Established in 1995, the World Trade Organization focuses on the elimination of trade barriers through negotiations and trade agreements. The current body of trade agreements comprising the WTO consists of 16 different multilateral agreements (to which all WTO members are parties). The WTO is organized into two major branches, the Ministerial Conference and the General Council. Within the General Council, there are multiple subgroups and committees with their own individual responsibilities. The following table outlines the general structure of the organization:
| Ministerial Conference | General Council |
| Highest decision-making body that meets every two years. All members of the WTO are a part of this conference, and it can make decisions on all matters under any of the multilateral trade agreements. | More active than the Ministerial Conference, it meets regularly to carry out the functions of the WTO. Representatives from all member governments sit on the Council and they can act on behalf of the ministerial conference. Contains numerous subgroups and committees with specific purposes. |
| Singular organ with no subsidiary committees or groups. | Main subgroups include: Dispute Settlement Body, Trade Policy Review Body, Council for Trade in Goods, Council for Trade-Related Aspects of IP Rights, and Council for Trade in Services. |
| Can view Ministerial Declarations and Decisions here. | Can view Annual Reports, Minutes, Working Documents, and Proposed Agendas here. |
Information in this summary is taken from the WTO website.
GATT refers to a set of multilateral trade agreements aimed at the abolition of quotas and the reduction of tariff. Originally signed by 23 countries in 1947, it was considered a temporary solution that would eventually be subsumed under the United Nations. When that failed to occur, GATT was enlarged at several succeeding negotiations. GATT was in place from 1948-1994 and managed tariffs between 125 nations. GATT was eventually replaced by the World Trade Organization in 1995.
The WTO website provides access to all official documents issued under GATT, including over 49,000 documents that trace the development of the global trading system during the postwar period.
Most of the current WTO agreements are the result of the 1986-94 Uruguay Round negotiations, which culminated with the creation of the World Trade Organization in the Marrakesh Agreement in April 1994. There are about 60 agreements and decisions in this collection, along with supporting documentation.
The Marrakesh Agreement was organized into Annexes, each addressing a specific issue related to global trade. You can access all the agreements here. The following table outlines the Annexes and indicates the content focus of each:
| Annex 1A | Multilateral Agreements on Trade in Goods |
| Annex 1B | General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) |
| Annex 1C | Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) |
| Annex 2 | Dispute Settlement Understanding |
| Annex 3 | Trade Policy Review Mechanism |
| Annex 4 | Plurilateral Trade Agreements |
The WTO website also provides access to the official records for each body and committee within the organization. The documents are organized by body/committeee, so be sure to have a general idea of which group you need to research. You can access those documents here.
The Background Papers section of the WTO website provides access to a variety of content that is organized by topic. Note that each within each major topical section, you will find multiple subtopics that categorize studies and papers from individual WTO committees.
International Trade Law Including the Wto, Technology Transfers, and Import/Export/Customs Law by 
International Trade Law Including Trump and Trade in a Nutshell by 
Subsidies in the Context of the WTO's Free Trade System by 
Liberalising Trade in the EU and the WTO by 
Legal Guide to Gats by 