Taiwan Formally Joins the WTO
台灣正式加入WTO
Source: World Trade Organization
From: Wikipedia
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body that oversees the implementation of trade agreements among its member economies. As of 6 June 2016 it had 162 members; its primary function is dispute resolution. In 2002 Taiwan acceded to the WTO under the name “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu” — a name derived from the territories actually administered by the Republic of China government since the 1950s: Taiwan, the Penghu Islands, Kinmen, and Matsu. While WTO membership is not a bilateral trade agreement per se, its accession threshold functions as a ticket for countries willing to reduce tariffs, align their laws, and participate in international trade. The WTO is the organisational and legal foundation of the trading system, administrator of numerous trade agreements, monitor of members’ trade legislation, and a forum for trade dispute resolution and negotiation. It is one of the most important international economic organisations of our time; its members account for the vast majority of global trade volume, earning it the nickname “the economic United Nations.”