The document outlines several basic principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO):
- The non-discrimination principle, including most favored nation treatment and national treatment.
- The principle of tariff concessions, which generally eliminates quantitative restrictions in favor of tariffs and duties.
- The principle of reasonable trade protection, which allows for anti-dumping and countervailing duties.
- The principle of trade facilities, transparency, and competition protection, calling for minimizing trade barriers and formalities, publishing trade laws and regulations, and ensuring state enterprises compete fairly.
3. Meaning of MFN
Any advantage,favor,privilege or immunity
granted by any members to any product
originating in or destined for any other
country should be accorded immediately
and unconditionally to the like product
originating in or destined for the territories
of all other members
4. Principle of National Treatment
Internal taxes and other internal charges, and laws,
regulations and requirement affecting sale, offering for sale,
purchase, transportation or use of products, should not be
applied to imported or products so as to afford protection
to domestic production
No Member shall establish or maintain any internal
quantitative regulation which requires, directly or
indirectly, that any specified amount or proportion of any
product must be supplied from domestic sources or that
such amount or proportion must be allocated among
external sources of supply
5. Principle of Tariff Concession
• General Elimination of Quantitative Restriction
6. No prohibitions or restrictions other than duties,
taxes or other charges, whether made effective
through quotas, import or export licenses or other
measures, shall be instituted or maintained on the
importation of product or on the exportation or
sale for export of any product
7. exceptions
• Export prohibitions or restrictions temporarily applied to
prevent or relieve critical shortages of foodstuffs or other
essential products
• When it is necessary to the application of standards or
regulations for the classification, grading or marketing of
commodities in international trade
• Import restrictions on any agricultural or fisheries
product,which aim to restrict the quantities or remove a
temporary surplus of the like domestic product
9. Anti-dumping
Dumping is referred to that ,products of one
country are introduced into the commerce
of another country at less than the normal
value of the products and thereof causes or
threatens material injury to an established
industry in the territory of a contracting
party or materially retards the establishment
of a domestic industry
10. Countervailing
The subsidy includes any form of income or price
support, in any case in which it is determined that
serious prejudice to the interests of any other
member is caused or threatened by any such
subsidization ,the possibility of limiting the
subsidization shall be discussed
11. Principle of Trade Facilities, Transparency
and Competition Protection
The principle of trade facilities
WTO Transparency principle
Competition protection principle
12. Trade Facilities
• WTO considers that fees and formalities
connected with importation may adversely
influence the trading facilitation an indirect
protection to domestic products
• On the contrary ,minimizing the incidence and
complexity of import and export formalities
and,decreasing and simplifying import and export
documentation requirements are all appreciated
13. WTO Transparency principle
All the laws ,regulations, judicial decision
and administrative rulings of general
application pertaining to the classification
or the valuation of products for customs
purposes, or to rates of duty, taxes or other
charges, or to requirements, restrictions or
prohibitions, should be published promptly
in such a manner as to enable governments
and traders to become acquainted with them
14. Competition Protection principle
State trading enterprise with exclusive or special
privileges should make purchases or sales
consistent with the general principles of
nondiscriminatory treatment and solely in
accordance with commercial considerations,and
afford the enterprises of other Members adequate
opportunity, in accordance with customary
business practice,to compete for participation in
such purchases or sales.
