OUTLINE

NOTES

The sued State bears the burden of proof when referencing to exceptions in GATT

Aims of SPS & TBT: avoid overuse of non-tariff measures by referencing to the protection of public health & security

WTO Agreements

• Annex 1
  • Goods: GATT, SPS, TBT, CVM, ADM, SG…
  • Services: GATS
  • IPRs: TRIPS
• Annex 2: DSU
• Annex 3: TPRM
• Annex 4: PLURI
  • Civil aircraft
  • Government procurement

→ Reason for signing agreements: to harmonize countries’ policies on trade, exported & imported products

WTO principles

1. Principles of non-discrimination

   1. MFN: to guarantee the participation of members
   2. NT
      • To make sure a nation’s product gets the same treatment when it is exported
      • States have different policies on the same product → treating imported products the same as domestic products maintains fair treatment

2. Market access

   1. Tariffs
   2. Quantitative restrictions
   3. Non-tariff barriers

   → Reasons for Tariff & border Measures

   • Protectionism
   • Public interest

3. The rules on unfair trade

   1. Dumping
   2. Subsidies

4. Trade liberalization & other societal values & interests

   1. Environment, public health, public morals, national securities
   2. Safeguard

5. Rules promoting harmonization of national regulation

   1. SPS
   2. TBT

GATT

• Original idea: tariff reduction → must be a schedule: instantly cutting off tariffs will cause a shock to the economy → GATT is an agreement to keep the schedules in place

Negotiations on the Reduction of Customs Duties (tariff negotiation)

• Art. XXVIII GATT 1994

  • Recognize that tariff is an obstacle to trade → negotiations
  • Substantially (đáng kể) reduction on a reciprocal & mutually advantageous basis
    • Substantial: most tariffs

  → The general trend: the more agreements a state signs, the more tariffs it reduces

• Vietnam’s schedule

Tariff concessions

• Art. II.1 GATT
  1. “no less favourable” → the final bound in schedules is the maximum tariff