Ban on quantitative restrictions
The prohibition of quantitative restrictions is a central component of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union .
Purpose and content
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) has been pursuing the purpose of promoting world trade by reducing tariffs since 1947. The European Union goes beyond that; it completely abolishes tariffs.
This purpose can only be achieved, however, if the reduced or abolished tariffs are not replaced by other measures that impair international trade. It does not help to reduce a tariff rate from 1000 percent to eight percent if at the same time the import of the goods in question is limited to twenty containers a year and thus the volume of trade that existed before the tariff reduction is cemented.
GATT and the AEU Treaty therefore declare such restrictions inadmissible.
Regulation in GATT
In the GATT the prohibition of quantitative restrictions is contained in Article 11. In the case of "India - Measures Affecting the Automotive Sector" the panel decided in 2001 that this ban covers all obstacles to international trade; according to this, the Indian regulation in particular was not compatible with Article 11, according to which car manufacturers were obliged to offset the import of components with exports of the same value.
The strongest quantitative restriction is a total trade ban, such as that provided for in the Wassenaar Agreement . This is compatible with the GATT due to the exception in Article 21.
Other important exceptions are contained in Article 20 GATT. According to this, measures are permitted that are necessary to protect life and health or to protect patents or copyrights.
Regulation in the European Union
In the European Union, the free movement of goods is guaranteed in Art. 34 and Art. 35 TFEU , the model of which is the provision in Article 11 of the GATT. In addition to quantitative restrictions, these articles prohibit “measures having equivalent effect”. The European Court of Justice has defined this very broadly since the Dassonville ruling in 1974: “Any trade regulation of the member states that is capable of directly or indirectly, actually or potentially hindering intra-Community trade is to be regarded as a measure with the same effect as a quantitative restriction. "
The exceptions to the prohibition of quantitative restrictions result from Art. 36 TFEU ; this also allows exceptions for the protection of life and health as well as patents and copyrights.