Services / GATS / TISA

Govt To Tap WTO To Attract Foreign Investment

22 March, 2005
Sajid Chaudhry
The opportunities will be in eight major areas of the services sector, under the General Agreement on Trade and Services, a senior official told Daily Times on Tuesday.

Trade Facilitation: U.S., Uganda Call For WTO Ban On 'Consularization' Of Imports

22 March, 2005
Daniel Pruzin
GENEVA--The United States and Uganda have issued a joint proposal calling for a ban on so-called 'consularization' transactions and fees as part of a future World Trade Organization agreement on trade facilitation.

G20 Ministerial Meeting Ends With Declaration

20 March, 2005
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Mar05/5)
The Declaration of the G-20 Ministers called for the elimination of all export subsidies in agriculture within five years.

14 Developing Countries Criticize WIPO Patent Treaty Talks

13 March, 2005
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Mar05/1)
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OBJECT TO WIPO CONSULTATION PROCESS ON PATENT TREATY TALKS

India's Services Challenge

7 March, 2005
Washington Trade Daily, Trade Reports International Group, Volume 14, Number 47
The United States went a step further by saying ministers must agree on a 'standstill' in addition to making new commitments.

Industry Efforts On Services Talks Face Sensenbrenner Opposition

3 March, 2005
Sheryll Poe
The U.S. is under pressure from developing countries to provide additional access for business personnel in the Doha round services negotiations, or run the risk that developing countries will not open their markets in the negotiations.

Elevating Services?

3 March, 2005
Washington Trade Daily,Trade Reports, International Group,Volume 14, Number 45
The EU, Switzerland, India and the United States made a strong pitch yesterday for stepping up the profile of services negotiations, maintaining that members will have to accelerate work in the coming days.

Officials: WTO Negotiators Must Step Up Talks On Liberalizing Services

24 February, 2005
Jonathan Fowler
Failure to pick up the pace could undermine advances in other crucial areas of WTO talks, said Hamid Mamdouh, director of the WTO Trade in Services Division.

Barbados Among Countries Submitting Paper To WTO

24 February, 2005
Barbados Advocate
A new round of extended negotiations at the WTO was launched as a result of the Doha ministerial declaration.

Allgeier Says U.S. Committed To Timetable For Giving Revised WTO Services Talks Offer

23 February, 2005
Daniel Pruzin, International Trade Reporter, Volume 22 Number 8
Developing countries led by Brazil, China, India, and Mexico have complained that the Mode 4 offers put forward in the services negotiations to date are insufficient and must be improved.

IMF Head Calls For Developing Countries Cut Protectionism

23 February, 2005
World Bank Press Review
'Developing countries must therefore also take steps to remove their own trade barriers' -RATO

Development And GATS

17 February, 2005
Washington Trade Daily,Trade Reports, International Group, Volume 14, Number 35
Brazil - along with Colombia, the Dominican Republic and the Philippines - said each member has the right to define, in particular, the kind of universal service obligation it wishes to maintain.

In Trade Facilitation Negotiations, Developing Countries Question The Nature Of Commitments In Trade While Developed Countries Propose New Obligations

16 February, 2005
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Feb05/4)
Many of the developing countries stressed the importance of technical assistance and capacity building.

Financial Services Firms Lobby Developing Countries At WTO

15 February, 2005
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Feb05/2)
WTO members will be negotiating in the Special Session of the Council of Trade in Services in the week starting 21 February.

Egat Union Unmoved By Landslide Victory

7 February, 2005
Bangkok Post
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Sunday reiterated that planned privatisations would continue by listing the shares of state enterprises on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

Developing Countries Want US To Miss Services Deadline To Help Mode 4

3 February, 2005
Inside US Trade
Developing countries want the U.S. to take as much time as possible to ensure that its revised offer contains their demand for ambitious new mode 4 commitments covering the movement of natural persons.

Local And Regional Reaction To GATS And Similar Trade Rules

24 January, 2005
Edward Sussex
Some of the strongest opposition to the GATS and other re- or de-regulatory trade agreements is coming from local and regional councils, backed by critical civil society movements.

EU-ACP Trade Negotiations: New Threats For East Africa

13 January, 2005
EcoNews Africa
Forty civil society representatives from ten countries in Eastern and Southern Africa have gathered in Nairobi during two days to voice their concerns on the negotiations on the so called Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

WTO GPA Market Access Talks Off To Slow Start As Requests Lag

13 January, 2005
Inside US Trade
Geneva sources said these countries could table their requests in the coming weeks, while one source speculated that some countries might not feel any pressure to move until closer to a March meeting of the government procurement committee.

G33 Presents Detailed Paper On Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM)

13 December, 2004
TWN Report by Goh Chien Yen,Geneva, 14 December 2004
It was the most detailed paper prepared so far by the group, which is also known as the SP-SSM Alliance.