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The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations. The treaty was created to extend the multilateral trading system to services, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a system for merchandise trade. A treaty is a binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations. ...
WTO Logo The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international, multilateral organization, which sets the rules for the global trading system and resolves disputes between its member states, all of whom are signatories to its about 30 agreements. ...
1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The Uruguay Round was a trade negotiation lasting from September 1986 to April 1994 which transformed the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade into the World Trade Organization. ...
The service sector or the service industry, is one of the three main industrial categories of a developed economy, the others being the secondary industry (manufacturing and primary goods production such as agriculture), and primary industry (extraction such as mining and fishing). ...
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (typically abbreviated GATT) functioned as the precursor to the World Trade Organization trading system. ...
All members of the WTO are signatories to the GATS. The basic WTO principle of most favoured nation (MFN) applies to GATS as well. Most favoured nation (or most favored nation, MFN) is a term used in international trade. ...
Rationale For a long time, no need was seen for a trade agreement in services since large segments of the services economy have traditionally been considered as domestic activities that are difficult to trade over borders, e.g. haircuts or seeing a doctor. Furthermore, sectors from rail transport to telecommunications have been viewed as classical domains of government ownership and control, given their infrastructural importance and the perceived existence, in some cases, of natural monopoly situations. A third important group of sectors, including health, education and basic insurance services, are considered in many countries as governmental responsibilities, given their importance for social integration and regional cohesion, which should be tightly regulated and not be left to the rough and tumble of markets. BlackBerry 7100t Telecommunications is the communication of information over a distance. ...
Nevertheless, some services sectors, in particular international finance and maritime transport, have been largely open for centuries--as the natural complements to merchandise trade. Other large sectors have undergone fundamental technical and regulatory changes in recent decades, opening them to private commercial participation and reducing existing barriers to entry. The emergence of the Internet has helped to create a range of internationally tradeable product variants--from e-banking to tele-health and distance learning. A growing number of governments have gradually exposed previous monopoly domains to competition; telecommunication is a case in point.
The GATS agreement covers "four modes of supply" for the delivery of services in cross-border trade: The term Four Modes of Supply pertains to the legal structure of the General Agreement on Trade in Services GATS, one of the four legal pillars (GATT, GATS, TRIPS, TRIMS) of the legal texts which comprise the WTO trade treaty. ...
The term Four Modes of Supply pertains to the legal structure of the General Agreement on Trade in Services GATS, one of the four legal pillars (GATT, GATS, TRIPS, TRIMS) of the legal texts which comprise the WTO trade treaty. ...
- (Mode 1) Cross border trade, which is defined as delivery of a service from the territory of one country into the territory of other country;
- (Mode 2) Consumption abroad - this mode covers supply of a service of one country to the service consumer of any other country;
- (Mode 3) Commercial presence - which covers services provided by a service supplier of one country in the territory of any other country, and
- (Mode 4) Presence of natural persons - which covers services provided by a service supplier of one country through the presence of natural persons in the territory of any other country.
A "Natural Person" is a human being, as distinct from legal persons such as companies or organisations. Countries can freely decide where to liberalize on a sector-by-sector basis, including which specific mode of supply they want to cover for a given sector. Image File history File links Four_Modes_of_Suppy. ...
WTO Logo The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international, multilateral organization, which sets the rules for the global trading system and resolves disputes between its member states, all of whom are signatories to its about 30 agreements. ...
The International Services Trade Information Agency (ISTIA) is being founded as a non-profit international agency in Geneva, Switzerland. ...
Sectors addressed Services Sector Classifications addressed in the GATS are defined in the so-called "W/120 list", which provides a list of all sectors which can be negotiated under the GATS. The title "W/120" refers to the name of the official WTO document, MTN.GNS/W/120. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in January 1995 as a result of the Uruguay Round negotiations to provide for the extension of the multilateral trading system to services. ...
Criticism The GATS document has been criticized for allegedly replacing the authority of national legislature, with the authority of the GATS Disputes Panel. Such allegations argue that GATS intends to override all "burdensome rules". The WTO and member governments disagree with such allegations. GATS hearings are closed and held in secret. A legislature is a governmental deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. ...
Sherry M. Stephenson has argued that GATS failed to deliver its service agreement key objectives, namely stability, transparency and liberalisation. The integrative approach of NAFTA-inspired Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) has proven more effective for multilateral services liberalisation. One of the most obvious defects of GATS remains its 'positive list' approach whereby countries 'schedule' voluntary commitments on specific services sectors. In other words -and by definition- GATS does not cover the entire universe of services activities. NAFTA-like RTAs, on the other hand, have adopted a 'negative list' approach whereby all sectors are taken to be free from restrictions unless listed in annexes of reservations.
See also This article is one of a group being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...
Statistics which detail cross-border trade in services. ...
WTO Logo The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international, multilateral organization, which sets the rules for the global trading system and resolves disputes between its member states, all of whom are signatories to its about 30 agreements. ...
The World Development Movement (WDM) exists to mobilise public pressure for fundamental change. ...
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