The status of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) is a legal designation in the United States for free trade with a foreign nation. In the United States, the name was changed from most favored nation (MFN) to PNTR in 1998. In international trade, MFN status (or treatment) is awarded by one nation to another. It means that the receiving nation will be granted all trade advantages, such as low tariffs, that any other nation also receives. Thus, a nation with MFN status will not be discriminated against and will not be treated worse than any other nation with MFN status.