GATT Article XX
Also called: General Exceptions, Article XX(g) · Topic: International Trade Policy, WTO and Intellectual Property · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
GATT Article XX is the list of "general exceptions" to normal WTO trade rules. It lets a country restrict trade, for example with an import ban or an export ban, to protect certain goals that matter more than free trade. These include public morals (XX(a)), human, animal or plant life or health (XX(b)), and conservation of exhaustible natural resources (XX(g)), meaning resources such as minerals that can run out. Every measure must also pass the opening paragraph, called the "chapeau". It must not discriminate in an arbitrary or unjustified way between countries, and it must not be a disguised restriction on trade. A measure under XX(g) has one extra test: it must go along with matching limits on domestic production or use, so that local and foreign users share the burden even-handedly.
Example
In the rare earths, tungsten and molybdenum disputes (DS431/432/433), China defended its export limits under XX(g). It lost. Foreign buyers faced the limits, but Chinese industry could still use the minerals freely. India's ban on exporting lithium-ion battery black mass has the same weak point if it is challenged at the WTO.
Don't confuse with
- GATT Article XXI (security exception): this covers measures a country "considers necessary" for its essential security, so states claim they can judge it for themselves. In the Russia – Traffic in Transit case (2019), the panel held that it is not fully self-judging. Article XX, by contrast, is always tested against its listed goals and the chapeau.