Study On The Applicability Of Article 20 Of Gatt1994

Article 20 of GATT1994,which is as known as ‘General Exceptions' clause,is mainly set to dispense member states' relevant obligations if the performance of relevant obligations may go against the public interests or national public order.The clause is a balance between the realization of the goal of free trade and the safeguarding of the public interests of member states.On the one hand,it makes for the realization of multilateral free trade objectives,on the other hand,it won't damage national public policies and public order of member states.On the other hand,the abuse of the clause may damage the public interests of relevant member states and do harm to the realization of multilateral free trade objectives.Therefore,the Panel and the Appellate Body always follow strict interpretation of the applicable scope of the clause,so that few countries have been able to successfully use this clause to defend.Likewise,China has repeatedly tried to quote the clause to defend,which has never succeeded.On the one hand,‘General Exceptions' clause is easy to become the trade protection umbrella of some members,so the Panel and the Appellate Body always follow strict interpretation of the applicable scope of the clause,on the other hand,there are to many treaties in the rule system of WTO,and the relevant agencies of WTO has not explained the applicable to the agreement and the mutual relationship between these treaties,therefore,when citing this clause to defend,China faces anobstacle: whether China can cite this clause to dispense China from China ' s obligation in China's Accession Protocol.Today,China is committed to building a beautiful and sustainable China.It attaches great importance to a series of issues involving national and social public interests such as national health,sustainable use of resources,and environmental protection.Article 20 of GATT 1994 is an important article that safeguards the domestic public interest of WTO members.Its application is worthy of attention and exploration.The study of this issue will also greatly benefit China's sustainable development strategy.This paper has mainly adopted the historical analysis method and the empirical analysis method to understand the research status of the relevant issues in Article 20 of GATT1994 so far,starting with the production and development of Article 20 of GATT1994,and its role and the legal characteristics embodied in past quotation process.Analyze this clause from a theoretical perspective,laying the groundwork for follow-up research.The purpose of this paper is to analyze the interpretation and review ideas used by dispute resolution agencies in resolving past similar cases,sum up the applicable rules for general exceptions,and present China's strategy to quote this clause to defend by analyzing the reasons for the failure of China's past quotation.