TRIPS Agreement pertains to
- A.international tariff regime
- B.intellectual property protection
- C.international practices on trade facilitation
- D.international taxation of property
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, intellectual property protection. TRIPS stands for the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
TRIPS was negotiated in the Uruguay Round and came into force with the World Trade Organization on 1 January 1995, binding every WTO member. It sets minimum standards for protecting patents, copyrights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs and trade secrets, for example a patent term of at least twenty years. It allows some flexibilities, such as compulsory licensing of medicines in a public health need, which India has used. India amended its Patents Act in 2005 to bring in product patents for drugs and meet its TRIPS obligations.
Option A is wrong because tariffs on goods are governed by GATT, not TRIPS. Option C is wrong because customs procedures come under the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement of 2013. Option D is wrong because no WTO agreement deals with taxing property; tax treaties are bilateral.
Exam tip: WTO pillars = GATT for goods, GATS for services, TRIPS for intellectual property.
Practice Questions
View allAccording to the law of diminishing marginal utility, as the amount of a good consumed increases, the marginal utility of that good tends to
- A.improve
- B.diminish
- C.remain constant
- D.first diminish and then improve
Show answer
Each extra unit of a good gives a consumer less additional satisfaction than the unit before it, so marginal utility falls as consumption rises.
Read the full explanation →Consider the following statements about impact of tax : 1. A tax is shifted forward to consumers if the demand is inelastic relative to supply. 2. A tax is shifted backward to producers if the supply is relatively more inelastic than demand. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
The burden of a tax falls more heavily on whichever side of the market is less elastic, the side that cannot easily walk away.
Read the full explanation →UBI, as an alternative for subsidies in poverty alleviation, stands for
- A.Union Basic Income
- B.Undefined Basic Income
- C.Unconditional Basic Income
- D.Universal Basic Income
Show answer
UBI is the idea of paying every citizen a fixed sum of money regularly, without conditions, in place of a large number of separate subsidies and welfare schemes.
Read the full explanation →Who among the following is the Chairman of the Fourteenth Finance Commission?
- A.C. Rangarajan
- B.Vijay Kelkar
- C.Y. V. Reddy
- D.Rakesh Mohan
Show answer
The Fourteenth Finance Commission, set up in 2013 for the award period 2015-2020, was chaired by Y. V. Reddy, a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Read the full explanation →Why was constitutional amendment needed for introducing GST?
- A.States were not willing to agree with the Union for introduction of GST without amendment in the Constitution.
- B.GST was to be implemented on concurrent base and Article 246 was inadequate for such a case.
- C.The Empowered Committee of Finance Ministers had recommended for constitutional amendment.
- D.The GST Council had recommended for constitutional amendment so that its power enhances.
Show answer
GST is levied by the Union and the States together on the same supply, and Article 246, which splits taxing powers between them through separate lists, did not allow such a concurrent tax.
Read the full explanation →