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| - In the history of the World Trade Oranization and its evolution from the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trades (GATT), it is interesting to note that the original premise on which the GATT was signed was for reducing tariffs on a portion of the world’s trade. Only after acceptance did the scope of the GATT grow to include many other international issues such as trade in services and intellectual property (through the final Uruguay round of revisions). Eventually the GATT was incorporated into the World Trade Organization in 1995. The WTO included, in addition to the original GATT, many other international agreements, including GATS - General Agreement of Trade in Services.
- The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the first multilateral trade agreement on services. The GATS covers all services except services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority. The sectoral classification generally used to schedule commitments under the GATS (document MTN.GNS/W/120) contains eleven main services sectors and one residual “other” category. These are business, communication, construction, distribution, educational, environmental, financial, health-related and social, tourism and travel-related, recreational cultural and sporting, and transport services. These sectors are further divided into sub-sectors and, in some cases, sub-sub-sectors.
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| abstract
| - The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the first multilateral trade agreement on services. The GATS covers all services except services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority. The sectoral classification generally used to schedule commitments under the GATS (document MTN.GNS/W/120) contains eleven main services sectors and one residual “other” category. These are business, communication, construction, distribution, educational, environmental, financial, health-related and social, tourism and travel-related, recreational cultural and sporting, and transport services. These sectors are further divided into sub-sectors and, in some cases, sub-sub-sectors. Trade in services is defined in terms of four modes of supply: (1) Cross-border supply, whereby, for example, domestic consumers purchase telecommunications services from a supplier in another country; (2) Consumption abroad, whereby consumers consume services abroad, sometimes by physically moving to the location of the suppliers, as in the case of tourism services, or by sending their property abroad, as in the case of ship repair services; (3) Commercial presence, whereby, for example, a foreign bank or transport company establishes a branch or subsidiary in the territory of a country and supplies services; and (4) Movement of natural persons, whereby, for instance, natural persons supply consultancy or construction service in the territory of a foreign Member country. The GATS aims at negotiating a legally binding set of commitments to enhance predictability and provide transparency under the principle of progressive liberalization. The GATS framework consists of: (i) rules and obligations laid down in the GATS; (ii) annexes on specific sectors and subjects including an annex on telecommunication services; and (iii) national schedules of market access and national treatment commitments and lists of MFN exemptions. The most important of the general obligations under the GATS are MFN (most favored nation) (Article II) and transparency (Article III). They apply across the board to all services sectors, although exemptions to the MFN obligation in specific sectors were permitted at the time of entry into force of the agreement, and such exemptions, in principle, should not extend beyond 10 years. Specific obligations are related to market access and national treatment (Articles XVI and XVII, respectively). They apply only to services that are inscribed in the Schedules of Commitments of countries where specific commitments on market access and national treatment are listed in the form of limitations or measures applicable. Such limitations may be either horizontal (cross-sectoral) or sector-specific, and are listed for each of the four modes of supply. Moreover, Article XVIII offers the possibility for countries to inscribe additional commitments not dealt with under the two previous articles.
- In the history of the World Trade Oranization and its evolution from the General Agreement of Tariffs and Trades (GATT), it is interesting to note that the original premise on which the GATT was signed was for reducing tariffs on a portion of the world’s trade. Only after acceptance did the scope of the GATT grow to include many other international issues such as trade in services and intellectual property (through the final Uruguay round of revisions). Eventually the GATT was incorporated into the World Trade Organization in 1995. The WTO included, in addition to the original GATT, many other international agreements, including GATS - General Agreement of Trade in Services. The General Agreement of Trade and Services (GATS) attempts to level the playing field on the international market. It aims to reduce discrimination against outside companies from entering into a new market. However, Rikowski (2003) describes that it is still a mystery if the actual Agreement includes public services under its scope, or not. Either way, the powers in control win and the public sector loses and cannot come out on top due to the confusion. The loophole is presented in that GATS applies to even publicly funded institutions that have any private capital involved (like a library or food services). There are less and less schools that would qualify as totally publicly funded and thus not subject to effects by GATS and thus affected by international marketization of education. The argument is one of a double edge sword in that the schools who are solely publicly funded and thus not subject to GATS are not on an international playing field. But, by accepting private funds and being subject to GATS, they risk losing autonomy and local identity because of the “fairness” of the structure set out for the international participants.
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