Virtual Water Trade in the Legal Framework of the World Trade Organization

A major part of the State’s water resources is used, in the form of "virtual water", to produce products, especially agricultural products. Today, the smart trade of virtual water is considered a way to resolve the world's water shortage crisis. This research has answered the question of what capacities does the current legal framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have for managing and facilitating virtual water trade? The primary hypothesis is that WTO can facilitate the smart trade of virtual water by removing trade barriers. The results of the studies indicate that only trade liberalization, regardless of the economic value of water in the production process, does not facilitate virtual water trade in line with the management of global water resources. Also, although the management of import and export of goods based on the amount of water consumed in the production process seems to violate the principle of non-discrimination in WTO, some exceptions included in the agreements of this organization can help to virtual water trade and reduce the water crisis. Using the capacities of this organization to remove agricultural subsidies that disrupt the virtual water trade and evaluating the water footprint through the creation of a labelling system are other ways to facilitate the virtual water trade.