CURRENT AFFAIRS

Detailed explanation-1: -The European Union and the WTO The member States of the EU are also WTO members in their own right. The EU is a single customs union with a single trade policy and tariff. The European Commission - the EU’s executive arm - speaks for all EU member States at almost all WTO meetings.

Detailed explanation-2: -The WTO is a broad international organisation, its members accounting for over 90 % of all trade in the world, whereas the EU, being a member of the WTO, is a geographically limited and closely integrated organisation.

Detailed explanation-3: -The underlying idea was to create a level playing field for all members through the ‘substantial reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade and the elimination of discriminatory treatment in international commerce’[1].

Detailed explanation-4: -The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.