The World Trade Organisation (WTO) was established in 1995. It is an international organization that sets the global rules for trade between nations. The secretariat of the WTO is based in Geneva. As well as mediating in disputes between trade partners, the WTO is also the forum for negotiations between all WTO members to further open trade between them. As of 2009, 153 countries are members of the WTO. All 27 EU member states are individually members of the WTO, but the EU negotiates and acts within the WTO as a single body.
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