ROLE OF 'INTENTION TO DISCRIMINATE' IN WTO NON-DISCRIMINATION OBLIGATIONS

Role of 'Intention to Discriminate' in WTO Non-Discrimination Obligations

Introduction3

Discussion4

The WTO Brief History4

Lawful Motives for Discrimination5

The Intention Issue6

WTO Case Law Analysis7

Italian Discrimination against Imported Agricultural Machinery7

Tuna-Dolphin Case8

Conclusion10

References12

Role of 'Intention to Discriminate' in WTO Non-Discrimination Obligations

Introduction

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a key player in the contemporary globalization process. It is an international organisation responsible for the negotiation, implementation, and enforcement of trade rules. The core function of WTO is to enable trade liberalization (i.e., the removal or reduction of tariffs and other practices of trade that constrain the free flow of services and goods) among its member states ((VanGrasstek, 2013, p. 3-5). The two fundamental roles of the WTO are to provide a forum for trading partners in order to negotiate legally binding rules for governing international trade liberalization, and secondly, to resolve disputes amongst members concerning the execution and interpretation of those rules. Established in 1995, the WTO was not only its predecessor's revamped version, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), but a host of new agreements related to international trade. Integral to the GATT treaty are the so-called non-discrimination principles of most-favoured-nation status (Article 1) and national treatment (Article 3). Trade liberalization is implemented by the WTO with an adherence to two core doctrine or principles that were the fundamentals of the GATT. The rule of reciprocity is the first doctrine, through which all of the member states accept to abide by the most-favoured nation principle. The idea of non-discrimination is the second doctrine, which necessitates that imports must be treated by a member country by the same token as domestically produced goods and services in those domains as regulation, taxation, distribution and transportation (Council of Europe, 1997, p. 191). The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of 'intention to discriminate' in relation to GATT's Most Favoured Nations and National Treatment obligations, with a key focus on jurisprudence/Case Law of the WTO.

Discussion

The WTO brief history

The World Trade Organization (WTO), officially took shape on January 1st, 1995, is a multistate organization established to administer different interwoven international agreements, which are primarily focused on trade regulation. WTO also serves as a platform to negotiate modifications and add-ons to these trade agreements. There were 153 members, as of March 2011, which includes, if not all, but most of the sovereign governments of world. There is explicit commitment of WTO to general economic liberalization and to lessening trade barriers. A crucial role is played by WTO in contemporary geopolitics and in international political economy. The key doctrine of the WTO is non-discrimination, which implies that all WTO member states must equally treat each other in regard to international trade. Non-discrimination is further expressed in two sub- principles:

Most favoured nation (MFN) treatment: WTO member government cannot provide exclusive terms of trade to one trading partner over another, for instance lower tariffs. If a trade concession is granted by a WTO member country to another WTO country, then automatically this concession also ...