Services / GATS / TISA

Summary of the EU?s revised services offer in the Doha negotiations

1 June, 2005
FoE Europe
Summary of EU's revised services offer in the WTO negotiations.

Lawmakers Press U.S. Trade Negotiators To 'Stand Firm' on U.S. Trade Laws at WTO

30 May, 2005
By Gary G. Yerkey, International Trade Daily
A bipartisan group of some two dozen members of Congress May 27 called on U.S. negotiators to 'stand firm' against efforts to weaken U.S. trade laws in talks at the World Trade Organization scheduled to be held the week of May 30.

RP Officials Urged To Shun Bid in WTO Services Talks

29 May, 2005
IBON Foundation, Inc.
Independent think-tank IBON Foundation urges Philippine trade negotiators to the World Trade Organization (WTO) not to submit any offer on the services talks without substantially improved Mode 4 offers from developed countries like the US.

Stakes for RP High as WTO Services Talks Nears Deadline

29 May, 2005
By Jennifer del Rosario-Malonzo, IBON Features Vol XI No 16
The Philippines has not much to gain except on Mode 4 and a great deal to suffer from liberalizing its services sector

Sensenbrenner, Conyers Push for Portman Commitment on Visas

26 May, 2005
Inside US Trade
The chairman and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee this week demanded that the new U.S. Trade Representative renew a vow that the Bush Administration will not agree to additional changes to U.S. immigration or antitrust laws

Government Concedes that Water Does Not Belong in Trade Agreements

26 May, 2005
Public Interest Advocacy Centre
The (Australian) Government

Congress Still Strongly Opposes Trade Pacts Allowing Temporary Entry of Foreign Workers

25 May, 2005
By Gary G. Yerkey, International Trade Daily
The U.S. Congress will continue to oppose any agreement negotiated at the World Trade Organization that would allow foreign business and professional personnel to enter the United States to work on a temporary basis, a key congressional staffer said May 25.

China Told by US to Revalue Renminbi by 10%

23 May, 2005
Andrew Balls, Financial Times, London
The US Treasury has told the Chinese authorities that they must revalue their currency by at least 10 per cent against the dollar to prevent protectionist legislation in the US Congress.

Trade Facilitation in WTO: Developing Countries Stress Need to Clarify Scope of Negotiations

23 May, 2005
WTO Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May05/11)
While some members pressed ahead with proposals for new clarification of the relevant existing GATT rules as well as new obligations, several developing countries voiced their concern that some proposals that have been put forward exceeded the mandate for the negotiations.(M. Khor)

WTO symposium debates virtues or otherwise of liberalisation

9 May, 2005
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (May05/4)
The WTO organised a public symposium on 20-22 April on The WTO After 10 Years: Global Problems and Multilateral Solutions. It was attended by more than a thousand people.

Doha global trade round 'close to crisis'

27 April, 2005
By Frances Williams in Geneva
Supachai Panitchpakdi, director general of the World Trade Organisation, on Thursday warned that the Doha round of global trade talks was 'close to a crisis'.

Trade in Cultural Goods and Services: Assessing the compatibility between WTO trade rules and UNESCO's cultural diversity Convention

11 April, 2005
INCD
On 20 April at 3:00 pm, the INCD will hold a seminar at WTO headquarters in Geneva to discuss the cultural implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services and the potential implications for trade rules of the new UNESCO Convention.

Appellate Body Decision on the US-Gambling Case

7 April, 2005
unknown (owinfs listserv)
On April 7, the WTO Appellate Body published its decision on the US-Gambling case. In November, 2004 a panel had largely ruled in favour of a complaint by Antigua-Barbuda that US federal and state laws prohibiting cross-border gambling violated US commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

WTO says gambling a U.S. services commitment, but U.S. sees way out

7 April, 2005
Inside US Trade
The World Trade Organization's Appellate Body yesterday (April 7) upheld a 2004 panel ruling that the U.S. had agreed to allow cross-border gambling services under its Uruguay Round services commitments, a decision that could lead to future challenges of U.S. regulations on gambling.

Final WTO Panel Upholds Ruling Against U.S. Internet Gambling Ban in Explosive Decision With Broad Political, Policy Implications

6 April, 2005
Public Citizen
Public Citizen press release

Disappointing results for South so far in GATS talks

5 April, 2005
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Apr05/4)
The services negotiations in the WTO have so far not attained an overall balance of rights and obligations, the increase in developing countries' service exports has been small, and the initial offers by major trading partners has been disappointing for developing countries.(M.Khor)

'GATS talks will move only with a ?big leap? in Mode 4'

5 April, 2005
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Apr05/2)
Developing countries are likely to move forward in the WTO services negotiations only if there is a

GATS negotiators debate if there is a ?crisis? in WTO services talks

5 April, 2005
TWN Info Service on WTO and Trade Issues (Apr05/3)
Some key players in the services negotiations in the WTO believe the talks are in a state of crisis because of the lack of offers or serious offers by many members so far. (M.Khor)

Services Update from India

28 March, 2005
EQUATIONS
Mode 4 - Indo-US FTA? India will continue to push aggressively on the Mode 4 issue with other developed countries like the US and EU.

Why The Airbus-Boeing Case Could Wreck The WTO, And how To Stop It

26 March, 2005
Jeffrey E. Garten, Newsweek International
The spat has outgrown the World Trade Organization, which did not yet exist when the United States and EU first addressed the charges of unfair trade practices in the aerospace industry back in 1992.