The most favoured nation and non-discrimination provisions in international trade law and the OECD codes of liberalisation

Andrea Marín Odio
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Andrea Marín Odio: OECD

No 2020/01, OECD Working Papers on International Investment from OECD Publishing

Abstract: Increasing moves away from multilateralism have created a fragmented trade and investment scenario where economies progressively combine the application of restrictive unilateral actions with bilateral and regional preferences. The application of, and exceptions to, the non-discrimination provisions are a fundamental element of these trends.This paper sheds light on the two types of non-discrimination provisions considered the founding stones of the multilateral system: the most favoured nation (MFN) clause - as developed under the GATT and GATS - and the non-discrimination clause among countries adhering to the OECD Codes of Liberalisation.While not taking a position on the complex question of whether a multilateral, plurilateral or bilateral approach to trade and investment liberalisation should be pursued, the paper illustrates the OECD has upheld the non-discrimination obligation as one of its basic principles, dating back to its origins over 60 years ago.

Keywords: Codes of Liberalisation; international trade law; MFN; most favoured nation; multilateralism; non-discrimination; regional integration; WTO (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B17 B27 F13 F15 F42 F51 F53 F55 F60 K33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-02-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-int and nep-law
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