The General Agreement on Trade in Services
(GATS)
(Page under construction)
Ranging from architecture, education, voice-mail telecommunications and audiovisual to space transport, water supply and to health provisions, services are seen by both developed and developing countries as a sector with an important potential for development and export that becomes more and more important in a globalised world.
The inclusion of services in the Uruguay Round of WTO trade negotiations led to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The GATS covers all services*, with few exceptions. Since January 2000, they have become the subject of multilateral trade negotiations.
With the submission of initial offers and committments from the WTO member governments in 2003, the AER has undertaken to raise awareness with the wider public on the implications of GATS for deregulation and the provision of public services and to lobby regional public authorities in favour of exempting notably culture, education and the audiovisual from services liberalisation.
Among the initiatives carried in this context, the AER has created an extensive database with links to articles, analyses, background documents etc.
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* Services concerned: Business and professional services, Communication services, Construction and related services, Distribution services, Educational services, Energy services, Environmental services, Financial services, Health and social services, Tourism services, Transport services, Movement of natural persons
WTO's 5th Ministerial Conference, Cancún, Mexico, 10-14 September 2003: meeting summaries, concluding ministerial statement, draft declaration, background material, statements etc.
- WTO EN / FR / ES
- Collection of texts by the Trade Observatory (the selection of texts depends on the chosen language EN / FR / DE / ES
- Special Web Site by the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation: EN / ES
- Globalisation File by the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation: DE
- Links to Documents, Publications and news items provided by STOPP GATS Austria
- File by Peoples' Global Action (PGA) - link list - items in EN / ES / DE / PL / PT / RU / SV
Schedule of Services weeks 2003 (tentative) EN / FR / ES
- 1-12 December 03
- 13-24 October 03
- 1-11 July 03
WTO - Services Meetings 2003 (tentative) EN / FR / ES
- Monday 24 February: Committee on Specific Commitments
- Tuesday 25 February: Working Party on GATS Rules
- Wednesday 26 February: CTFS - Presentation by World Bank Committee on Trade in Financial Services
- Thursday 27 February: Working Party on Domestic Regulation
- Friday 28 February: Council for Trade in Services (regular session)
- Monday 3 March: Council for Trade in Services (Special session)
- Thursday 6 March: Council for Trade in Services (Special session)
Organisation of the Negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda EN / FR / ES
- Deadline for Dispute Settlement Understanding negotiations: May 2003
- Deadline for negotiations on registration system for geographical indications: 5th Ministerial Conference in 2003 (in Mexico)
- Stock taking: 5th Ministerial Conference in 2003 (in Mexico)
- Deadline for other negotiations: by 1 January 2005 as single undertaking
- Decision on adopting and implementing results: Special Session of Ministerial Conference - date not set yet
Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, Geneva, 17 and 18 February 2003, organised jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the European Parliament
WTO Tokyo Informal Ministerial Meeting (14-16 February 2003)
WTO Symposium on assessment of trade in services, 14-15 MARCH 2002
"How to Read GATS Negotiating Requests and Offers", Vicente Paolo B. Yu III, WTO Program Officer, Friends of the Earth International, 30 July 2002
Trade in Services: "EU submits proposals to WTO - New sector proposals", November 2002
- Communication from the European Communities (EC) and their Member States: Sector proposals
- The EU and Services negotiations in the WTO
Trade in services: EU launches public consultation on requests for access to the EU market ,Brussels, 12 November 2002
Summary of the EC's initial requests to Third Countries in the GATS negotiations (Brussels, 1 July 2002) - Excecutive Summary
"Leaked Confidential EU Documents Confirm Controversial Character of GATS Negotiations", GATSwatch, 16 April 2002
Key points from the (Canadian) Cabinet Memorandum (August 7, 2002) seeking a Mandate for WTO Negotiations leading up to the September 2003 Summit, Bruce Campbell, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
"The Green Party of England and Wales' Response to the GATS Consultation", Jayne Forbes, Globalisation Spokesperson, 2 January 2003
- Public
Hearing on "GATS : The future of services" (26 November
2002)
European Parliament/Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy
- WTO,
GATS & Services
Text of the agreement, related texts
- GATS/WTO explained
- GATS/WTO analysed
- GATS/WTO commented
- WTO & Democracy/Public Authority/Local Administration
- Cultural Diversity
- GATS & WTO Education/Universities
- GATS/WTO & Libraries
- GATS/WTO & Audiovisual
- GATS/WTO & Health/Social Services
- GATS/WTO & Environment
- GATS/WTO & Agriculture
- Institutional Websites
- Opposition to GATS/WTO
- Interest Groups
- Globalisation
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