Innovative, interdisciplinary, practitioner-oriented insights into the key challenges faced in addressing the services trade liberalization and domestic regulation interface.

In 2005 the WTO Appellate body ruled that the United States' total prohibition on cross border gambling services was unlawful under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The questions raised by the case - whether and how a Government could block service provision on moral grounds - went to the heart of key controversies surrounding international economic law. How do you reconcile a liberal system of international trade in services with national governments' desire to protect social values through service regulation? How much control are the WTO members willing to transfer to the WTO? How much regulatory diversity can the international trading system withstand? This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the regulation of services under the WTO's GATS Agreement. Through a thorough examination of the GATS negotiation history, substantive provisions, judicial interpretation, and ongoing reform process, the book presents a clear picture of how the multilateral trading system justifies and tolerates regulatory diversity. In this respect, the book focuses on the core general principles of necessity and transparency, which would allow the assessment of the consistency with the GATS of domestic regulations in services at a horizontal, cross-sectoral level. In addition, the book reviews with a critical eye the ongoing GATS negotiations on the creation of rules on domestic regulations.

The services sector is key to economic growth, competitiveness, and poverty alleviation. Comprising more than two-thirds of the world economy, services are now commonly traded across borders, helped by technological progress and the increased mobility of persons. In recent years, a number of developing countries have looked at trade in services as a means to both respond to domestic supply shortages and to diversify and boost exports. Any country can tap into the trade potential of services, but not every country can become a services hub across sectors. The opening of the services sector potentially comes with large benefits, but also fears and costs that should not be overlooked. This book provides useful guidelines for the assessment of a country s trade potential, and a roadmap for successful opening and export promotion in select services sectors. It looks at both the effects of increased imports and exports, and provides concrete examples of developing country approaches that have either succeeded or failed to maximize the benefits and minimize the risks of opening. It focuses on sectors that have been rarely analyzed through the trade lens, and/or have a fast growing trade potential for developing countries. These sectors are: accounting, construction, distribution, engineering, environmental, health, information technology, and legal services. This book is designed for non-trade specialists to understand how trade can help improve access to key services in developing countries, and for trade specialists to understand the specific characteristics of each individual sector. It will be a useful tool for governments to design successful trade opening or promotion strategies, and for the private sector and consumers to advocate sound domestic policy reforms accompanying an offensive trade agenda.

Health ministries around the world face a new challenge: to assess the risks and respond to the opportunities of the increasing openness in health services under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). 'International Trade in Health Services and the GATS' addresses this challenge head-on by providing analytical tools to policymakers in health and trade ministries alike who are involved in the liberalization agenda and, specifically, in the GATS negotiations. This book informs and assists policymakers in formulating trade policy and negotiating internationally. There is ongoing and animated international debate about the impact of GATS on public services in general and health in particular. In response, the book offers different perspectives from more than 15 leading experts. Some of the authors stress opportunities linked to trade in health services, others focus more on the risks. The book offers: Detailed legal analysis of the impact of the agreement on health policy An overview of trade commitments in health-related services New empirical evidence from nine country studies A simple 10-step explanation on how to deal with GATS negotiations. 'International Trade in Health Services and the GATS' is a must-have resource for policymakers and other practitioners working in the trade and health sectors.

The World Trade Organisation plays the primary role in regulating international trade in goods, services and intellectual property. Traditionally, international trade law and regulation has been analysed primarily from the trade-in-goods perspective. Services are becoming an important competence for the WTO. The institutional, legal and regulatory influence of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on domestic economic policymaking is attracting increasing attention in the academic and policymaking literature. The growing importance of services trade to the global economy makes the application of the GATS to trade in services an important concern of international economic policy. The GATS contains important innovations that build on the former GATT and existing WTO/GATT trade regime for goods. This book fills a void in the academic and policymaking literature by examining how the GATS governs international trade in services and its growing impact on the regulatory practice of WTO member states. It offers a unique discussion of the major is-sues confronting WTO member states by analysing the GATS and related international trade issues from a variety of perspectives that include law, political economy, regulation, and business. Moreover, the role of the WTO in promoting liberalised trade and economic development has come under serious strain because of the breakdown of the Doha Development Round negotiations. The book analyses the issues in the Doha services debate with some suggested policy approaches that might help build a more durable GATS framework. The book is a welcomed addition to the WTO literature and will serve as a point of reference for academics, policymakers andpractitioners.

This collection of essays takes stock of the key challenges that have arisen since the entry into force of the General Agreement on Trade in Services in the mid-1990s and situates them in the context of the WTO's Doha Development Agenda and the proliferation of preferential agreements addressing services today. The multidisciplinary approach provides an opportunity for many of the world's leading experts and a number of new analytical voices to exchange ideas on the future of services trade and regulation. Cosmopolitan approaches to the treatment of labour mobility, the shape of services trade disciplines in the digital age and pro-competitive regulation in air transport are explored with a view to helping readers gain a better understanding of the forces shaping the changes. An essential read for all those concerned with the evolution of the rules-based trading system and its impact on the service economy.

With the establishment of the WTO, trade in services became part of the world trade order. Volume 6 is dedicated to these rather recent developments. It covers the core agreement, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) with annexes, as well as the additional instruments , which have been adopted later on to govern the liberalization in specific sectors. Those are the Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services, the Second Protocol on Financial Services, the Third Protocol on the Movement of Natural Persons, the Fourth Protocol on Basic Telecommunications and the Fifth Protocol, which contains further rules for financial services. This volume will be a valuable reference tool for the WTO community as a whole, as well as for professionals and researchers, who deal with one of the sectors concerned, e.g. financial services and telecommunications. Furthermore, it is highly relevant in view of those sectors, which are the subject of ongoing liberalization efforts or earmarked for future negotiations, namely accounting, legal services, transport, tourism, environmental services, legal and educational services.

The Regulation of International Trade 2nd Edition introduces the rules and institutions that govern international trade. The authors base their analysis on aspects of the subject from classic and contemporary literature on trade and political economy. This new edition has been fully updated to take account of the most recent developments in International Trade. New issues covered include: trade and competition trade and labour rights the Multilateral Agreement on Investment the Basic Telecoms and Financial Services WTO Agreements an analysis of the first three years of WTO dispute rulings, including those of Appelate Body. Drawing on the success of the earlier edition, this comprehensive and up to date text will be an invaluable guide to students of economics, law, politics and international relations.

This text addresses two central questions: what impact can international trade rules on services have on the exercise of domestic regulatory sovereignty, and how can services negotiations be harnessed to promote and consolidate domestic policy reform across highly diverse sectors?.

Fully updated, this new edition takes account of the most recent developments in international trade. Drawing on the success of the earlier edition, it provides a comprehensive introduction to the rules and institutions that govern international trade, including: competition, labor rights, the Multilateral Agreement of Investment, the Basic Telecoms and Financial Services World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements, and an analysis of the first three years of WTO dispute rulings. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.