International Trade in Services and Domestic Regulations Necessity, Transparency and Regulatory Diversity

by Delimatsis, Panagiotis

• ISBN13: 9780199533152
• ISBN10: 0199533156
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780191566707
• Additional ISBN(s): 9780191566707
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In 2005, the WTO Appellate body ruled that the United States' total prohibition on cross border gambling services was unlawful under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The questions raised by the case - whether and how a government could block service provision on moral grounds - went to the heart of key controversies surrounding international economic law. How do you reconcile a liberal system of international trade in services with national governments' desire to protect social values through service regulation? How much control are the WTO members willing to transfer to the WTO? How much regulatory diversity can the traditional trading system withstand? This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the regulation of services under the WTO's GATS Agreement. Through a thorough examination of the GATS negotiation history, substantive provisions, judicial interpretation, and ongoing reform process, the book presents a clear picture of how the multilateral trading system justifies and tolerates regulatory diversity. The book develops a horizontal framework for the assessment of whether a national barrier to trade in services is lawful, across all service sectors, focusing on the core general principles of necessity and transparency.

Author Biography

Panagiotis Delimatsis is Senior Research Fellow at the World Trade Institute, University of Berne, Switzerland. Previously he has worked at the WTO Appellate Body secretariat, UNCTAD, and practised law in Greece.

Table of Contents

The Multilateral Legal Framework Governing Trade in Services

Coping with Regulatory Diversity in Services

The Uruguay Round: A Rules-Based System for World Trade

The Position of Services in World Trade

Creating the GATS

The Position of the GATS in the GATT/WTO Structure

The GATS at a Glance

Dancing in the Dark? The GATS' Tentative Steps Towards Liberalization of Trade in Services

Barriers to Trade in Services

Introductory Remarks

Usual Barriers to Trade

Protection in Services Industries

Typologies of Barriers to Trade in Services

Possible Gains from Dismantling Barriers to Trade in Services

Domestic Regulation and the GATS

Introductory Remarks

The Obligations Contained in Article VI GATS

The Relationship of Article VI with Articles XVI, XVII and XVIII GATS - A Conciliatory Approach

Snipping at the Gordian Knot of Domestic Regulations - Just a Fool to Believe?

Put the Blame on the GATS: Liberalization, Deregulation, Regulatory Reform or Something Else?I

Creating a Horizontal Necessity Test for Services

Introductory Remarks

The Establishment of the WPPS and the Development of Disciplines on Domestic Regulation with Respect to Accountancy Services

The Establishment of the WPDR

Towards the Development of a Horizontal Necessity Test Applicable to All Service Sectors

The Prospects of, and Some Essential Elements for, a Horizontal Necessity Test

Transparency and Domestic Regulations in Services

Introductory Remarks

Transparency as a General Principle of WTO Law

The Principle of Transparency in the GATS

The Issue of Transparency as Discussed in the WPDR

Horizontally Applicable Transparency Disciplines and the Linkage with Necessity

Concluding Remarks: Challenges for the Future

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