Trade in Services

EENI- School of International Business

Subject: Trade in Services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Syllabus:

  1. Introduction to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
  2. Transparency and liberalisation in international trade in services
  3. Modes of supply of trade in services
  4. Most-favoured-nation
  5. Market access and national treatment
  6. List of commitments
  7. Agreement, Annexes, and Schedules of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
  8. Case Study: Trade in Services in the United States-Colombia FTA and the European Union-Mexico FTA.
  9. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and national regulations
  10. The Doha Development
  11. Other questions related to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
  12. Analysis of the World Trade in Services
  13. Introduction to the Services Directive of the European Single Market

The objectives of the subject “Trade in Services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)” are the following:

  1. To understand the importance of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
  2. To understand the key concepts of trade in services: modes of supply, most-favoured-nation, liberalisation, market access, and lists of commitments
  3. To analyse the global market in services
The subject “Trade in Services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)” is studied...
  1. Masters (e-learning): Foreign Trade and Marketing, International Business
  2. Diploma in International Trade

Learning materials in English (or Spanish Comercio Servicios French Services Portuguese Servicos).

  1. Credits of the subject “Trade in Services”: 2 ECTS Credits
  2. Duration: two weeks

Area of Knowledge: Foreign trade.

Sample of the subject: “International Trade in Services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)”
Trade in Services

Description of the Subject: International Trade in Services. the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

Since 1995 is in force the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) whose main objective is to liberalise the foreign trade in services (exports and imports) transparently to increase the world trade.

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) covers all the exportable services (the WTO identifies twelve basic sectors and 160 sub-sectors): tourism, business services, information technology, transport, finance, education, architecture, telecommunications, healthcare, insurance, construction, engineering, distribution, environmental, cultural, and sporting services.

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) seeks to promote the trade in services of developing countries.

  1. In the developed economies, the service sector accounts for an average of 70% of GDP, while in the developing countries is often below 50%.
  2. The United States is the largest global exporter of services (14% of the total), followed by the United Kingdom (6%), Germany (6%), China, France, India, Japan, and Spain.

Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) the most- favoured-nation may apply.

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) identifies four modes in the form of providing a service abroad:

  1. Cross-border trade
  2. Consumption abroad
  3. Commercial presence
  4. Presence of natural persons

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is perfectly compatible with Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs): Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Economic Partnership Agreements (ACE).

In many FTAs usually, we will find chapters on trade in services and labour markets so that we will analyse the US-Colombia FTA and the EU-Mexico FTA.

Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment

The United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA):

United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement



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