The World Trade Organization has three official languages: English, French and Spanish.
These languages are used for the WTO’s official documents, meetings and interpretation. The arrangement reflects the linguistic practice inherited from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, whose work was conducted primarily in English and French before Spanish became an official WTO language.
The three-language system does not mean that every trade discussion worldwide takes place in one of these languages. Governments and businesses may negotiate in many languages, but WTO legal texts and institutional work rely on the official language versions. Translations and interpretation help representatives participate in formal proceedings.
The languages can also help explain why WTO agreement titles and terminology often appear in parallel English, French and Spanish forms. They are not the same as the working languages of every other international trade organization, such as the World Customs Organization or the International Trade Centre.