, 1998).

1999: Violent anti-WTO clashes between protesters and police occur during the summit in Seattle, Washington in late December. More than 500 people from an estimated 30,000 protesters are arrested.

2001: The EU resolves outstanding bilateral issues with Beijing in June, clearing a critical hurdle for China to join the WTO.

2001: The WTO holds its conference in Doha, Qatar, between 9-14 November, and formulates the Doha Declaration, which intends to open negotiations on opening markets to agricultural and manufactured goods.

2001 -- The WTO also officially approves China's entry on November 10. One day later, Taiwan is admitted. An agreement is also reached between rich and poor countries over the use of cheap alternatives to expensive patented drugs during the summit.

2002: The WTO rules in August that the EU can slap up to $4 billion of sanctions on U.S. goods after winning a dispute over tax breaks.

2002: Australian police make about 15 arrests during a 1,500-strong, anti-globalization protest against a mini WTO meeting in Sydney in November.

2003: A WTO summit in September collapses in Cancun, Mexico after arguments highlight the sharp differences between rich and poor nations over issues such as agriculture and global investment rules. The meeting is also marred by violent riots, while a 54-year-old Korean farming leader dies after knifing himself in the chest in protest over WTO policies.

2003: U.S. President George W. Bush scraps tariffs on imported steel and a possible trade war with Europe and Asia after the WTO rules that the tariffs are illegal.

2004: The WTO agrees to start talks with Libya in July on its possible entry into the body, marking a new step in Libya's efforts to normalize relations with the international community.

2004: After five days of negotiations in August, the World Trade Organization's 147 member nations agree in Geneva to a framework to revive the stalled Doha Round of trade talks.

2005: In March, the U.S. drops its opposition to Iran's application for membership into the WTO.

2005 -- Fears of the costliest dispute in the WTO's history arise in May when the U.S. decides to proceed with a trade case against the EU over alleged illegal subsidies to aircraft maker Airbus.

2005: British Prime Minister Tony Blair urges world leaders in November to step up their efforts to secure a trade accord at December's WTO summit in Hong Kong, warning that the global economy will suffer if no agreement is reached.

2005: APEC leaders meeting in South Korea in November urge for a breakthrough in a stalemate with Europe over agricultural subsidies at December's WTO meeting in Hong Kong.

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