An Overview of the WTO’s Plurilateral Agreement on Services Domestic Regulation

Abstract

TheWTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which has been in effect since 1995, has been used byWTO Members to facilitate increased growth in trade in services by regulating global transactions on trade in services in line with the specific commitments undertaken by everyWTO Member in the GATS. However, growth in trade in services has been clouded by significant barriers to trade in services that continue to exist in many countries in the form of unintended trade-restrictive measures across most services sectors, obscure regulations, and burdensome regulatory procedures. The successful conclusion of the Reference Paper on services domestic regulation is an effort to reduce these barriers and further stimulate trade in services. WTO, GATS, Services Domestic Regulation, Joint Initiative, Plurilateral Declaration, Negotiated Disciplines, regulatory processes, Reference Paper, barriers to services trade, predictability and transparency