Transcript Article III GATT (I)

National treatment
Imported products must be treated like
domestic products.
The rule:
- prohibits discrimination de jure and de
facto;
- covers only internal measures (not border
measures).
Article III:2 GATT, first sentence
Article III of the GATT 1994 concerns 3
cases:
1) internal taxes or other charges for like
products: imported products must not be
taxed in excess.
Like products = case-by-case examination.
Narrow interpretation. Several criteria.
In excess = no de minimis rule. Actual
burden. No trade-effects test.
Article III:2 GATT, second sentence
2) internal taxations for directly competitive or
substitutable products: Members cannot tax
imported products differently in order to afford
protection to domestic production.
Notion of directly competitive or substitutable
products: relevant market. Latent demand.
International classification.
Similarly taxed = relevant excess of taxation
Protectionist aim: application criteria and structure
of taxation. Policy objectives?
Article III:4 GATT (I)
3) internal regulation for like products:
imported products must not be treated
less favourably.
Broad notion of internal regulation affecting
internal sale (procedural laws;
requirements agreed by producers).
Article III:4 GATT (II)
Like products = broader notion than in article
III:2. Competitive relationship.
Criteria:
- Characteristics (EC – Asbestos: risks for
human health);
- End-use (multiple uses?);
- Consumer perspective;
- International classification.
Article III:4 GATT (III)
Treatment no less favourable, even though it
can be different.
Treatment must affect the conditions of
competition between domestic and
imported products.
Different treatment can be justified if the
difference does not depend on the foreign
origin of the products.
Article XVII GATS
The principle of national treatment applies to
measures by WTO Members affecting
trade in services.
Foreign services and foreign service
suppliers must be treated no less
favourably than domestic like services and
service suppliers.