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In depth I  GATS - trade in services The perils of a Doha deal on services Source: CADTM Developing country governments have been rightly concerned about agreeing to texts which promise illusory reductions in agricultural subsidies in the European Union and United States and require them to cut their industrial tariffs proportionally more than the developed countries. They should also not allow themselves to be snookered into a bad agreement on services. July 2008.[see more]         Correct  ADD YOUR COMMENT >> The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is one of the most comprehensive agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its aim is to increasingly liberalize "trade in services" among WTO members. The GATS came into force in January 1995, but negotiations officially began in early 2000. In March 2001, the Trade in Services Council set out the Guidelines and Procedures for Negotiations. The Declaration of the Doha Ministerial Conference (November 2001) backed the efforts conducted thus far, endorsed the guidelines and procedures for negotiations, and set a deadline to close negotiations: 1 January 2005. Trade in services is defined broadly to include direct foreign investment in services such as health, education, water, pensions, and transportation. Liberalization means, among other things, eliminating any government policies whereby national providers are favored over foreign ones, such as, for example, preferential public subsidies. Significantly, it also involves eradicating state monopolies, as well as deregulation whenever a norm is considered too onerous for foreign investors and service providers. WTO leaders have denied claims that the GATS would lead to privatization of public services. They supported this statement by pointing to a provision that stipulates that the GATS is not applicable to services "rendered in the exercise of governmental authority" and other examples of the wording of the GATS that protect a government’s right to regulate. But the wording offers little consolation to those alarmed by its potentially limiting effect on government regulation and policies. Industrial lobbyists of the North are making no attempts to disguise their intention of seeking urban infrastructure markets in the developing world. Then again, it’s the small print that tells the real story. A critical issue in this debate is that all the key terms of the agreement are left undefined and will only be determined by WTO dispute resolution panels. Consequently, any claim that the GATS protects public services must be met at least with some skepticism. The civil society of the South believes that the trade regulations and negotiations included in the GATS must undergo a radical transformation if they are to benefit the world’s poorest citizens. The GATS, it is argued, is not a ‘development-friendly’ agreement, as its advocates maintain, but rather an instrument wielded by the industrialized world to steadily curb the chances of development of the poorest countries, through successive rounds of negotiations. The current services negotiations at the WTO have also led to fears that countries could be pressurized into commitments that will limit the ability of governments to regulate and ensure affordable and equitable access to essential services: it is unrealistic to expect profit-seeking private companies operating under market forces to meet the needs of the less lucrative groups of the population. This is partly because it is hard – particularly for governments that are not strong– to regulate a powerful private sector and partly because making commitments to allow foreign service providers access to the domestic market can reduce the scope a government has to regulate in the public interest (known in trade-related jargon as policy space). Moreover, the bilateral format gives more scope than multilateral fora for arm-twisting by powerful countries, to persuade smaller countries to open more service sectors to international competition. A 2002 study by the Commonwealth Secretariat found that newly acceded WTO Members, all of which are developing countries, were pressurized to open more service sectors during accession negotiations. According to a paper by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) secretariat, prepared for the Commission on Trade in Goods and Services and Commodities on March 2005, services negotiations in the WTO have so far not attained an overall balance of rights and obligations, the increase in developing countries' service exports has been small, and the initial offers by major trading partners has been disappointing for developing countries. The paper says that the assessment of trade in services continues to be a main concern for developing countries, as lack of assessment and information is a main impediment to their more active participation in the services negotiations. Versión en español print    send   correct  ADD YOUR COMMENT >>  Official information  GATS negotiations  GATS and the privatization agenda  Health services  Education and GATS  Water services  Civil society  Information resources  Analysis and opinions   News Up-to-date current affairs information. Tue Feb 21 2006 UNCTAD panel debates state of WTO services negotiations Fuente: Third World Network In-depth reports Detailed reports on key issues Free Trade Agreements - FTAs Through different trade related mechanisms privatization and deregulation processes are being imposed. Economic, social and cultural rights - ESCR ESC rights are valid, enforceable, justiciable and claimable under both local and international law. Civil society is campaigning for their full implementation. Education on the market The pros and cons of the slow but relentless process of integration of education into the market. Software: Patents and copyrights Promoted by large corporations, software patents slow down development in the South. The water crisis If access to water is a basic human right, should its provision be left in the hands of private corporations? Health and health services, goods for sale Is privatization the answer to health care problems that affect the poor? World Trade Organization - WTO Trade at the service of people, or people subjected to trade? The WTO makes the difference. Patents and medicines What about equal opportunities for developed and developing countries to obtain medicines their populations need? NGOs NGO web sites GATSwatch GATSwatch is a joint project of Corporate Europe Observatory and Transnational Institute. One of the main objectives of the GATSwatch project is research and analysis of the role and agenda of corporate lobbies with regards to the WTO GATS 2000 negotiations.      Official information Agreement text and information resources from international organizations. Text of the Agreement Source: WTO Text summary and versions in Word and PDF. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Services trade Source: WTO Ranging from architecture to voice-mail telecommunications and to space transport, services are the largest and most dynamic component of both developed and developing country economies. Their inclusion in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations led to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Since January 2000, they have become the subject of multilateral trade negotiations. Doha declaration on services Source: WTO Negotiations on services were already almost two years old when they were incorporated into the new Doha agenda (November 2001). The Doha Declaration endorses the work already done, reaffirms the negotiating guidelines and procedures, and establishes some key elements of the timetable including, most importantly, the deadline for the conclusion of the negotiations as part of a single undertaking. Provisions on Trade in Services in Trade and Integration Agreements in the Western Hemisphere Source: FTAA official website The Compendium of Provisions on Trade in Services in the Trade and Integration Arrangements of the Western Hemisphere contains information on provisions relating to services in nine trade and integration arrangements in the Western Hemisphere in Part I, information on service sectors which form separate chapters of these agreements and arrangements in Part III, and information on the provisions relating to services contained in five bilateral free trade agreements and four Economic Complementation Agreements in Part II. All of the 34 participants in the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) process, except for Haiti, are covered by one or more of the arrangements examined.    GATS negotiations GATS negotiations officially began in early 2000, and were set to close on 1 January 2005. GATS negotiations should first reduce current imbalance Source: Third World Network Bhagirath Lal Das The process of liberalization of the services sector has so far weighed heavily in favour of the developed countries. In order to redress this imbalance in the new round of upcoming talks in the services sector, developing countries should not undertake any further commitments on liberalisation and the developed countries should liberalise the sectors of export interest to the developing countries. July 2000. GATS modalities aimed at leveraging greater coverage Source: Third World Network Chakravarthi Raghavan The new round of negotiations at the WTO/GATS for liberalization of trade in services, and the modalities being pushed by the major industrialized countries - whether for clustering, or a formula approach or for horizontal modalities are aimed at leveraging greater GATS coverage for the benefit of TNCs, and reducing ability of governments in countries to interfere for public purposes. October 2000. The players in the GATS negotiations Source: CorpWatch Tony Clarke The U.S. Coalition of Service Industries was the top lobby group in the November 2001 WTO meeting in Qatar. This table looks at 12 heavy hitters in the 67 member Coalition. GATS requests and offers Source: GATSWatch Request documents from the European Union, which were leaked and published in February 2003. April 2003. European Union GATS requests leaked Source: Polaris Institute Trade negotiators from member countries have been secretly developing their detailed lists of 'requests' (or demands) for service markets - often with the explicit input of transnational service corporations that want access to other country markets. February 2003. Driving the GATS juggernaut Source: Global Policy Erik Wesselius According to the European Commission, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is “not just something that exists between Governments” but “… first and foremost an instrument for the benefit of business.” That is not by accident. The 1994 GATS agreement would never have come into being without almost twenty years of intense lobbying by the US services industry. The current negotiations to expand and deepen the scope of the GATS seem to be primarily driven by the European Commission, working in close cooperation with European services companies. GATS modalities for autonomous liberalization credits set Source: Third World Network Chakravarthi Raghavan The Special Session of the WTO Council for Trade in Services (CTS), where the services negotiations are taking place, agreed on 6 March 2003 to modalities for the treatment of autonomous liberalization in services. GATS: The forgotten battle over WTO investment rules Source: World Development Movement While there has been huge concern about the European Union's push for new investment rules in the WTO, the investment element of the on-going GATS negotiations are yet to generate such opposition. Meanwhile, in their post-Cancun negotiating objectives, the EU and the US (in alliance with key industry allies), have made their ambitions in the services negotiations very clear. Evidence from industry documents indicates that increased pressure will be exerted on countries to ratchet up their participation in the current talks. The paper argues that the EU's proposals for a separate agreement covering investment has only ever been one part of their investment agenda. The other key aspect is the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) whose rules apply to companies setting up operations in other countries. February 2004 (pdf version). North launches offensive to open South's services by 'new methods' Source: Third World Network Martin Khor Developed countries have launched a joint offensive to introduce new methods of getting developing countries to commit themselves to liberalising their services sectors in the WTO, and to have these endorsed at the WTO's Ministerial conference in Hong Kong in December. The offensive came at an informal meeting on 13 September of the WTO's Council for Trade in Services in Special Session. September 2005. Plurilateral requests aim at maximum opening of South's services Source: South-North Development Monitor (SUNS) Martin Khor The plurilateral negotiations that were launched on 28 February by the major developed countries (joined by a handful of developing countries) are clearly aimed at creating a new negotiating method to more effectively pressurize some emerging developing economies to open up many of their key services sectors to competition from the large multinational service enterprises. March 2006. How the IMF and World Bank misrepresent their roles in trade liberalization Source: Citizen's Network on Essential Services The IMF and World Bank pressure developing countries in many ways that undercut their positions in trade negotiations. This brief focuses only on the misleading claims of the institutions as to the levels of trade-related policy conditions associated with their operations. It concludes with suggestions relating to negotiations on trade in services. November 2005 (pdf version). GATS dispute settlement cases: practical implications for developing countries Source: South Centre Developing countries should be aware of the implications of the WTO dispute settlement reports on US (Gambling) and Mexico (Telecommunications) as they continue participating in the WTO negotiations. The findings in the reports have set precedents on the interpretation of various GATS articles and concepts, including: necessity tests; Article XIV on General Exception; Article IV on Increasing Participation of Developing Countries; and scheduling guidelines. February 2007 (pdf version). Questionable timing for tighter GATS rules, liberalized banking Source: SUNS Andrew Cornford Domestic regulation has been a contentious subject in negotiations on international trade in services since the preparations for the Uruguay Round in the early 1980s. According to the Punta del Este Declaration the multilateral framework to be negotiated was to "respect policy objectives of national laws and regulations applying to services". Among developing countries reticence concerning this framework centred on potential conflicts between the principles of progressive liberalization, transparency and non-discrimination, on the one hand, and policy autonomy regarding the establishment of regulations required by their development objectives, on the other. April 2008.    GATS and the privatization agenda Public services at risk: GATS and the privatisation agenda Source: Social Watch Citizens’ Network on Essential Services WTO negotiations on General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) are threatening essential public services—including water—throughout the world. In the current negotiations, which were launched in November 2001, governments are pressuring each other to open up services to private sector and non-profit (NGO) providers, even in socially sensitive areas such as water, health and education. The GATS could undermine progress toward social and environmental goals because it limits the ability of governments to regulate or provide services. For instance, it could jeopardize access to water and other services by poor and vulnerable groups. 2003. GATS 2000 – The end of democracy? Source: Corporate Watch Laura Wilkes In its essence, GATS is intended to enforce the speedy liberalization of hitherto public domains. In its push to broaden the definition of a service, and to get rid of ‘burdensome’ governmental regulations, it promises to cut down the remaining barriers between private finance and the public sector. GATS Source: Common Dreams Ralph Nader The ultimate downfall of the corporate globalizers may be that they know no limits. Profiting from poverty: Privatization consultants, DFID and public services Source: War on Want The UK government is giving away millions of pounds from the UK aid budget to privatization consultants engaged to ‘advise’ developing countries on handing over their public services to the private sector, according to a new report from anti-poverty charity War on Want. October 2004. Divide and conquer Source: Public Services International Scott Sinclair and Ken Traynor Under the terms of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) treaty and the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) now being negotiated, governments will no longer be able to oblige foreign investors to purchase locally, transfer technology, take local partners or train local workers. Citing this and other treaty provisions, “Divide and Conquer,” a new study prepared by Scott Sinclair and Ken Traynor for PSI, shows that the pending treaties dramatically reduce the sovereignty of governments and their ability to regulate in the public interest. January 2005 (pdf version). Sectoral/plurilateral negotiations and the pitfalls for development Source: Our World is not for Sale US and EU are pushing for sectoral/plurilateral negotiations to be launched after the Hong Kong Ministerial. This mechanism aims to liberalise a sector by negotiating amongst a critical mass of countries knocking together an ambitious framework of rules that will then be bound in international law by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The sectors include energy, distribution, finance, transport, computer services and postal services. December 2005. Beyond the market: the future of public services Source: Transnational Institute The newly launched TNI Yearbook on Public Services provides an overview of the state of public services around the world. It covers national and international policy developments from January to December 2005, as well as analyses the recent history of the present situation and provides a prognosis for the near future. February 2006.    Health services GATS and trade in health insurance services Source: Commission on Macroeconomics and Health This note provides background on the treatment of health insurance services by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization, and explains the relevance of current GATS negotiations for health insurance trade. June 2001 (pdf version). The wrong model: GATS, trade liberalisation and children's right to health Source: Save the Children John Hilary In an era of unprecedented global wealth, millions of children across the world are facing a health crisis. The WTO's GATS poses its own challenges to children's right to health. January 2001 (pdf version). The GATS threat to public health Source: Equinet Africa A joint submission by EQUINET, International People's Health Council, Medact, People’s Health Movement, Wemos and World Development Movement, to the World Health Assembly, May 2003 (pdf version).    Education and GATS GATS and the future of public services Source: Oxfam Speech by Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International, at the World Social Forum 2003 (pdf version). Trade in higher education services: the implications of GATS Jane Knight Many aspects of GATS are open to interpretation, and many nations have yet to fully engage in the process, at least in respect of the potential implications for education. By Jane Knight (University of Toronto). March 2002 (pdf version). Education International Education International insists that education is a human right and it is the responsibility of all governments to provide all women and men, boys and girls, free quality public education. In recent years, EI is concerned that proposals for a significant increase in the scope of, and degree of, liberalisation of trade, might cover education services. EI's central objective is to have education excluded from the scope of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Trade, education and the GATS Source: US Coalition of Service Industries Pierre Sauvé This paper addresses some of the public policy controversies surrounding the treatment of education services under the GATS. November 2002 (pdf version). Take education out of GATS Source: GATSWatch In this statement, launched on August 2003, organizations related to education demand WTO member countries to take a set of measures in order to take education out of GATS. The GATS: what's at stake for higher education? Source: Trade Observatory David Robinson One of the most dramatic developments within higher education in recent years has been the rapid expansion of the "international trade" in education services. October 2006.    Water services GATS and water: the threat of services negotiations at the WTO Source: Save the Children This briefing examines the challenges raised by GATS in the water sector, which has been one of the most contentious aspects of the GATS liberalization programme. April 2003. The pros and cons of private provision of water and electricity services: A handbook for evaluating rationales Source: Citizen's Network on Essential Services Tim Kessler This booklet describes the main rationales for using the private sector to deliver water, sanitation and electricity services, and evaluates them in theory and in practice. It also identifies policy trends and the major policy instruments used by multilateral organizations to promote private provision in these sectors. It concludes with recommendations for assessing the feasibility of private provision. General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and water Source: Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy Shiney Varghese The WTO-administered General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) poses an increasingly serious threat to the sustainable and equitable management of scarce water resources globally, and in developing countries in particular. The GATS is the first ever multilateral, legally enforceable set of rules to cover a wide array of services, ranging from business related services to water supply and sanitation services. March 2006 (pdf version).    Civil society Websites and reports produced by NGOs monitoring or campaigning against negotiations on trade in services. GATSwatch News and critical information on the current WTO negotiations on the GATS and the global campaign to Stop the GATS Attack. Public Citizen In many countries, citizen access to essential services as well as a fundamental function of government is to ensure and protect this access. Friends of the Earth GATS aims to remove 'barriers to trade' in services, which could involve removing laws protecting the planet, public health and local communities, according to Friends of the Earth. International Gender and Trade Network (IGTN) IGTN opposes the trade of services essential to social reproduction, services that are fundamental to the care economy for which women around the world are primarily responsible. Union Network International - UNI Service workers all over the world are feeling the effects of profound structural changes. Many of those changes are being propelled by international trade agreements, most notably the GATS and its follow-on agreements in telecommunications and financial services. Stop the GATS Attack Now! Source: AFTINET This global sign-on statement has been prepared by an international network of civil society organizations working on WTO issues. Our World is not For Sale Statements, news and updates from organizations, activists and social movements worldwide fighting corporate globalization embodied in global trading system. GATS and access to essential services Source: 3D: Trade – Human Rights – Equitable Economy This document is a chapter of the Practical Guide to the WTO for Human Rights Advocates, published by 3D and FORUM-ASIA in December 2004 (pdf version). UNISON Trade union for people delivering public services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services : An impact assessment Source: Consumers International This report has been produced as part of Consumers International’s Consumer and the Global Market programme (pdf version). Stop the GATS power play, civil society groups demand Source: Public Services International Forty developing countries and 32 less-developed countries are being told to open up their finance, energy, environment, water, tourism, distribution and transportation services to foreign market forces. This joint statement of several trade unions and NGOs calls on WTO delegations in Geneva to reconsider their role in the current GATS negotiations if they do not proceed on more development-friendly terms. June 2005.    Information resources Free Trade and Globalization General information and links on GATS. The GATS and Libraries This web page provides links to readings about the likely impact on libraries of the GATS. Glossary of GATS terms Glossary of terms used in the WTO agreement on trade in service (pdf version). Business Guide to the GATS Source: International Trade Center Guide to the GATS and the key features of the multilateral system of trade covering services – examines the rights and benefits conferred and obligations imposed by GATS on the business community and governments; implications for developing countries and economies in transition; identifies main opportunities and challenges encountered at the practical business level in the implementation of GATS rules and market access commitments. A brief on the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and some implications for ordinary citizens Source: Jubilee South This December 2005 in Hong Kong, the highest policy making body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is meeting for the sixth time. Among the central issues to be put on the table of discussions and negotiations is the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which is part of the unfinished agenda of the developed countries of the North in past WTO meetings. GATS has come to be understood by people’s movements, especially from countries of the South, as a far-reaching instrument of neoliberal globalization that threatens the freedoms, the very survival and future of peoples. December 2005 (pdf version).    Analysis and opinions Divergence between profit and public services Umberto Mazzei Profit is the purpose of private enterprise and gain is the measure of its success in any activity. Profit is legitimate when there is a transparent market, without distortions and open to competition, and is usually beneficial to the general interest. This benefit, that is an externality to the main goal, are lower prices in products and better quality. In public services, success is measured in range and quality. March 2007 (pdf version). The perils of a Doha deal on services Source: CADTM Walden Bello Developing country governments have been rightly concerned about agreeing to texts which promise illusory reductions in agricultural subsidies in the European Union and United States and require them to cut their industrial tariffs proportionally more than the developed countries. They should also not allow themselves to be snookered into a bad agreement on services. July 2008. Ignoring the crises? How further GATS liberalisation impacts the financial and food crises Source: Transnational Institute - South Centre Myriam Vander Stichele As the world is still assessing one of the most violent shocks in international financial markets ever, and measures to avoid future financial crises are still not in place, developing countries should be cautious of dangers associated with further liberalisation of their financial sectors. June 2008.

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