📜 WTO Principles and Trade Policies

1. 📘 National Treatment Rule

✅ Definition:
The National Treatment Rule is a key principle under the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements. It states that once a foreign product enters a country’s market, it must be treated no less favorably than domestic products.

⚠️ Informal Persuasions:
Informal persuasions (like urging citizens to boycott Chinese goods) can violate this rule, especially if they are government-backed or indirectly encouraged by the state. Even if there is no formal ban, such actions may be considered discriminatory, which goes against the spirit and obligation of National Treatment.

2. 🔹 Plurilateral Agreement:
These are voluntary trade agreements among a limited number of WTO members. They do not govern or invalidate informal boycotts, unless they explicitly address such behavior.

3. 🔹 Protection through Tariffication:
This refers to replacing non-tariff barriers (like quotas) with tariffs. It is a method of formal protection and doesn’t relate to informal persuasions or discriminatory practices.

4. 🔹 Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Principle:
MFN ensures equal trade terms among all WTO members. However, it applies to country-to-country trade terms, not to how imported goods are treated inside the market, which is the domain of National Treatment.