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47-499: MFN may refer to: MFN, acronym for Most favoured nation status in international relations MfN, acronym for Museum für Naturkunde , a natural history museum in Berlin, Germany MFN, the IATA code for Milford Sound Airport , New Zealand Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc., now known as AboveNet Multi-frequency network Music for Nations ,

94-523: A British record label "MFN", a song by Cibo Matto from their 2014 album Hotel Valentine Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title MFN . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MFN&oldid=1003459979 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

141-705: A bilateral level, however, the United States could not grant MFN status to some members of the former Soviet Union, including the Russian Federation , because of the Jackson–Vanik amendment . This presented an obstacle to those countries' accession to the WTO. At the urging of Vice President Joe Biden , the Jackson–Vanik amendment (which attempts to punish human rights violations without hampering trade) ceased to apply to

188-408: A certain number of conditions are met, one client may be entitled to the lowest fee offered to other clients with a substantially identical investment strategy and the same or lower level of assets under management. The most favoured nation clause can also be included in an agreement between a state and a company or an investor. This involves the provision of special privileges and advantages although

235-489: A commercial deal and an agreement by England to mediate a truce between Portugal and Spain. In a separate article, each party undertook not to assist enemies of the other. England would withdraw its Portuguese expeditionary force, and Spain would remain neutral in the Anglo-Dutch War. The commercial treaty consisted of 40 separate articles, the most important being Article Seven , part of Fanshawe's draft but omitted from

282-462: A country's share meant taking it from others and so states protected their own by tariffs , import bans and attacks on others' colonies or ships. English complaints related to two areas; exclusion from markets within the Spanish Empire , and restrictions on direct trade between mainland Spain and England. The 1630 treaty was annulled and, on 23 May 1667, England and Spain signed two new treaties:

329-632: A coup led by his brother Pedro . The previous treaty with France was annulled, and with England as mediator, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Lisbon on 13 February 1668. Relieved of that burden and backed by the Triple Alliance , Spain ended the War of Devolution with France by agreeing to the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle on 5 May. The question of Spanish possessions in the West Indies captured by England in

376-746: A major military offensive against Portugal and refused to negotiate while England was assisting "rebels". Talks opened in 1664 since the offensive failed, halted once the Second Anglo-Dutch War began in March 1665 and restarted after the Spanish defeat at the Battle of Montes Claros in June. Philip died in September, leaving his three-year-old son, Charles II , as king, and his wife, Mariana of Austria , as regent. Ending

423-404: A mere prohibition to enact discriminatory legislation concerning duties on goods of like character imported from an MFN partner. The court ruled that MFN does not constrain the U.S. from giving out special privileges to other countries. The ideas behind MFN policies can first be seen in U.S. foreign policy during the opening of Japan in the mid to late 1850s, when they were included as a clause in

470-451: A multilateral reciprocal relationship the same privilege would be extended to the group that negotiated a particular privilege. The non-discriminatory component of GATT/WTO applies a reciprocally negotiated privilege to all members of GATT/WTO without respect to their status in negotiating the privilege. Most favoured nation status is given to an international trade partner to ensure non-discriminatory trade between all partner countries of

517-1171: A non-market economy, which had been originally suspended in 1951, was restored in 1980 and was continued in effect through subsequent annual Presidential extensions. Following the massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989, however, the annual renewal of China's MFN status became a source of considerable debate in the Congress, and legislation was introduced to terminate China's MFN/NTR status or to impose additional conditions relating to improvements in China's actions on various trade and non-trade issues. Agricultural interests generally opposed attempts to block MFN/NTR renewal for China, contending that several billion dollars annually in current and future U.S. agricultural exports could be jeopardized if China retaliated. In China's case, Congress agreed to permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status in Pub. L.   106–286 (text) (PDF) , which President Clinton signed into law on October 10, 2000. PNTR paved

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564-549: A number of industries including most topically with online travel agents. However the regulatory tide in the EU appears to be turning against the use of these clauses. In a number of recent EU cases in the UK and Germany, MFNs have been condemned when used by companies with significant market power. Startups with most favoured nation (MFN) clause in agreements with their investors are called most favoured nation startups. The clause intends to protect

611-561: A ten-year offensive and defensive alliance against Spain. On 24 May, French troops entered the Spanish Netherlands in the War of Devolution . Facing the prospect of years of war with Portugal and the loss of its provinces to France, Spain now quickly came to terms. The prominence of commercial issues in diplomacy in the 17th and the 18th centuries derived from the economic theory of mercantilism , which viewed global trade as finite. Increasing

658-417: Is a non-discriminatory trade policy as it ensures equal trading among all WTO member nations rather than exclusive trading privileges. The earliest form of the most favoured nation status can be found as early as the 11th century. Today's concept of the most favoured nation status starts to appear in the 18th century, when the division of conditional and unconditional most favoured nation status also began. In

705-453: Is also included in most bilateral investment treaties concluded between capital exporting and capital importing countries after World War II. Trade experts consider MFN clauses to have the following benefits: As MFN clauses promote non-discrimination among countries, they also tend to promote the objective of free trade in general. GATT members recognized in principle that the "most favoured nation" rule should be relaxed to accommodate

752-438: Is certain freedom-of-emigration requirements (better known as the Jackson–Vanik amendment ). The act authorizes the president to waive a country's full compliance with Jackson–Vanik under specified conditions, and this must be renewed by June 3 of each year. Once the president does so, the waiver is automatic unless Congress passes (and avoids or overturns a presidential veto of) a disapproval resolution. MFN/NTR status for China,

799-429: Is concerned, each member country has indicated the same services in its schedule of services commitments, as notified to the WTO. A most favoured nation clause (also called a most favoured customer clause or most favoured licensee clause ) is a contract provision in which a seller (or licensor) agrees to give the buyer (or licensee) the best terms it makes available to any other buyer (or licensee). In some contexts,

846-581: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Most favoured nation There is a debate in legal circles whether MFN clauses in bilateral investment treaties include only substantive rules or also procedural protections. The members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agree to accord MFN status to each other. Exceptions allow for preferential treatment of developing countries , regional free trade areas and customs unions . Together with

893-670: Is often appreciated. They remained in place until the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701. The treaty was highly favourable to England; the conditions established for their commercial dealings in Spain were more extensive, more detailed and more favourable than those obtained by the French. This benefited the English given the structural gap in the balance of bilateral trade. The economic historian Guillermo Pérez Sarrión claims that

940-546: The 2019 Pulwama attack that killed over 40 CRPF personnel, India withdrew the MFN status that it had accorded to Pakistan. In March 2022, in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the G7 countries resolved jointly to withdraw 'most favoured nation' status from Russia and to impose punitive tariffs . In a statement, the group declared that "Russia cannot grossly violate international law and expect to benefit from being part of

987-722: The Commercial Treaty of 1858 , which signalled the opening of the Japanese market. Since 1998, the term normal trade relations (NTR) has replaced most favoured nation in all U.S. statutes. This change was included in section 5003 of the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-206). However, Title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 (P.L. 93-618) established conditions on U.S. MFN/NTR tariff treatment to certain non-market economies, one of which

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1034-915: The Spanish Empire remained a huge global confederation but needed peace after a century of continuous warfare. The Franco-Spanish War of (1635-1659) concluded with the Treaty of the Pyrenees , and the Anglo-Spanish War (1654-1660), involving the Commonwealth of England , was suspended after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Spain now focused on ending the long-running Portuguese Restoration War . In 1656 , Philip IV agreed to help Charles regain his throne in return for assistance against Portugal. However, in May 1661 , Charles agreed to marry Catherine of Braganza and to provide Portugal military support . That

1081-406: The Spanish Empire that remained in place until superseded by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1714. They undertook not to assist each other's enemies, and England also agreed to mediate an end to the 1640-1668 Portuguese Restoration War , which resulted in the 1668 Treaty of Lisbon between Spain and Portugal . The issue of Spanish possessions captured by England in the Anglo-Spanish War (1654-1660)

1128-517: The 1630 Treaty of Madrid as a base. They were unaware of discussions in London between the Spanish ambassador, Count Molina, the Duke of York and Arlington . Charles refused to ratify Fanshawe's version, claimed that he had exceeded instructions and replaced him with Lord Sandwich . Fanshawe died in June 1666, shortly before he could return home. In March 1667, France and Portugal signed the Treaty of Lisbon ,

1175-440: The 1667 treaty demonstrated "England's absolute dominance of Anglo-Spanish trade". One London merchant later described it as "the best flower in our garden". English goods were imported through Cadiz and sold locally or re-exported to the colonies. Spanish dye and wool went the other way. Franco-Spanish trade primarily consisted of bulk imports like grain and timber, which were easily regulated by local authorities. English trade

1222-737: The Far East. The acquisition of Tangier and Bombay provided bases in the Mediterranean and on the Surat coast. That made it too attractive to refuse although the issue impacted Anglo-Spanish relations. Sir Richard Fanshawe , English ambassador in Portugal from 1662 to 1666, was also appointed ambassador to Spain in 1664. He was instructed to agree a treaty of commerce, obtain reparations for losses and confirm possession of territories captured from 1654 to 1660, primarily Jamaica . In 1663, Philip launched

1269-562: The Korean kingdom Joseon was compelled by the United States to give it most favored nation status. After World War II , tariff and trade agreements were negotiated simultaneously by all interested parties through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which ultimately resulted in the World Trade Organization in 1995. The WTO requires members to grant one another "most favoured nation" status. A "most favoured nation" clause

1316-517: The MFN standard." This general principle, however, is not absolute. The current EU competition law position is that MFN clauses will infringe Article 101(i) if in the individual circumstances of the case result in an appreciable adverse effect on competition in the European Union. This is likely to happen when the parties to the agreement have substantial market power. It is recognised by EU courts and regulators that such clauses are widely used in

1363-477: The Russian Federation and Moldova with Magnitsky Act on December 14, 2012. In 1998, the "most favoured nation status" in the United States was renamed "permanent normal trade relations" (NTR) as all but a handful of countries had this status already. The U.S. gives preferential treatment to some of its trading partners without this status, based on the U.S. Supreme Court interpretation of MFN principle as

1410-562: The Spanish Empire, a significant concession since it greatly increased their operating range. Article Thirty-Eight made English merchants equivalent to the Dutch and French by awarding them most favoured nation status. Its implementation was resisted by Spanish merchants and had to be reiterated in the 1670 Treaty . Those concessions were the first step in challenging Dutch economic supremacy outside Europe and so had greater significance than

1457-449: The WTO. A country which provides MFN status to another country has to provide concessions, privileges, and immunity in trade agreements. It is the first clause in the GATT. Under rules of WTO, a member country is not allowed to discriminate between trade partners and if a special status is granted to one trade partner, the country is required to extend it to all members of WTO. In a nutshell, MFN

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1504-617: The agreement or schedule notified to the WTO by that member country. Pursuant to that provision, India has extended MFN status for goods to most member countries of WTO. Within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bangladesh , Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan and Sri Lanka are members of the WTO and all excepting Pakistan have extended MFN status to India, which had extended MFN status to all SAARC countries. In 2019, India revoked its MFN status towards Pakistan . So far as exception to MFN status (if any)

1551-585: The early days of international trade , "most favoured nation" status was usually used on a dual-party, state-to-state basis. A nation could enter into a "most favoured nation" treaty with another nation. In the Treaty of Madrid (1667) , Spain granted England "most favoured nation" trading status. With the Jay Treaty in 1794, the US also granted the same to Britain. In the Joseon–United States Treaty of 1882 ,

1598-597: The first investors, so the later investors do not get better terms than them. This device is promoted by American early stage accelerator, Y Combinator . [REDACTED] World portal Treaty of Madrid (1667) The Treaty of Madrid , also known as the Earl of Sandwich's Treaty , was signed on 23 May, 1667 by England and Spain . It was one of a series of agreements made in response to French expansion under King Louis XIV . The parties agreed to commercial terms allowing English merchants trading privileges within

1645-502: The international economic order". In the 1990s, continued "most favored nation" status for the People's Republic of China by the United States created controversy in the latter because of its sales of sensitive military technology and China's serious and continuous persecution of human rights . China's MFN status was made permanent on December 27, 2001. All of the former Soviet states , including Russia, were granted MFN status in 1996. On

1692-409: The members while maintaining tariff walls between member nations and the rest of the world. Trade agreements usually allow for exceptions to allow for regional economic integration . WTO rules allow any country to revoke the MFN status that it had previously accorded to another: in particular, Article 21 (National Security) allows it to do so without further explanation. In February 2019, following

1739-617: The needs of developing countries , and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (established in 1964) has sought to extend preferential treatment to the exports of the developing countries. Another exception to the "most favoured nation" principle has been posed by regional trade blocs such as the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which have lowered or eliminated tariffs among

1786-577: The original terms. English merchants were given equal status with the Dutch and granted the right to import goods tax free into European Spain. Articles Seven, Eight, Eleven and Twelve went further than this, by allowing English colonies in North America and the East India Company to ship goods directly to Spanish ports. By granting English merchants trading rights within Spanish America,

1833-445: The principle of national treatment , MFN is one of the cornerstones of WTO trade law . "Most favoured nation" relationships extend reciprocal bilateral relationships following both the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and WTO norms of reciprocity and non-discrimination. In bilateral reciprocal relationships a particular privilege granted by one party only extends to other parties who reciprocate that privilege, while in

1880-557: The state cannot use contractual mechanisms to avoid its MFN treatment obligations with other countries. Unlike the relationship among states where a nation accorded an MFN status cannot be treated less advantageously than another, the host nation does not breach MFN treatment if it provides different privileges to different investors. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development clarified this when it stated that "a host country cannot be obliged to enter into an individual investment contract" and that "freedom of contract prevails over

1927-467: The treaty accepted England's presence in the Caribbean and occupation of Jamaica, but that was not formally recognised until 1670. Article Ten broadly exempted English ships and warehouses in Spanish ports from customs inspections, with disputes being referred to a local judge nominated by the English and confirmed by Madrid. Articles Fourteen to Seventeen allowed English ships access to ports throughout

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1974-448: The use of such clauses may become commonplace, such as when online ebook retailers contract with publishers for the supply of e-books. Use of such clauses, in some contexts, may provoke concerns about anticompetitive influences and antitrust violations, while in other contexts, the influence may be viewed as procompetitive. One example where most favoured nation clauses may appear is in institutional investment advisory contracts, where if

2021-482: The war against Portugal was a priority for the new Spanish government, and Juan Everardo Nithard made an Anglo-Spanish treaty dependent on English help in achieving that. However, Louis encouraged Portugal to insist on harsh terms, seeking to prevent Spain from reinforcing the Spanish Netherlands. In December, Fanshawe finalised terms with Count Peñaranda , a member of the Spanish Regency Council, by using

2068-496: The way for China's accession to the WTO in December 2001, which provides U.S. exporters of agricultural products the opportunity to benefit from China's WTO agreements to reduce trade barriers and open its agricultural markets. As per the obligation under their World Trade Organization (WTO) treaties of accession, the member countries of WTO automatically extend most favoured nation (MFN) status to each other unless otherwise specified in

2115-407: Was predominantly maritime, within the vast Spanish Empire, and much harder to control. The treaty effectively permitted ships captains to decide what goods were listed on their manifest as "English". That allowed English merchants to evade customs duties since demand from Spanish colonists created a large and extremely profitable black market . In September, Afonso VI of Portugal was deposed in

2162-569: Was settled by the 1670 Treaty of Madrid . The treaty was one of a series of agreements signed between 1662 and 1668 that were driven by changes in the European balance of power. They included the weakening of the relationship between France and the Dutch Republic , which had been allies during the Eighty Years' War , and Spain's eclipse by France under King Louis XIV . By the mid-17th century,

2209-668: Was the result of various factors, one being Philip's insistence on the return of Jamaica , captured in 1656, and Dunkirk , captured in 1658. The latter had been part of the Spanish Netherlands , but Charles sold it to France in 1662. Relinquishing Jamaica was viewed with great hostility in England, where the English Parliament voted to annex it in September 1660. English merchants gained access to Portuguese markets in Brazil , Africa and

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