A Study On China’s Import Restriction Compliance With WTO Regulations In The Context Of COVID-19

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,many countries have adopted import restrictions to prevent the COVID-19 from entering their countries.However,there is a natural contradiction between the import restriction measures and the free trade principle of the WTO,and it is controversial whether it is a legal measure or a disguise of trade protectionism.During the COVID-19 pandemic,countries have mainly invoked Article 20(b)of GATT 1994 and Article 5.7 of the SPS Agreement as their compliance basis for imposing trade-restrictive measures.In order to protect the lives and health of its nationals,China has also adopted a series of import restrictions to reduce the import of the COVID-19,which has been discussed by the outside world.China’s import restriction measures mainly include suspending import declarations,strengthening quarantine and prohibiting imports.The purpose is to prevent the overseas virus from attaching to the inner and outer packaging of imported cold chain food and entering China.They are three measures with the same purpose but different methods.China’s three import restrictions are aimed at imported cold chain food and are temporary in nature.Its compliance with the regulations of the WTO regulation system should also be specifically analyzed in conjunction with Article 20(b)of GATT 1994 and Article 5.7 of the SPS Agreement.After analysis,the following conclusions can be drawn: the suspension of import declaration measures and the enhanced quarantine measures are in line with the 3applicable standards of Article 20(b)of GATT1994 and the 4 applicable standards of the SPS Agreement,so they are in line with WTO rules.While the import prohibition measure does not meet the "necessity" requirement of Article 20(b)of GATT 1994,it can meet the applicable standard of Article 5.7 of the SPS Agreement.According to WTO regulations,the SPS Agreement takes precedence over the GATT1994 rules.Therefore,the import prohibition measures are still compliant under the WTO regulation system.