On 1 January 1995, the WTO replaced GATT, which had been in existence since 1947, as the organization overseeing the multilateral trading system. The governments that had signed GATT were officially known as “GATT contracting parties”. Upon signing the new WTO agreements (which include the updated GATT, known as GATT 1994), they officially became known as “WTO members”.
The list below is historical. It contains the 128 GATT signatories as at the end of 1994, together with the dates they signed the agreement. Click here to see the up-to-date list of WTO members.