associate members - (7) Aruba, Flanders, Hong Kong, Macau, Madeira Islands, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico
observers - (2) Holy See, Palestine Liberation Organization
World Trade Organization (WTrO): note - succeeded General Agreement on
Tariff and Trade (GATT)
established - 15 April 1994; effective - 1 January 1995
aim - to provide a forum to resolve trade conflicts between members and to carry on negotiations with the goal of further lowering and/or eliminating tariffs and other trade barriers
members - (145) Albania, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina,
Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium,
Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina
Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad,
Chile, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of
the Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador,
Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, EU, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The
Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea,
Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland,
India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan,
Kenya, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives,
Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco,
Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, NZ, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,
Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru,
Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra
Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa,
Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan,
Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda,
UAE, UK, US, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, Zimbabwe
observers - (31) Algeria, Andorra, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Belarus, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Holy See, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Nepal, Russia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tonga, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen; note - must start accession negotiations within five years of becoming observers
Zangger Committee (ZC): established - early 1970s
aim - to establish guidelines for the export control provisions of the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT)
members - (35) Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Luxembourg,
Netherlands, NZ, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia,
Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, UK, US