The WTO was instituted on January 1, 1995, but the trading system is about fifty years old. Since 1948, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade provided the rules of trade. The GATT evolved through several rounds of negotiations and the last one, the Uruguay Round, led to the WTO's creation. Whereas GATT had mainly dealt with trade in goods, the WTO and its agreements include trade in services, in traded inventions, creations and designs intellectual property.

Current Members

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - Z

Country:	Date of Accession:		Country:	Date of Accession:
Albania	September 8, 2000		Angola	November 23, 1996
Antigua and Barbuda	January 1, 1995		Argentina	January 1, 1995
Australia	January 1, 1995		Austria	January 1, 1995
Bahrain	January 1, 1995		Bangladesh	January 1, 1995
Barbados	January 1, 1995		Belgium	January 1, 1995
Belize	January 1, 1995		Benin	February 22, 1996
Bolivia	Sept 12, 1995		Botswana	May 31, 1995
Brazil	January 1, 1995		Brunei Darussalam	January 1, 1995
Bulgaria	Dec 1, 1996		Burkina Faso	June 3, 1995
Burundi	July 23, 1995		Cameroon	Dec 13, 1995
Canada	January 1, 1995		Central African Republic	May 31, 1995
Chad	Oct 19, 1996		Chile	January 1, 1995
Colombia	April 30, 1995		Congo	March 27, 1997
Costa Rica	January 1, 1995		Côte d'Ivoire	January 1, 1995
Cuba	April 20, 1995		Cyprus	July 30, 1995
Czech Republic	January 1, 1995		Democratic Republic of the Congo	January 1, 1997
Denmark	January 1, 1995		Djibouti	May 31, 1995
Dominica	January 1, 1995		Dominican Republic	March 9, 1995
Ecuador	January 21, 1996		Egypt	June 30, 1995
El Salvador	May 7, 1995		Estonia	Nov13, 1999
European Communities	January 1, 1995		Fiji	Jan 14, 1996
Finland	January 1, 1995		France	January 1, 1995
Gabon	January 1, 1995		The Gambia	October 23, 1996
Georgia	June 14, 2000		Germany	January 1, 1995
Ghana	January 1, 1995		Greece	January 1, 1995
Grenada	Feb 22, 1996		Guatemala	July 21, 1995
Guinea Bissau	May 31, 1995		Guinea	October 25, 1996
Guyana	January 1, 1995		Haiti	Jan 30, 1996
Honduras	January 1, 1995		Hong Kong, China	January 1, 1995
Hungary	January 1, 1995		Iceland	January 1, 1995
India	January 1, 1995		Indonesia	January 1, 1995
Ireland	January 1, 1995		Israel	April 21, 1995
Italy	January 1, 1995		Jamaica	March 9, 1995
Jordan	April 11, 2000		Japan	January 1, 1995
Kenya	January 1, 1995		Korea, Republic of	January 1, 1995
Kuwait	January 1, 1995		The Kyrgyz Republic	December 20, 1998
Latvia	Feb 10, 1999		Lesotho	May 31, 1995
Liechtenstein	Sept 1, 1995		Luxembourg	January 1, 1995
Macau, China	January 1, 1995		Madagascar	Nov 17, 1995
Malawi	May 31, 1995		Malaysia	January 1, 1995
Maldives	May 31, 1995		Mali	May 31, 1995
Malta	January 1, 1995		Mauritania	May 31, 1995
Mauritius	January 1, 1995		Mexico	January 1, 1995
Mongolia	January 20, 1997		Morocco	January 1, 1995
Mozambique	August 26, 1995		Myanmar	January 1, 1995
Namibia	January 1, 1995		Netherlands - For the Kingdom in Europe and for the Netherlands Antilles	January 1, 1995
New Zealand	January 1, 1995		Nicaragua	Sept 3, 1995
Niger	Dec 13, 1996		Nigeria	January 1, 1995
Norway	January 1, 1995		Pakistan	January 1, 1995
Panama	September 6, 1997		Papua New Guinea	June 9, 1996
Paraguay	January 1, 1995		Peru	January 1, 1995
Philippines	January 1, 1995		Poland	July 1, 1995
Portugal	January 1, 1995		Qatar	January 13, 1996
Romania	January 1, 1995		Rwanda	May 22, 1996
Saint Kitts and Nevis	February 21, 1996		Saint Lucia	January 1, 1995
Saint Vincent & the Grenadines	January 1, 1995		Senegal	January 1, 1995
Sierra Leone	July 23, 1995		Singapore	January 1, 1995
Slovak Republic	January 1, 1995		Slovenia	July 30, 1995
Solomon Islands	July 26, 1996		South Africa	January 1, 1995
Spain	January 1, 1995		Sri Lanka	January 1, 1995
Suriname	January 1, 1995		Swaziland	January 1, 1995
Sweden	January 1, 1995		Switzerland	July 1, 1995
Tanzania	January 1, 1995		Thailand	January 1, 1995
Togo	May 31, 1995	Trinidad and Tobago	March 1, 1995
Tunisia	March 29, 1995	Turkey	March 26, 1995
Uganda	January 1, 1995	United Arab Emirates	April 10, 1996
United Kingdom	January 1, 1995	United States	January 1, 1995
Uruguay	January 1, 1995	Venezuela	January 1, 1995
Zambia	January 1, 1995	Zimbabwe	March 5, 1995