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World Trade Organization

WTO

Last modified: 2023-06-03 by zachary harden
Keywords: international organizations | world trade organization | wto |
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[World Trade Organization]
image by Zachary Harden, 03 November 2021


See also:


Overview

"The WTO is the only global international organization (IGO, International Government Organization or Inter Governmental Organization) dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948"
Sources: https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/whatis_e.htm and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization
For the full list of 162 Member and observer countries please see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Member_states_of_the_World_Trade_Organization
For additional information go to: WTO (official website)
Esteban Rivera, 10 April 2016


The Flag

[World Trade Organization]
Variant used at a 2021 G20 Meeting in Rome; image by Olivier Touzeau, 31 October 2021

In response to an inquiry to the World Trade Organization, we have received the following statement:

The WTO does not have a flag but does have a logo which [was given] to the WTO by Singapore.
Ms Hortence Mpako Foaleng
Information and Media Relations Division
World Trade Organization

The logo appears on all World Trade Organisation webpages. A link concerning the logo can be read here: www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres97_e/pr79_e.htm
Sean McKinniss
, 11 March 2002

At this page Yahoo shows the logo of the World Trade Organization.
Jorge Candeias, 28 March 2003

Neither the IMF nor the World Bank fly any flags on their headquarters buildings in Washington. Also, if you check www.wto.org, you'll see the logo in color, not just white on black.
Photos showing WTO flags can be found at http://wto.inform.org.ua/aboutwto/ , http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/worldbiz/archives/2005/07/13/2003263377
and http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/99/1213/business.madashell.html. All are different, and they are all probably unofficial.
Valentin Poposki, 22 August 2006

I am not sure if these are flags at all. The two photos do show only parts of some cloth, not necessarily and not clearly identifiably a flag. The third image is no photo, but a computer graphic.
M. Schmöger, 24 August 2006

WTO does have a flag. Well, here's the contrary (all pictures were taken during the WTO Public Forum in 2010, from WTO's Flickr account:
- https://www.flickr.com/photos/world_trade_organization/4999623498/in/photostream/
- https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4124/4999622562_358b2b4d5f_b.jpg (flag on the right) (source)
- https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4089/5000082195_99111c73d4_b.jpg  (flag on the right) (source)
- http://blogs.cfr.org/renewing-america/files/2012/05/Renewing-America-WTO-Flag-20120501.jpg (flag on the right) (source)
- http://www.newsfultoncounty.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/wto.png (source)
The flag is a horizontal white flag with the logo in the middle, and below the organizations' initials WTO OMC in black capital letters (WTO for its acronym in English, and OMC is in French . [Ed.])
Esteban Rivera, 10 April 2016


The Logo

The design is adapted from the logo originally commissioned by the Government of Singapore for the WTO's first Ministerial Conference which was hosted by Singapore in December 1996. In April 1997, the WTO General Council accepted Singapore's offer to transfer to the WTO the logo and its copyright. It was formally unveiled on 6 October 1997.
The original logo was created by Su Yeang Design, a Singapore-based graphic arts company, and selected from over 200 entries in a competition held by the Government of Singapore.
The explanation of the logo: "A hint of the globe is suggested by the six graphic arcs symbolizing world trade with member nations meeting to forge strategic alliances. Dynamism and optimism prevail as the swirls integrate, encapsulating WTO's united spirit of promoting fair and open trade."
Source: https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/pres97_e/pr79_e.htm
Zoltan Horvath, 11 January 2017


20th Anniversary Logo

A special logo was designed for its 20th anniversary although it has not been displayed on a flag (...yet)
Esteban Rivera, 10 April 2016