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The basic elements of the GATT/WTO

1. Freer trade
• The Preamble & Art.28 commit Members to reduce tariffs,
• Tariff bindings (excpt. art.28 but not less favourable),
• Customs valuation (art. 7), classification (HTS), and administrative processing (art. 8).
2. Non-discrimination
• The Most Favored Nation (MFN) principle (art. 1)

Excpt. grandfathering clause, regional trading blocks (art. 24),
Bicycle theory and trade diversion vs. trade expansion,
• The National Treatment (NT) principle (art. 3)

Agreements on (1) Technical Barriers to Trade, (2) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures,
Excpt. government procurement.
3. Quantitative restrictions
• Art. 11 prohibits quantitative restrictions,

Excpt. for agricultural imports, in case of BOP problems (art. 12), for LDCs for BOP or infant industry reasons (art. 18),
The Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA), Voluntary Export Restraint Agreements (VER),
• Safeguards (art. 19): non-selectivity and compensation,
• Antidumping and countervailing (art. 6),
• Subsidies: disguised restrictions vs. investments,

Notification; Export subsidies: primary and non-primary products,
Subsidy scenarios,
• Trade remedy laws vs. Safeguard regime
4. LDCs: special and differential status
• For BOP or infant industry reasons (art. 18)
• Non-reciprocity (part 4, art. 36:8)
• High priority to the reduction of barriers to products from LDCs (art. 37), Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)
5. General exceptions
• Moral, health, laws, natural resources (art. 20) and National security (art. 21)
• Waiver of obligations (art. 25:5)
6. The federal state clause
• Limited grounds for excuse for non-compliance by federal states (art. 24:12)
7. The governance of the WTO.