Course Description

The service sector is the most important economic sector for the majority of countries when measured as a share of overall production, and is the single largest source of employment. Trade in services has grown faster than the trade in goods, and adds approximately 10 percent to global GDP annually. The World Trade Organization’s (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), adopted in January 1995, represented the first attempt at multilateral level to lay the groundwork for services liberalization. The GATS mandates WTO members to progressively open up trade in services through successive rounds of negotiations. The services negotiations form a part of the three pillars of market access in the single undertaking and are a core element in the Doha Development Agenda.

Course Objectives

• The purpose of this course is for participants to deepen their understanding of the main provisions of the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), to become more familiar with trade in services analytical tools and to consolidate their understanding of emerging services policy and negotiating issues, such as those relating to domestic regulation of services or e-commerce.