Problem
Canada is an importer of Jamaican coffee. It is well known that Canadians prefer the deep rich flavors of Jamaican blue mountain coffee to any other coffee imported by Canada. Canada imposes a customs duty of 3% to pre-packaged coffee drinks entering the Canadian borders. This tax is applied to all coffee drinks with the exception of a blue mountain coffee drink called "Ital Man" which is a product of Jamaica. The customs duty applied to the "Ital Man" is at the rate of 1.5%. The "Ital Man" is different from all the other coffee drinks because it is sugar and salt free, it is vegan, and gluten free. The other coffee drinks imported into Canada all contain salt, sugar, milk, and wheat-based products. The producers of the coffee drinks from Columbia, Brazil, and Indonesia complain that the Jamaican coffee drink is being offered preferential treatment in the trade relationship with Canada and that all coffee drinks entering Canada should be taxed at the same rate upon entry. (Author: Alana Twum-Barimah).
I. Does the trading relationship between Jamaica and Canada, as it relates to the trade of the product "Ital Man", violate Article 1:1 of the GATT. Discuss your answer with reference to the relevant principles and cases in this area.
II. Briefly outline the exceptions to the principles outlined in Article 1:1 of the GATT.