What are ‘WTO terms’?

WTO terms is a way of describing a trading relationship between countries that is based only on World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, without a free trade agreement between the parties. The WTO’s rules are agreements negotiated by consensus among its member governments. They cover different aspects of trading relations between members. One of the most important WTO rules is ‘non-discrimination’ – in the absence of a free trade agreement, WTO members must treat all other trading partners in the same way, for example by applying their “most favoured nation” tariffs to them.

For more read our report on the WTO.