Product Policy

Drs. Anwar S., MBA, M.Pd

 Reading
National Environmental and Health Regulatory Autonomy and the GATT

To many, it is not apparent at first glance why the WTO has such far-reaching
implications in the field of either international or national regulation in relation to
environmental and health matters. The reason, however, becomes clear when
looking at the historical development of the GATT. Although initially designed to
be a way to bring down tariffs and to prevent more crippling tariff wars like those
that characterised the interwar years, the later GATT rounds of negotiations began
to address domestic measures that constituted non-tariff barriers to trade, as these
‘became more prominent as trade barriers’ as tariffs were progressively cut.
Non-tariff barriers to trade encompass a wide variety of measures and can be
described as ‘any measure (public or private) that causes internationally traded
goods or services, or resources devoted to the production of these goods and
services, to be allocated in such a way as to reduce real world income’.
 Continued ...
The annual WTO World Trade Reports include a section on non-tariff mea- sures, and the
report from 2012 is dedicated to this issue. This report contains a table of classifications of
types of non-tariff measures that can constitute a barrier to trade, and it may be helpful to see
these classifications in order to better imagine the types of governmental measure that could
involve both environmental and health concerns and also fit into one of these categories:
(A) sanitary and phytosanitary measures;
(B) technical barriers to trade;
(C) pre-shipment inspection and other formalities;
(D) price control measures;
(E) licences, quotas, prohibitions and other quantity control measures;
(F) charges, taxes and other para-tariff measures;
(G) finance measures;
(H) anti-competitive measures;
(I) trade-related investment measures;
(J) distribution restrictions;
(K) restrictions on post-sales services;
(L) subsidies (excluding export subsidies);
(M) government procurement restrictions;
(N) intellectual property;
(O) rules of origin;
(P) export-related measures.
 Continued ...
The measures that have been highlighted have an obvious and direct link to
environmental or health measures, while the others could also come into play in any
number of ways in the complex regulatory measures enacted by governments.
The question is then raised: how and when do these non-tariff measures constitute a
barrier to trade? Certainly, it is clear that in order to do so they must be crafted in
such a way as to violate one of the substantive provisions of the GATT or covered
agreements. Depending on the way in which the national regulatory measure
operates, it may conflict with Art. XI ‘General Elimination of Quantitative Restric-
tions’, which is a most important provision in this regard as it constitutes a general
prohibition that ‘forms one of the cornerstones of the GATT system’. Article XI
states, in its operative part:
1. No prohibitions or restrictions other than duties, taxes or other charges, whether
made effective through quotas, import or export licences or other measures, shall be
instituted or maintained by any contracting party on the importation of any product
of the territory of any other contracting party or on the exportation or sale for export
of any product destined for the territory of any other contracting party.
Continued ...
As mentioned previously, an all-out ban, or an import ban, may be one of the ways in which
governments chose to regulate goods on their internal markets that have been produced in a way
that they deem to be detrimental to the environment or may cause them concern in relation to
public health (both inside and outside their territorial jurisdiction). These are, however, not the
only types of measures that constitute quantitative restrictions. The 1996 Decision on
Notification Procedures for Quantitative Restrictions from the Council for Trade in Goods lays
out a list of such measures, which can encompass the following:
– prohibitions;
– prohibitions except under defined conditions;
– global quotas;
– global quotas allocated by country;
– bilateral quotas (i.e., anything less than a global quota);
– automatic licensing;
– non-automatic licensing;
– quantitative restrictions made effective through state-trading operations;
– mixing regulations;
– minimum price, triggering a quantitative restriction;
– ‘voluntary’ export restraints.
□ The questions to answer.
□ 1. Give the reasons, why the WTO has such far-reaching implication in the fieldof either international
or national regulation.
□ 2. The types of governmental measure that could involve environmental and health concerns and also
fit into some categories below. Explain what do they mean.
□ A. Sanitary and phytosanitarymeasures.
□ B. Technical barriers to trade.
□ C. Price control measures
□ D. Trade related investment measures
□ E. Government procurement restriction .
□ 3. How and when do these Non-tariff measures constitute a barrier to trade. Explain.
□ 4. The 1996 Decision on notification Procedures for Quantitative Restriction from the council to trade
in good lays. Give the meaning of the words below.
□ A.Prohibition
□ B.Global quotas
□ C. Bilateral Quotas
□ D. Automatic licensing
□ E.Mixing regulation.
□ Questions to answer.
□ 1. make the words below into conditional sentences type I.
□ A. glance
□ B. reach
□ C. implicate
□ D. relate
□ E. become

□ 2. write the words into conditional sentences type II.

□ A. design.
□ B. sanitary
□ C. price.
□ D. distribute
□ E. govern

□ 3. make again into type III the words below.

□ A. export
□ B. measure.
□ C. trade.

□ 4. Translate the text above into Indonesia.