In order to safeguard and defend the country's interests, the States devised legal tools, concretized in the promulgation of standards and technical regulations. But what would happen if they were used as instruments of commercial strategy to attack the competition and end up violating the principles of international trade? The aim of the research is to compare three cases resolved before the World Trade Organization regarding the misuse of technical regulations for protectionist purposes. Specifically, the purpose of technical regulations will be analyzed, taking into account the concepts of free competition and consumer protection. It will also define when the contents of a technical regulation are distorted before its purpose and in what cases it is valid that a country does not apply the international standard for the elaboration of its technical regulation.