Principle 2: Binding and Enforceable Commitments
Tariff commitments are made by WTO members during trade negotiations. These negotiations are bilateral (one country to one country) during the accession process, and then become multilateral (all countries together) after a country has joined WTO.
When a country accedes to the WTO, these commitments are listed in a schedule with ceiling bindings or maximum tariff rate. A country cannot exceed these bound rates without negotiating with its trading partners. It could mean compensating them for loss of trade. If satisfaction is not obtained, the complaining country may refer the matter to the WTO dispute settlement body.