Services in a Development Round : Three Goals and Three Proposals

The benefits of services trade reform are huge but services negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) are making little progress. A proximate cause is the current negotiating process, based on an inertial request-and-offer approach rather than a set of goals that would give direction and momentum to the negotiations. The paper suggests that WTO members should consider: (1) locking in the current openness of cross-border trade for a wide range of services; (2) eliminating barriers to foreign investment either immediately or in a phased manner where regulatory inadequacies need to be remedied; and (3) allowing greater freedom of international movement at least for intra-corporate transferees and for service providers to fulfill specific services contracts. A deeper problem is that WTO members have sought to negotiate market access in services without adequately addressing concerns that the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commitments limit regulatory freedom unduly and unpredictably, that regulatory institutions in many countries are too weak to cope with liberalized markets, and that there is no provision for the regulatory cooperation that is necessary for successful liberalization, particularly of temporary labor mobility. Three types of actions are needed: (1) at the current stage of its development, the GATS must focus primarily on disciplines for measures that discriminate against foreign services and providers, rather than on politically sensitive and legally complex rules for nondiscriminatory measures; (2) a credible assistance mechanism must be established to help developing countries make the regulatory improvements needed for successful liberalization; and (3) where necessary, WTO members should make access commitments on labor mobility conditional on the fulfillment of specific conditions by source countries-to screen services providers, accept and facilitate their return, and combat illegal migration.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Mattoo, Aaditya
Format:	Policy Research Working Paper biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2005-09
Subjects:	AGREEMENT ON TRADE, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, AUTONOMY, BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, BARGAINING POWER, BILATERAL AGREEMENT, BILATERAL AGREEMENTS, BRAIN DRAIN, BUSINESS COMMUNITY, BUSINESS SERVICES, COMMERCIAL PRESENCE, COMPETITION LAW, COMPLETE LIBERALIZATION, CONCESSIONS, COUNTRIES MUST, CROSS-BORDER TRADE, CURRENT ENVIRONMENT, DEVELOPING COUNTRY POLICYMAKERS, DOHA DEVELOPMENT AGENDA, DOMESTIC REGULATION, DOMESTIC REGULATIONS, DYNAMIC GAINS, ECONOMIC CONDITIONS, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC INTEGRATION, ECONOMIC POLICY, ELIMINATING BARRIERS, EXPORTERS, EXPORTS, FINANCIAL SECTORS, FINANCIAL SERVICES, FOREIGN INVESTMENT, FOREIGN PROVIDERS, FOREIGN SERVICE PROVIDERS, FOREIGN SERVICES, GATS, GATS RULES, GLOBAL TRADE, GOVERNMENT SERVICES, GROWTH RATE, HEALTH SERVICES, HUMAN CAPITAL, ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, ILLEGAL MIGRATION, IMPORTING COUNTRIES, IMPROVED MARKET ACCESS, INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS, INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INTERNATIONAL MARKET, INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATING, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, LABOR FORCE, LABOR MOBILITY, LIBERAL REGIMES, LIBERALIZATION COMMITMENTS, LIBERALIZING COMMITMENTS, MARKET ACCESS, MARKET ACCESS COMMITMENTS, MARKET OPENING, MEMBER COUNTRIES, MFN, MOVEMENT OF NATURAL PERSONS, MULTILATERAL AGREEMENT, MULTILATERAL INSTITUTIONS, MULTILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS, MULTILATERAL TRADE, MUTUAL RECOGNITION, MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS, NATIONAL TREATMENT, NATIONAL TREATMENT OBLIGATION, NATIONAL TREATMENT PRINCIPLE, NON-DISCRIMINATORY MEASURES, OPEN SERVICES MARKETS, OPENNESS, OUTSOURCING, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, POLICY INTERVENTION, POLITICAL ECONOMY, PRESENCE OF NATURAL PERSONS, PRO-COMPETITIVE REGULATION, PROTECTIONIST POLICIES, PRUDENTIAL REGULATION, PRUDENTIAL SUPERVISION, QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, RECIPROCAL CONCESSIONS, RECIPROCITY, RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS, RECREATIONAL SERVICES, REDUCING TRANSACTIONS COSTS, REFORM PROGRAM, REFORM PROGRAMS, REGIONAL AGREEMENTS, REGIONAL TRADE, REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS, REGULATORY COOPERATION, REGULATORY FREEDOM, REGULATORY INSTITUTIONS, REGULATORY MECHANISMS, REGULATORY PRINCIPLES, REGULATORY REFORM, SERVICE DELIVERY, SERVICE SUPPLIERS, SERVICES LIBERALIZATION, SERVICES MARKETS, SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS, SERVICES PROVIDERS, SERVICES SECTOR, SERVICES SECTORS, SERVICES TRADE, STATE MONOPOLIES, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TECHNICAL STANDARDS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES, TRADE AGREEMENT, TRADE IN SERVICES, TRADE LAW, TRADE LIBERALIZATION, TRADE NEGOTIATIONS, TRADE OPENING, TRADE REFORM, TRADING PARTNER, TRANSITION ECONOMIES, TRANSPARENCY, UNILATERAL LIBERALIZATION, UNIVERSAL ACCESS, UNIVERSAL SERVICE, VESTED INTERESTS, WORLD ECONOMY, WORLD TRADE, WTO,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2005/09/6292206/services-development-round-three-goals-three-proposals http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8271
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