Non-tariff Barriers and Private Conduct: The Case of Labelling

Abstract

With the proliferation of product labelling schemes, there is an increasing concern that these schemes may have a distortive impact on international trade. WTO law regulates the non-tariff barriers, including labelling requirements, adopted by government bodies, and gives certain policy space to governments to pursue non-trade public policy objectives. On the other hand, it is widely perceived that WTO law does not regulate purely private labelling schemes. Nevertheless, WTO Agreements such as the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures contain certain disciplines in this area. In addition, there is also jurisprudence on the principle of attribution, which may in certain situations bring private conduct within the purview of WTO discipline. This article aims to explore the regulation of private labelling by WTO law as it currently stands, to identify specific issues and policy challenges, and to analyse the meaning and scope of the WTO rules related to private labelling in light of the WTO jurisprudence and the underlying purpose of such rules.