The World Trade Organization headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.
The WTO’s main offices and meeting facilities are located at the Centre William Rappard beside Lake Geneva. The building was completed in 1926 for the International Labour Office and later became associated with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the WTO’s predecessor.
The WTO began operations on 1 January 1995 after the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. Its Geneva headquarters supports negotiations, dispute-related work, committee meetings, and the day-to-day work of the WTO Secretariat.
Geneva is a major center for international diplomacy, so the WTO is sometimes confused with organizations headquartered elsewhere. The United Nations has its principal headquarters in New York, while the OECD is based in Paris. The WTO’s role is to administer global trade rules; it is not a bank that lends money to governments.