The Research Of The National Treatment Under TBT Agreement

In the international trade,the tariff barriers are gradually abolished in recent years,while,technical barriers to trade as a more subtle and non-tariff barriers to trade,is presenting a strong trend of development.TBT Agreement is one of the most important treat to regulate technical trade measures under the framework of the WTO.Today,the effect of technical barriers to trade on international trade has been far beyond the tariff barriers,so strengthen the study of the TBT agreement is important.With the increasing degree of openness between countries,the demand for trade liberalization is deepening,and the principle of national treatment is playing a more and more important role."Indonesia v.United States clove cigarette case" is the first time for the WTO dispute settlement body to explain the national treatment under the TBT agreement.Through the study of this case,it is of great significance for us to deeply understand the national treatment of the TBT agreement.The first chapter briefly introduces the case and the focus of controversy.The second chapter discusses the meaning of the "technical regulations"under the TBT agreement,and analyses its constitutive elements.The third chapter reviews the related theory of law under the GATT,and discusses how to identify the "like products" under the TBT agreement base on the interpretation and analysis of the Panel and the Appellate Body.The fourth chapter introduce what kind of treatment can be seem as "less favorable treatment",and discusses how to identify the de facto discrimination,base on the Panel and the Appellate Body’s interpretation and analysis of the less favorable treatment under the TBT Agreement.The fifth chapter is the inspiration of this case to China.This paper puts forward some suggestions from the following two aspects:to improve our technical trade measures and to deal with foreign technical barriers to trade.