Services/General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

No outcome likely at MC11 on domestic regulation in services
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 9 November 2017)
A large majority of developing and least developed countries rejected on Tuesday (7 November) the revised draft negotiating proposal for an outcome on disciplines on domestic regulation of trade in services at the upcoming World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires.

Outcome unlikely on domestic regulation in services at MC11
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 25 October 2017)
The proposed multilateral outcome on enhanced disciplines for domestic regulation in trade in services by major developed and some developing countries at the upcoming World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires almost evaporated on Monday (23 October) following unbridgeable divisions on the need to finalize any decision at this juncture, trade negotiators told SUNS.

Consensus eludes trade ministers at Marrakesh
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 16 October 2017)
The just-concluded informal trade ministerial summit in Marrakesh on 10 October brought into sharp focus the linkages between fisheries subsidies and improvements in the Doha trade remedy rules, and between the permanent solution for public stockholding programs and domestic support.

CSOs urge WTO Members to abandon expansionist agenda
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 10 October 2017)
Some 300 civil society organisations (CSOs) from more than 150 countries have raised the alarm that some members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are "pushing a dangerous and inappropriate new agenda" in the run-up to the WTO's eleventh ministerial conference (MC11) in Buenos Aires beginning on 10 December.

India, Africa resist IC moves to finalize outcomes in GATS DR at MC11
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 6 October 2017)
India and the African Group have expressed sharp concern over attempts to finalize outcomes in the domestic regulation for trade in services by major industrialized countries and their allies in the developing world without adhering to the work done in the 2009 and 2011 texts, services negotiators told SUNS.

India re-calibrates its TFS proposal
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 3 August 2017)
India has re-calibrated its proposal on trade facilitation for services (TFS) at the World Trade Organization by suggesting that the proposed TFS agreement will only cover commitments scheduled under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), trade envoys told the SUNS.

Formulaic approach to MC11 outcomes to ensure comfort for US?
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 22 June 2017)
Attempts to finalize a formulaic approach of outcomes for the World Trade Organization's eleventh ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires this December are being intensified with the sole aim of ensuring that the United States remains comfortable without having to undertake any fresh commitments, according to people familiar with the development.

Efforts to import parts of failed TiSA into services DR thwarted
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 11 May 2017)
Many developing and least-developed countries on Tuesday (9 May) thwarted attempts by the Chair of the World Trade Organization Working Party on Domestic Regulation to steam-roll discussions on proposals, apparently incorporated from the failed Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) negotiations, services negotiators told SUNS.

Positions unchanged on public stockholding, SSM, HOD told
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 10 May 2017)
An informal Heads of Delegation meeting at the World Trade Organization on Monday showed that members remain sharply divided on the key issues and possible deliverables at MC11 in Buenos Aires, with a large majority of developing countries insisting that the focus should be based on the Doha Work Programme and Nairobi Ministerial decisions, and not on any new issues like E-commerce or investment facilitation.

India's TFS proposal gets little support
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 5 May 2017)
Members of the African Group and least-developed countries on Wednesday (3 May) raised several systemic concerns over India's draft negotiating proposal for facilitating trade in services at the World Trade Organization.

Indian TFS draft faces sharp questions, intense scrutiny
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 20 March 2017)
Many developing and least-developed countries, including members of the African Group, sharply questioned India at the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Thursday (16 March) over its proposal to negotiate a standalone agreement on Trade Facilitation for Services (TFS) without any prior mandate, services negotiators told SUNS.

India's draft legal proposal for TFS
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 28 February 2017)
India has called for substantial improvements in several articles of the World Trade Organization's General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) to "facilitate the movement of information, data, technology and natural and juridical persons in an increasingly globalized and digitized world," according to the draft legal text reviewed by SUNS.

Green room process on services domestic regulation
(D. Ravi Kanth, Geneva, 6 February 2017)
The WTO Director-General, Roberto Azevedo, held a green room meeting Thursday (2 February) on domestic regulation in services to prepare the ground for a possible outcome in this area at the forthcoming Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires end of 2017.