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Created in 1995 to enforce and expand GATT (the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade), the World Trade Organization is the most powerful legislative and judicial body in the world. By promoting the 'free trade' agenda of multinational corporations above the interests of local communities, working families, and the environment, the WTO has systematically undermined democracy around the world.

In the five years of its existence, WTO panels composed of corporate attorneys have ruled that: the US law protecting sea turtles was a barrier to 'free trade'; that US clean air standards and laws protecting dolphins are too; that the European Union law banning hormone-treated beef is illegal. [more]

World Trade Organization Links:

Friends of the Earth: World Trade Organization - Information and reports on the World Trade Organization and its impact on the environment.
Impacts of a Millenium Round of the WTO on Forests - Report of the Latin American Workshop of the Joint Initiative on the Underlying Causes of Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
Our Forests at Risk Editor's Pick - The World Trade Organization's Threat to Forest Protection. PDF report from Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund and Northwest Ecosystem Alliance.
The Historic Significance of Seattle - Article by Vandana Shiva on the Seattle WTO protests.
The Millennium Round and its relevance to forests - Briefing from Fern, November 1999.
Third World Network: Trade Issues/Rules and WTO - News and in-depth analysis of the WTO negotiations and the WTO agreements, from the perspective of developing countries.
World Trade Organization - Official site of the WTO.
WTO and the Destruction of the Brazilian Amazon - page of information with photos from Information Services Latin America.
WTO Watch Editor's Pick - Information center on the WTO, trade, and sustainable development.