most favored nations (mfn)
TRANSCRIPT
MOST FAVOURED NATION
• A most favoured nation clause is a level of status given to one country
by another and enforced by the World Trade Organization.
• A country grants this clause to another nation if it is interested in
increasing trade with that country.
• Countries achieving most favoured nation status are given specific trade
advantages such as reduced tariffs on imported goods.
• MFN status is a method of preventing discriminatory treatment
among members of an international trading organization.
• MFN status provides trade equality among partners by ensuring
that an importing country will not discriminate against
another country's goods in favour of those from a third
• Once the importing country grants any type of concession to
3rdparty country, this concession must be given to all other
countries
• Special consideration is given to countries that are classified as
"developing" by the World Trade Organization.
• GSP … Generalized System of Preferences
• The MFN status proclaimed in the GATT has been
granted to about 180 countries. Only a handful of communist countries
have been denied MFN status.
• MFN is so important that it is the first article of the (GATT), which
governs trade in goods.
• MFN is also a priority in the General Agreement on Trade in
Services (GATS) and the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) although in each agreement the
principle is handled slightly differently.
• Together, those three agreements cover all three main areas of trade
handled by the WTO
Benefits
Exceptions
• GATT members recognized in principle that the "most
favoured nation" rule should be relaxed to
accommodate the needs of developing countries, and
the UN Conference on Trade and
Development (established in 1964) has sought to
extend preferential treatment to the exports of the
developing countries
America MFN• Currently, the only countries with Column Two
status are Cuba and North Korea are Not Favoured By America
• In 1998, in America, “MFN” has been Renamed as “Permanent Normal Trade Relations” (NTR).
RUSSIAN MFN
• The major beneficiaries of Russia are Brazil, China, Turkey,
Ecuador, Argentina, South Korea, Iran and India.
• The report on preferential trade treatment of Belarus, Kazakhstan
and Russia in favour of developing and least developed countries
• All of the Former Soviet States, Including Russia Were Granted
MFN status in 1996, but in 1996 the U.S. could not grant MFN
status to some members of the Former Soviet Union, Including
Russian Federation, Because of the Jackson-Vanik Amendment.
INDIAN MFS
• MFN status • Bangladesh, • Vietnam and • Pakistan.
CHINA MFS
• There is no list of country that can enjoy MFN rate from China
• The countries and areas initially denied MFN tariff treatment under
Section 5 were:
• Albania, Bulgaria, China ,Czechoslovakia, Estonia, Germany Hungary,
Indochina (any part of Cambodia, Laos, or Vietnam under Communist
domination or control), Korea Kurile Islands, Latvia, Lithuania, Outer
Mongolia, Poland, Rumania, Southern Sakhalin Island, Soviet Union,
Tanna Tuva, and Tibet.
• Countries to which, at present, MFN tariff status is denied are Afghanistan,
Cuba, Laos, North Korea and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro)
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