一、透明度原则的含义
透明度原则（Transparency Principle），要求成员方政府在实施及改变与过境货物、国际服务贸易及知识产权的保护有关的各项贸易措施、法律、法规及政策时，必须予以公布。不公布的不得实施，同时还要求成员方应将这些贸易措施及其变化情况通知WTO，以保证贸易环境的稳定性和可预见性。概括来说，透明度原则主要包括公布和通知两个要求。世界贸易组织成员应将与贸易有关的法律、法规、规章、政策、规定都预先公布。公布所有的贸易政策和措施，是WTO成员的基本义务之一。公布的内容有海关关税分类，海关估价，关税税率，国内税税率和其他费用等。公布的时间，最迟应在有关政策措施生效之时。WTO要求成员方将有关贸易政策措施通知WTO相应机构，以保证其他成员方能及时获得有关成员在贸易方面的信息。通知的内容有关税、关税配额和附加税等。通知分为定期通知（适用于法律、法规、政策的更新），不定期通知（一次性通知、多次通知）。
各成员还应设立咨询点，对其他成员、贸易经营者或个人提出的问题，提供准确、权威的答复。另外，通过世界贸易组织的贸易政策审查机制对各成员的贸易政策进行定期监督，也是保证透明度的一种方式。
为了更好地监督各成员方履行有关的通知义务，《关于通知程序的部长决定》要求秘书处成立一个通知登记中心（central registry of notifications），该登记中心的任务主要是：（1）将各成员方所通报的有关措施的情况，诸如该措施的目的、其适用的贸易范围及其所依据的通知要求等记录在案；（2）对各成员方的通知措施与义务进行参照对比；（3）每年通知各成员方下一年度内应履行的常规通知义务；（4）对尚未履行常规通知义务的成员应提请其注意；（5）在任何有权得到有关通知情况的任何成员索要其他成员方的通知资料时，应使其能够获得该通知的信息内容。
二、透明度原则的适用
（一）透明度原则在货物贸易领域的适用
GATT第10条第1款是有关“公布内容”的规定：Laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application, made effective by any contracting party, pertaining to the classification or the valuation of products for customs purposes, or to rates of duty, taxes or other charges, or to requirements, restrictions or prohibitions on imports or exports or on the transfer of payments therefor, or affecting their sale, distribution, transportation, insurance, warehousing inspection, exhibition, processing, mixing or other use, shall be published promptly in such a manner as to enable governments and traders to become acquainted with them. Agreements affecting international trade policy which are in force between the government or a governmental agency of any contracting party and the government or governmental agency of any other contracting party shall also be published. The provisions of this paragraph shall not require any contracting party to disclose confidential information which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.
第10条第2款又规定：“No measure of general application taken by any contracting party effecting an advance in a rate of duty or other charge on imports under an established and uniform practice, or imposing a new or more burdensome requirement, restriction or prohibition on imports, or on the transfer of payments therefor, shall be enforced before such measure has been officially published.
第3款规定了各成员应维持或尽快建立司法的、仲裁的法庭或程序。这种法庭或程序应独立于负责行政实施的机构。 （a） Each contracting party shall administer in a uniform, impartial and reasonable manner all its laws, regulations, decisions and rulings of the kind described in paragraph 1 of this Article. （b） Each contracting party shall maintain, or institute as soon as practicable, judicial, arbitral or administrative tribunals or procedures for the purpose, inter alia, of the prompt review and correction of administrative action relating to customs matters. Such tribunals or procedures shall be independent of the agencies entrusted with administrative enforcement and their decisions shall be implemented by, and shall govern the practice of, such agencies unless an appeal is lodged with a court or tribunal of superior jurisdiction within the time prescribed for appeals to be lodged by importers; Provided that the central administration of such agency may take steps to obtain a review of the matter in another proceeding if there is good cause to believe that the decision is inconsistent with established principles of law or the actual facts. （c） The provisions of subparagraph （b） of this paragraph shall not require the elimination or substitution of procedures in force in the territory of a contracting party on the date of this Agreement which in fact provide for an objective and impartial review of administrative action even though such procedures are not fully or formally independent of the agencies entrusted with administrative enforcement. Any contracting party employing such procedures shall, upon request, furnish the CONTRACTING PARTIES with full information thereon in order that they may determine whether such procedures conform to the requirements of this subparagraph.
在公布的时间要求上依WTO的规定，成员方应迅速公布和公开有关贸易的法律、法规、政策、措施、司法判决和行政裁定，最迟应在生效之时公布或公开，使WTO其他成员和贸易商及时得以知晓。在公布之前不得提前采取措施，如提高进口产品的关税税率等。个别协议，如《技术性贸易壁垒协定》和《实施卫生与植物卫生措施协定》还要求，在起草有关技术法规和合格评定程序过程中，如果该有关法规和程序与现行国际标准不一致，或没有现行的国际标准，并且将对国际贸易产生重大影响，成员方应留出一段合理时间（45～60天），以便其他成员就有关法规和程序草案发表意见。
（二）透明度原则在其他领域的适用
在服务贸易方面，《服务贸易总协定》第3条第3款规定：Each Member shall promptly and at least annually inform the Council for Trade in Services of the introduction of any new, or any changes to existing, laws, regulations or administrative guidelines which significantly affect trade in services covered by its specific commitments under this Agreement.
在知识产权方面，《与贸易有关的知识产权协定》第63条第1款、第 2款规定，任何成员方应将通过的法律、法规向知识产权理事会通报。
1. Laws and regulations, and final judicial decisions and administrative rulings of general application, made effective by a Member pertaining to the subject matter of this Agreement （the availability, scope, acquisition, enforcement and prevention of the abuse of intellectual property rights） shall be published, or where such publication is not practicable made publicly available, in a national language, in such a manner as to enable governments and right holders to become acquainted with them. Agreements concerning the subject matter of this Agreement which are in force between the government or a governmental agency of a Member and the government or a governmental agency of another Member shall also be published.
2. Members shall notify the laws and regulations referred to in paragraph 1 to the Council for TRIPS in order to assist that Council in its review of the operation of this Agreement. The Council shall attempt to minimize the burden on Members in carrying out this obligation and may decide to waive the obligation to notify such laws and regulations directly to the Council if consultations with WIPO on the establishment of a common register containing these laws and regulations are successful. The Council shall also consider in this connection any action required regarding notifications pursuant to the obligations under this Agreement stemming from the provisions of Article 6ter of the Paris Convention （1967）.
（三）透明度原则的例外
1.在货物贸易方面
关贸总协定第10条第1款但书规定：The provisions of this paragraph shall not require any contracting party to disclose confidential information which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.该条款表明，关贸总协定允许各缔约国对某些机密不公开。
2.在服务贸易方面
依《服务贸易总协定》的规定，对可能损害公共利益或合法商业利益的秘密资料可不公开。
3.在知识产权方面
依《与贸易有关的知识产权协定》的规定，不要求缔约方泄露那些可能妨碍法律实施、或违背公共利益，或有损于公营或私营的特定企业合法商业利益的秘密资料。
三、贸易政策评审机制
《世界贸易组织协定》附件3《贸易政策审议机制》确立了一项监督世界贸易组织成员贸易政策的机制——贸易政策审查机制。该审查机制及审查结果，并不作为有关协定下具体义务或争端解决程序的依据，也不构成成员新的政策承诺。贸易政策审查机构负责贸易政策审查，每一个世界贸易组织成员的贸易政策都要受到定期审查。审查的频率，取决于各成员对多边贸易体制影响的大小。该影响以最近最有代表性一段时期内的世界贸易份额计算。对前四位最大的贸易实体，每两年审查一次；其他成员间隔要长一些。中国在加入世界贸易组织后的第一年，就按规定受到审查。对成员贸易政策的审查，集中于成员的全部贸易政策和做法及其对多边贸易体制运行的影响。贸易政策审查机构应根据下列文件进行讨论和评议：由受审查的成员向贸易政策审查机构定期提交的描述它所实施的贸易政策和做法的报告；由秘书处依其职责根据它自行获得的信息以及从其他成员那里获得的信息所起草的报告。这两份报告应该与相应的贸易政策审查机构会议的会议纪要一起在评议之后及时公开发布，并提交给部长级会议。无论是受审查成员自己的报告，还是秘书处的报告，都不具有约束力。
A.Objectives
（i）The purpose of the Trade Policy Review Mechanism （“TPRM”） is to contribute to improved adherence by all Members to rules, disciplines and commitments made under the Multilateral Trade Agreements and, where applicable, the Plurilateral Trade Agreements, and hence to the smoother functioning of the multilateral trading system, by achieving greater transparency in, and understanding of, the trade policies and practices of Members. Accordingly, the review mechanism enables the regular collective appreciation and evaluation of the full range of individual Members’ trade policies and practices and their impact on the functioning of the multilateral trading system. It is not, however, intended to serve as a basis for the enforcement of specific obligations under the Agreements or for dispute settlement procedures, or to impose new policy commitments on Members.
（ii）The assessment carried out under the review mechanism takes place, to the extent relevant, against the background of the wider economic and developmental needs, policies and objectives of the Member concerned, as well as of its external environment. However, the function of the review mechanism is to examine the impact of a Member's trade policies and practices on the multilateral trading system.
B.Domestic Transparency
Members recognize the inherent value of domestic transparency of government decision-making on trade policy matters for both Members’ economies and the multilateral trading system, and agree to encourage and promote greater transparency within their own systems, acknowledging that the implementation of domestic transparency must be on a voluntary basis and take account of each Member's legal and political systems.
C.Reporting
In order to achieve the fullest possible degree of transparency, each Member shall report regularly to the TPRB. Full reports shall describe the trade policies and practices pursued by the Member or Members concerned, based on an agreed format to be decided upon by the TPRB. This format shall initially be based on the Outline Format for Country Reports established by the Decision of 19 July 1989 （BISD 36S/406-409）, amended as necessary to extend the coverage of reports to all aspects of trade policies covered by the Multilateral Trade Agreements in Annex 1 and, where applicable, the Plurilateral Trade Agreements. This format may be revised by the TPRB in the light of experience. Between reviews, Members shall provide brief reports when there are any significant changes in their trade policies; an annual update of statistical information will be provided according to the agreed format. Particular account shall be taken of difficulties presented to least-developed country Members in compiling their reports. The Secretariat shall make available technical assistance on request to developing country Members, and in particular to the least-developed country Members. Information contained in reports should to the greatest extent possible be coordinated with notifications made under provisions of the Multilateral Trade Agreements and, where applicable, the Plurilateral Trade Agreements.