In a comment posted here, Susan Aaronson says:
Does the WTO require that member states not discriminate among foreign and domestic producers in instances where foreign producers could be treated better than domestic producers? While the WTO requires that member states provide national treatment to foreign producers, it raises the question: why would repressive states provide broader or additional rights to their own citizens? Under national treatment rules, governments are not supposed to favor domestic producers over foreign producers once a good enters the market (there are some limited exceptions). But the WTO’s national treatment rules don’t explicitly require governments to treat domestic producers exactly the same as foreign producers. Repressive governments could, in theory, treat domestic producers worse than foreign producers.
I think the answer to the first part of the question is pretty clear: WTO Members can discriminate against domestic producers. Does anyone have other thoughts?
