[hedgetrimmer]

According to the WTO, national treatment refers to services, which also means the service provider or "natural person". Note that the WTO doesn't say giving the same treatment as one's own goods, or one's own product, but one's own NATIONALS. And for your information, nationals means citizens of a particular nation, so giving others the same treatment as one's own nationals means people,not goods.

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2. National treatment: Treating foreigners and locals equally Imported and locally-produced goods should be treated equally — at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. The same should apply to foreign and domestic services, and to foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents. This principle of “national treatment” (giving others the same treatment as one’s own nationals) is also found in all the three main WTO agreements (Article 3 of GATT, Article 17 of GATS and Article 3 of TRIPS), although once again the principle is handled slightly differently in each of these.

National treatment only applies once a product, service or item of intellectual property has entered the market. Therefore, charging customs duty on an import is not a violation of national treatment even if locally-produced products are not charged an equivalent tax.

http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/whatis_e/tif_e/fact2_e.htm

[LowCountryJoe]

That's right. This means that the government cannot pass laws that erect tougher barriers on foreign imported goods or services...such as making ridiculous requirements on foreigners for the sole purpose of limiting foreign competition. You have to admit, you and your ilk would be first in line to lobby lawmakers to make it more difficult for trade to occur had the language not been worded that way. It is human nature for people to protect their own economic self interests in order to avoid any temporary discomfort - they'll even do this even when it hurts the long-term interests of everybody. That's what this whole argument boils down to in a nut shell. And you and your ilk have chosen which side of the argument that you're on. Care to argue some more?

[Toddsterpatriot]

2. National treatment: Treating foreigners and locals equally Imported and locally-produced goods should be treated equally — at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. The same should apply to foreign and domestic services, and to foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents. This principle of “national treatment” (giving others the same treatment as one’s own nationals) is also found in all the three main WTO agreements (Article 3 of GATT, Article 17 of GATS and Article 3 of TRIPS), although once again the principle is handled slightly differently in each of these.

This means the government can't make it harder for a foreign accounting firm to audit my books than for an American accounting firm. It doesn't mean that all the foreign accountants are suddenly citizens.

Nice try though.