A Dissucssion on the Legitimacy of Carbon Tariffs under the WTO

WTO rules that might be relevant to carbon tariffs in determining legitimacy primarily are border tax adjustment, Most Favorite Nation Principle, National Treatment Principle and Article XX of GATT 1994 that stipulates exceptional clause. This Article briefly examines legitimacy of carbon tariffs under these provisions regulated by GATT 1994, mainly pursuant to legal interpretations made by WTO dispute settlement bodies in case law. It concludes that, in general, carbon tariffs probably will be found being inconsistent with WTO rules, despite WTO has shown increasing efforts on granting flexibilities on trade-related climate measures.