an underlying principle of the WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO) whereby each country undertakes to apply the same rate of TARIFF to all its trade partners. This general principle of non-discrimination evolved out of earlier WTO endorsement of bilateral trade treaties, whereby if country A negotiated a tariff cut with country B, and subsequently country B negotiated an even more favourable tariff cut with country C, then the tariff rate applying in the second case would also be extended to A.