The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization which regulates international trade.

The WTO officially commenced on 1 January 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, signed by 123 nations on 15 April 1994, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which commenced in 1948.

The WTO deals with regulation of trade between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements, which are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments.

Most of the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the Uruguay Round (1986–1994).

International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories.

It is the exchange of goods and services among nations of the world.

In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP).

While international trade has existed throughout history (for example Uttarapatha, Silk Road, Amber Road, scramble for Africa, Trail of tears, Atlantic slave trade, salt roads), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries.

Trade, or commerce, involves the transfer of goods and/or services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money.

A network that allows trade is called a market.

The rule of law is the legal principle that law should govern a nation, as opposed to being governed by arbitrary decisions of individual government officials.

It primarily refers to the influence and authority of law within society, particularly as a constraint upon behaviour, including behaviour of government officials.

The phrase can be traced back to 16th century Britain, and in the following century the Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford used the phrase in his argument against the divine right of kings.

John Locke defined freedom under the rule of law as follows:

A nation (from Latin: natio, "people, tribe, kin, genus, class, flock") is a large group or collective of people with common characteristics attributed to them — including language, traditions, mores (customs), habitus (habits), and ethnicity.

By comparison, a nation is more impersonal, abstract, and overtly political than an ethnic group.

It is a cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity, and particular interests.