GATS and the Regulation of International Trade in Services World Trade Forum

This collection of essays takes stock of the key challenges that have arisen since the entry into force of the General Agreement on Trade in Services in the mid-1990s and situates them in the context of the WTO's Doha Development Agenda and the proliferation of preferential agreements addressing services today. The multidisciplinary approach provides an opportunity for many of the world's leading experts and a number of new analytical voices to exchange ideas on the future of services trade and regulation. Cosmopolitan approaches to the treatment of labour mobility, the shape of services trade disciplines in the digital age and pro-competitive regulation in air transport are explored with a view to helping readers gain a better understanding of the forces shaping the changes. An essential read for all those concerned with the evolution of the rules-based trading system and its impact on the service economy.

Part I. Beyond Regulatory Control and Multilateral Flexibility: Gains from a Cosmopolitan GATS: 1. Testing Regulatory Autonomy, Disciplining Trade Relief and Regulating Variable Peripheries: Can a Cosmopolitan GATS do it all? Marion Panizzon and Nicole Pohl; Part II. Unexplored Economic, Political and Judicial Dimensions of GATS: 2. South-South Services Trade Nora Dihel, Felix Eschenbach and Benjamin Shepherd; 3. The Race towards Preferential Trade Agreements in Services: How Much Market Access Is Really Achieved? Martin Roy, Juan Marchetti and Aik Hoe Lim; 4. Comment: Is Services Trade Like or Unlike Manufacturing Trade? Marion Jansen; 5. Rules of Origin in Services: A Case Study of Five ASEAN Countries Carsten Fink and Deunden Nikomborirak; Part III. The Limits of Request–Offer Negotiations: Plurilateral and Alternative Approaches to Services Liberalization: 6. Services Post Hong-Kong – Initial Experiences with Plurilaterals Elisabeth Türk; 7. Comment: Negotiating Approaches from a Member's Perspective Claire Kelly; 8. Evaluating Alternative Approaches to GATS Negotiations: Sectoral, Formulae and Others Henry Gao; 9. Comment: Trade Liberalization under the GATS: An Odyssey? Rudolf Adlung; Part IV. GATS Case Law: A First Assessment: 10. Lessons Learned from Litigating GATS Disputes: Mexico – Telecoms Andrew W. Shoyer; 11. From Periodicals to Gambling: A Review of Systemic Issues Addressed by WTO Adjudicatory Bodies under the GATS Eric Leroux; 12. Specificities of WTO Dispute Settlement in Services Cases William Davey; 13. Can Foreign Investors in Services Benefit from WTO Dispute Settlement? Martin Molinuevo; Part V. Market Access, National Treatment and Domestic Regulation: 14. Some Thoughts on the Concept of 'Likeness' in the GATS Mireille Cossy; 15. Comment: The Unbearable Lightness of Likeness Joost Pauwelyn; 16. Towards a Horizontal Necessity Test for Services: Completing the GATS Article VI:4 Mandate Panagiotis Delimatsis; 17. Comment: Quis custodiet neccessitatem? Adjudicating Necessity in Multilevel Systems and the Importance of Judicial Dialogue Markus Krajewski; Part VI. Unfinished Business: Safeguard and Subsidy Disciplines for Services: 18. Recognition, Standardisation and Harmonisation: Which Rules for GATS in Times of Crisis? Markus Krajewski; 19. A Safeguards Regime for Services Fernando Pierola; 20. Waiting for Godot: Subsidy Disciplines in Services Trade Pietro Poretti; 21. Comment: One Set of Rules for Fair and Unfair Trade in Services: A Possible Merger? Kanitha Kungsawanich; Part VII. Challenges to the Scope of GATS and Cosmopolitan Governance in Services Trade: 22. Trade Rules for the Digital Age Sacha Wunsch-Vincent; 23. Comment: Digital Trade: Technology versus Legislators Christian Pauletto; 24. How Human Rights Violations Nullify and Impair GATS Commitments Marion Panizzon; 25. Comment: The Instrumental Rationale for Protecting Human Rights in the Context of Trade Services Reform Simon Walker; 26. In Pursuit of the Cosmopolitan Vocation for Trade: GATS and Aviation Services Richard Janda and Mark Glynn; Part VIII. Conclusion: 27. Been There, Not Yet Done That: Lessons and Challenges in Services Trade Pierre Sauvé.

Marion Panizzon is Senior Research Fellow of the World Trade Institute. She specializes in international economic law, a field in which she publishes on subjects as diverse as intellectual property law, human rights and trade, theory of sources of law.
Nicole Pohl has worked with academic institutions in Germany, Switzerland and the United States. Her specialization is in international economics, a field in which she has taught, pursued research and managed educational programs. She is also a member of the German National Academic Foundation. In addition to her academic career, she has some experience in corporate consulting.
Pierre Sauvé is a Visiting Fellow of the International Relations Department at the London School of Economics, where he also serves as a Research Associate of the School's International Trade Policy Unit.