Wto System In The World Customs Organization's Role And Functions

World Customs Organization (WCO) is the only inter-governmental international organization dealing with customs technology and research in the international sphere. World Trade Organization (WTO) is the largest inter-governmental trade organization, and, together with IMF and World Bank, considered as one of the three pillars of world economic development. For a long time, the WCO has been maintaining a sound and effective cooperative relationship with the WTO in such areas involving customs technology as Customs Valuation, Rules of Origin and Harmonized System. As a hot topic in the present WTO negotiations, trade facilitation is also an arena for the two organizations to cooperate in. Moreover, the WCO's participation is essential for promoting the negotiation and agreement of the final instrument. Up to date, the WCO has acquired nine observer statuses in the affiliated committees under the WTO and played an important role in the WTO affairs.However, our legal circle, international economic law circle in particular, has not conducted enough research about the WCO, international customs cooperation law or the WCO-made conventions. The afore-mentioned function, which the WCO has performed in the WTO, has unequivocally reminded us that international customs cooperation law is an important part of international economic law and is worth much more effort for an in-depth research. Given this consideration, I decided to make a detailed study and research of WCO's legal status and function in the WTO system, based on the existing research.The thesis includes five chapters. Chapter 1 briefly introduces the WCO and the WTO, and analyses the WTO's arrangement (observer status) with the WCO under the current WTO system. Chapter 2 mainly studies the role that the WCO has played in the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation and covers WCO's major efforts in implementing the Agreement. Chapter 3 discusses WCO's legal status in the WTO Agreement on Rules of Origin, and introduces the WCO-led Harmonization Work Program. Chapter 4 introduces the WCO-made Harmonization System, the application and status of the System in the WTO as well as three relevant WTO disputes. Chapter 5 focuses on the hot topic in the WTO, i.e. trade facilitation, and analyses the major contribution and efforts that the WCO has made in promoting the negotiation thereof. The last part is a concluding summary of the paper, summarizing the relationship between the WCO and the WTO as well as exploring the contributing factors.