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42 Geo. J. Int'l L. 583 (2010-2011)
Picking Tariff Winners: Non-Product Related PPMS and DSB Interpretations of Unconditionally within Article I:1

handle is hein.journals/geojintl42 and id is 587 raw text is: PICKING TARIFF WINNERS: NON-PRODUCT RELATED PPMS AND DSB INTERPRETATIONS OF UNCONDITIONALLY WITHIN ARTICLE 1:1 CHARLES BENOIT* This paper proposes how WTO Members seeking a proportional increase in the consumption of sustainable ethanol could defend a unilaterally introduced tariff advantage for ethanol conditioned on green house gas emission life-cycle assessments. This explanation applies a WTO-contextual taxonomy of non- product-related process and production methods to argue that life-cycle assess- ments should not be interpreted as a prohibited PPM, and in fact 'are supported by the text of the WTO Preamble and the WTO Dispute Settlement Body 'sflexible interpretations of unconditionally. The purpose of the paper is to advance an emerging view of GATTArticle I:1's most-favored-nation principle, and as such there is no reliance on derogations of the MFN principle found in the GATT Article XX exceptions or the Enabling Clause. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION . ................................... 584 II. THE ETHANOL LANDSCAPE AND LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENTS ...... ..586 A. The Ethanol-Biofuel Landscape Is Ripe for Trade-measure ' Induced Efficiencies ............................. 586 B. Lefe-cycle Assessments Are the Only Way to Know Whether Blending Ethanol with Gasoline Lowers Vehicle GHG Emissions .................................... 588 C. The Life-Cycle Assessments Debate in Trade Law......... .589 III. ETHANOL LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENTS As WTO CONSISTENT NON-PRODUCT RELATED PPMs ........................ 590 A. Charnovitz's Non-Product-Related PPM Framework....... .590 B. Ethanol LCAs Are How-Produced PPMs............. 593 IV. DSB INTERPRETATIONS OF UNCONDITIONALLY ............. 594 A. The Early Years: Belgian Family Allowances and Indonesia-Autos .............................. 595 B. The Canada-Autos Report Breaks New Ground ........ 596 * R Michael Gadbaw Fellow, General Electric International Law & Policy. For insightful comments, I wish to thank ProfessorJohn H.Jackson, for whose seminar this paper was written, as well as Professors Michael Gadbaw and C. Christopher Parlin. Many thanks also to Sara Kaiser, as well as Andrew Davis and the staff of GJIL for their editorial help. @ 2011, Charles Benoit. 583