4、The World Trade Organization came into existence in
the 1990s. It operates a system of trade rules. It serves as a place for
nations to settle disagreements and negotiate agreements to reduce trade
barriers. The newest of its 150 members, Vietnam, joined in January.
But the roots of the W.T.O. date
back to World War Two and the years that followed. In 1944, the
International Monetary(货币的) Conference agreed to create the International Monetary Fund and
the World Bank. But they could not agree on an organization to deal with
international trade.
Three years later, in 1947,
twenty-three nations approved the General Agreement on Tariffs (关税)and Trade, or GATT. It was
meant to be temporary. Trade negotiations under GATT were carried out in a
series of talks called rounds. The first round lowered import taxes on
one-fifth of world trade. Later rounds produced additional cuts, and
negotiators added more issues.
The sixth round began in 1963. It
was called the Kennedy Round after the murder of President John F. Kennedy. The
results included an agreement against trade dumping. This is when one country
sells a product in another country at an unfairly low price.
The eighth round of talks began in
Punta del Este, Uruguay, in 1986. The Uruguay Round lasted almost twice as long
as planned. In all, 123 nations took part in seven-and-a-half years of work.
They set time limits for future negotiations. They also agreed to create a
permanent system to settle trade disagreements.
In April of 1994, most of
those 123 nations signed an agreement. It replaced GATT with the World
Trade Organization.
The W.T.O. launched a new round on
development issues in Doha, Qatar, in November of 2001. These talks were
supposed to end by January of 2005. But negotiators could not agree on issues
involving agricultural protections. The current round has been suspended since
last July.
1. The WTO got this name in the
year _____.
A.
1947
B. 1963
C.
1986
D. 1994
2. Which of the following
statements about GATT is NOT true?
A. It was set
up after World War II.
B. It was first
approved by less than 30 countries.
C. It was a
branch of the World Bank.
D. It was meant
to improve international trade.
3. What does the underlined
sentence in the third paragraph mean?
A. The founders wanted GATT
to bring in money.
B. The founders didn’t expect GATT to last long.
C. GATT was ready to
change its name at the very beginning.
D. GATT was open for
more member countries.
4. What is one of the results of
the Uruguay Round?
A. A permanent system
was agreed on.
B. It lasted almost
eight years.
C. More countries
took part in it.
D. More disagreements
than expected were settled.
5. Which of the following is the
best title of the passage?
A. Why the WTO was
Called GATT?
B. WTO Talk Rounds
Last Longer
C. A Brief
Introduction to the WTO
D. GATT or WTO? A
Real Question
