On The Private Sector Standards Under Trade In Goods In WTO

The2012World Trade Report shows that the essential change of international trade and the use of private standards may further promote the organizational integration in the globalized world. The government’s responsibility as to private standards is not clarified, the role of WTO on this issue is not clear either. Effect towards the trade produced by private standards is one of the most important issues which the multilateral trading system is faceing with. Private standards raise such a problem in WTO daily work as its content being extremely diverse, covering the green protectionism, food safety and social responsibility. Within the background of the proliferation of private standards, in the realm of WTO, developing countries are increasingly showing concerns about it, emphasizing that they causes substantial barriers to trade, thus limiting the products’ market access from developing countries, while the developed countries in this aspect opinions that they are entirely personal behavior and WTO would not be suitable for interferencing. Therefore, this paper aimes to explore why private standards proliferate, what their origins and theoretical basis are, as well as what role WTO agreements on trade in goods can then play, and after that how to solve them.In addition to the introduction and conclusion, this paper consists of four chapters. And each chapter co-relateds with each other and should be viewed logically and comprehensively.The first chapter, as the starting point for this paper, introduces the concept and realm of private standards. Against that definition, it further clarifies how private standard run, develop and what its terms, classification, objects, objective, historical development, making process and other aspects are with comprehensive exposition. It then analyzes two aspects, positive and negative effect which private standards have on the international trade. On the positive side, private standards can be used as a booster of international trade; while in the negative way, it can be used as international trade barriers, hindering the development of free trade. At the same time stressed, and private standard two aspect effect is not absolute, it should be dialectically.The second chapter analyzes the possible regulation under the framework agreement on trade in goods in WTO related to private standards. As a premise, the author first analyses under what circumstances the private standards can be regulated by the WTO agreement, and then respectively in GATT, SPS agreement and TBT agreement. The authour conclude, private standards is completely private behavior in most cases, but in some cases, the government involvement in certain degree can influence their personal behavior, thus private standard possibly being attributed to national behavior. But such point remains inconclusive. In the SPS agreement and TBT agreement, the two agreements are ambiguous towards the wording of private standards, so it does not suitable for two agreements to regulate private standard behavior.The third chapter evaluates how private standards impact the World Trading System. It firstly explore what constitute the so called WTO source of law, then exemplifies that private standards, which in essence belong to the realm of soft law, can not be regarded as or qualified as WTO soucrce of law. Nevertheless, through the exploration of what constitute International Standards under WTO cover agreements on trade in goods, it reckons the the standards derived from International Standardlization Organization could be treated as being qusi-legal under relevant WTO agreement. At last, the author points out the impact of private standards impcting against WTO.The fourth chapter is divided into three parts. In the first part, the existing framework of the WTO trade in goods under relevant agreement on the settlement of private standards committee of the scheme is evaluated and analyzed. Then the author concludes that solving the problem of private standards under the framework of WTO trade in goods is not the best choice. Secondly, competition law in the domestic level of private standards adjustment plan is analysised and evaluated, concluding that it also can not play the role of solving problems positition as to private standards. Finally, the author argues that the mode of public-private partnership, vested with the principles reflecting from the Global Administrative Law could, in the WTO, make the private standards problems best sloved. In that mode, members of the WTO and the private standards may partner institutions properties of an advisory committee to build between affected potential stakeholders, in order to better solve the problem of private standards.The conclusion part is the summary for the whole paper, pointing out that the legal mechanism adjustment within the framework of current WTO trade in goods can not be the best work on private standards, as well as emphasizing that the integration of public-private partnership through multi-agent is a better to solve such problem.