National treatment is a principle in international law. Utilized in many treaty regimes involving trade and intellectual property, it requires equal treatment of foreigners and locals. Under national treatment, a state that grants particular rights, benefits or privileges to its own citizens must also grant those advantages to the citizens of other states while they are in that country. In the context of international agreements, a state must provide equal treatment to citizens of the other states participating in the agreement. Imported and locally produced goods should be treated equally — at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. (and incorporated by reference in GATT 1994); Article 17 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); and in Article 3 of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The aim of this trade rule is to prevent internal taxes or other regulations from being used as a substitute for tariff protection.
From the outset, government procurement was excluded from the national treatment obligation.
A good summary is found in Japan-Alcohol which states that "[a] national treatment obligation is a general prohibition on the use of internal taxes and other internal regulatory measures so as to afford protection to domestic production".
See also
- Like product
- Most favoured nation
- Special and differential treatment
- Privileges and Immunities Clause (United States Constitution, Article IV)