1. In employment relationships this is the unequal treatment of individuals, through hiring or employment rules or through differences in the conditions of employment, based on prejudice against one or more of their personal characteristics such as race, sex, religion, age, marital status, or union membership. In many countries such practices are illegal.

2. In international trade this is the treatment of imports on a different basis according to their country of origin. In a free-trade area, customs union, or common market, imports from non-members are subject to tariffs while imports from members are admitted tax-free. Even treating free-trade areas and common markets as single trading units, it is possible to discriminate between different non-members: there may be preferences in tariffs for goods from particular countries, or special quota arrangements applying to particular sources of imports. In contrast, the principle of most favoured nation treatment ensures goods from all countries are admitted on the most favourable terms granted to any supplier. While the World Trade Organization commits countries in principle to non-discrimination, most world trade is in fact subject to various forms of discrimination.