Ensuring Compliance between a Bilateral PTA and the WTO

This chapter focuses on the substantive aspects of the exception for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in relation to goods under Article XXIV of GATT 1994, examining in detail the conditions with which FTAs must comply in order to fall within the exception. These conditions relate to the elimination of restrictions on trade between the parties to the FTA, and to the nature and level of restrictions that the parties to the FTA impose on trade with WTO Members that are not party to the FTA. The chapter goes on to discuss the activities of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements as well as the lack of enforcement of the rules before WTO Tribunals. This puts into context the likelihood of any legal challenge to an Australia-China FTA