Standards Of Treatment

Standards of treatment in Global Commerce Policy

In this regard, a definition of this issue is as follows: the quality of treatment afforded by parties to trade and investment agreements to goods, services, investors and investments from the other parties. The entries on trade policy are here. Agreements usually provide for most- favoured-nation treatment or MFN (non-discrimination between foreign suppliers of goods and services, investors and their investments, as the case may be). Many agreements also provide for national treatment (non-discrimination between imported and domestic goods and services, or between foreign and domestic investors and their investments). Both of these standards are variable between countries. The entries on trade policy in the Encyclopedia are here. One country, for example, may have high agricultural tariffs. The entries on trade policy are here. Another may have rather low ones. Yet each applies its own standard to all foreign suppliers and their products under the MFN principle. The entries on trade policy are here. In the case of national treatment, one country may insist on strict product standards in some manufactures, but another may be more flexible. Neither breaches its legal obligations by insisting on its own standards as long as they do not discriminate against imported products. The entries on trade policy are here. A standard of treatment different to MFN and national treatment is the minimum standard of treatment contained in NAFTA Chapter 11. The entries on trade policy are here. According to Article 1105 each party shall accord to investments of investors of another party treatment in accordance with international law . . . . The entries on trade policy are here. Even allowing for the fact that treaties only apply to the states joining them, it is clear that there is much less variation in rights and obligations that countries have accepted through international law than there is in the case of standards they can set themselves. The minimum standard of treatment is therefore sometimes called an absolute standard.[1]

Standards of treatmentin the wold Encyclopedia

For an introductory overview on international trade policy, see this entry.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Dictionary of Trade Policy, “Standards of treatment” entry (OAS)

See Also