"If a signatory of the WTO is found to be in violation of the WTO Agreements, the WTO is able to compel the nation to change its laws or practices so as to conform with the Agreement." Critically Discuss.

When envisaged at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, the aim of the World Trade Organisation was to liberalise trade in a manner that would facilitate reliance between the signatories to an extent that would prevent future warfare as had been experienced in the years preceding the Conference. [1] Part of this reliance came in the form of trade agreements that ensured that countries would not create barriers to trade that would inhibit the liberalisation efforts that had taken place and create a difference of competition. However, the question arises as to what mechanisms the WTO had in place to enforce the agreements against a breaching country. The two prominent mechanisms through which enforcement is sought to be achieved are retaliation and compensation; the basis for both being found under Article 22 of the Dispute Settlement Understanding. To deal firstly with the matter of retaliation. The idea behind retaliation is that a country which has been on the rec