"similar Products" Legal Issues In The Wto Agreement

Article 3 of GAIT 1994, namely" national treatment obligations" ,is one the of foundations for WTO law system. With the tendency of international economic globalization as well as the great endeavors of World Trade Organization (hereinafter named WTO) and other international economic organizations , tariff measure ,which once had been a main restriction on free trade between countries ,is thrown into the history gradually . However, this doesn't bring good fortune for trade and investment liberalization, non-tariff barriers, hidden in kinds of treaties, laws, regulations, requirements, etc. still exist. Making use of the product differentiation, then giving different classification different treatment, is also one kind of new-type trade barriers. In reality, this barrier already exists, GATT/WTO dispute cases imply that "national treatment" has tremendous possibility of being inappropriate exploitation. Arguments of like product are just the focus of this kind of dispute, which not only concerning treaty interpretation but also involving product trade relation between nations. Indeed, the concept of "like products" is located at the center field of the endless battle between the two masters of international trade law—freer trade and national regulatory autonomy.Through historical deduce, comparison analysis etc. ,this essay regards with "like product" problems in GATT article 3 ,irom below four aspects ,such as:Firstly, in the part of introduction, the writer gives some fundamental and key factors with regard to like product problems. These problems include, what is "like product", how to resolve, what is the like product test, and the value of like product research itself.Secondly, in part ONE, the writer try to give general summaries about "like product" problem as regards 3 problems: (1)"like product" in the GATT text ;(2) the sphere of this essay and (3) comparison between relevant concepts, such as fiscal measures v. non-fiscal measures, "like producf' concepts in provision 2 and 4 of Art.3, and de jure discrimination v. de facto discrimination.Thirdly ,in part TWO, writer attaches emphasises on the practices of like product test, which including two main tests once adopted and applied in the dispute settlements ,namely "Border Tax Adjustments" Test and "aim and effect"test, through historical deduce and comparison analysis.At last, but not the least, writer makes conclusion to this essay and proposes some practical and useful suggestions as to National Treatment Obligations for our country.By and large, this essay belongs to the field of international trade law, but it also refers to some treaty interpretation doctrines from public international law, which makes it a mixture of disciplines.