Tax avoidance occurs when companies exploit loopholes and flaws in tax laws in order to pay the least amount of taxes. Tax avoidance and evasion have the potential to adversely affect important policy objectives established by governments. They result in lost revenues and place a disproportionate share of the tax burden on honest taxpayers.

Based on:

• _{OECD Harmful Tax Competition, An Emerging Global Issue (1998), pp.19-35 and p. 62}
• _{OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2000), Principle X, Art. 5}

Transfer prices - payments from one part of a multinational enterprise for goods or services provided by another - may diverge from market prices for reasons of marketing or financial policy, or to minimise tax. Commercial transactions between different parts of a multinational group may not be subject to the same market forces shaping relations between two independent firms. To ensure that the tax base of a multinational enterprise is divided fairly, transfers within a group should approximate those which would be negotiated between independent firms (arm’s length principle). 

Based on: 

• _{OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2000)}
• _{OECD Harmful Tax Competition, An Emerging Global Issue (1998)}
• _{OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital (2008)}
• _{WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation (1994)}
• _{OECD Guidelines on Transfer-Pricing (1995)}

Technical barriers to trade (TBT) refer to technical regulations and voluntary standards that set out specific characteristics of a product, such as its size, shape, design, functions and performance, or the way a product is labelled or packaged before it enters the marketplace. TBT shall not be prepared, adopted or applied with a view to or with the effect of creating unnecessary obstacles to international trade.  For this purpose, technical regulations shall not be more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective, e.g. protecting human health and safety, or the environment.

Based on:

• _{UN Millennium Project Task Force on Trade - Trade for Development (2005), pp.261-262}

Sufficient investments have to be guaranteed in order to develop market-related infrastructures, thus guaranteeing producers an equal access to markets.

Based on:

• _{UN Millennium Project Task Force on Hunger - Halving Hunger: It Can Be Done (2005), The Earth Institute at Columbia University}

Corruption can be defined as the active or passive misuse of the powers of public officials (appointed or elected) for private financial or other benefits. Active corruption or “active bribery” is defined as paying or promising to pay a bribe. Examples of corruption include: bribery, inducing or condoning the use of bribes through intermediaries, payments made for illegitimate services, payments made to political parties, money laundering. Corruption threatens good governance, sustainable development, democratic process, and fair business practices.

Based on:

• _{UN Convention Against Corruption (2005), Art. 12, 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, and 39}
• _{OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2000), Art. VI}
• _{OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions (1998)}
• _{UNODC Model Money-laundering, Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Bill (2003), Part II-17}
• _{UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (2004), Art. 7 and 9}