This book fills an important gap in the trade literature by offering¾ a comprehensive cross-regional comparison of approaches to preferential market opening and rule-making in the area of trade in services. Chronicling the spectacular recent rise o

Like tariffs and other border measures, national regulatory barriers impede international trade. Unlike tariffs, however, such barriers usually indicate an important domestic policy choice. This 'conflict of interest' has emerged as a crucial issue in international law, particularly with regard to services, such as telecommunications and health services. This study is the first to analyze the potential impact of incompatibilities between national regulatory regimes and the rules and obligations imposed by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In the process of arriving at his challenging concluding theses, the author investigates such relevant concepts as the following: the political and ideological dynamics of GATS negotiations services trade liberalization in regional integration systems, particularly in EC law policies common to diverse national regulatory systems the notions of 'deregulation' and 'privatization' the human rights implications of international trade law the GATS obligations of market access, national treatment, and most-favoured-nation treatment the role of the WTO's dispute settlement organs GATS transparency obligations Professor Krajewski's study is of enormous significance to specialists in regulatory policies and instruments at all national and sectoral levels, especially in the context of ongoing GATS negotiations. As the author warns: Unless GATS negotiators and national regulators have a thorough understanding of the relationship between GATS obligations and regulatory policies and instruments, they cannot effectively use the flexible elements of GATS and could reach an agreement which they may later regret.

The paper explores empirically the links between the WTO-driven liberalization of trade in financial services and the stability of national financial systems. Econometric testing of indicators intended to proxy financial sector stability-subdivided into exchange rate and banking sector stability-suggests that opening of the financial sector is an efficient policy instrument at the disposal of the authorities for achieving a variety of macroeconomic goals. While liberalization is found to be broadly conducive to stability, the outcome of liberalization on exchange rate stability is less predictable than on banking sector stability.

This books examines whether public service liberalization poses a threat to gender and human rights?

The services sector plays an important role in ASEAN economies as it accounts for about half of the region's GDP and more than 45 per cent of its total employment. ASEAN aspires to deepen integration in the services sector in order to enhance the sector's contribution to economic development and growth in each country. Despite this, services liberalization has progressed slowly compared to goods liberalization both at the multilateral and the regional levels. Different regulatory mechanisms across countries have contributed to the slow pace of liberalization. Logistics is an important industry in the services sector. The integration of logistics is important for deepening economic integration in ASEAN as it facilitates the movement of goods, services and people within and across countries, among producers and from producers to consumers. In view of its importance, ASEAN has identified logistics as one of its priority integration sectors. It has also developed a Connectivity Master Plan and a Strategic Transport Plan, where logistics plays an important role. This book examines the current state of services liberalization in the ten ASEAN economies. It also assesses the FDI enabling environment and the extent of FDI liberalization in the logistics sector as well as the liberalization challenges encountered in each of the ASEAN economies. The book, thus, provides a comparative picture of services liberalization as well as the state of logistics liberalization and development in each of the ten ASEAN member countries. All these have important bearings on deepening ASEAN economic integration for 2025 and beyond.

A detailed analysis of the history of maritime transport services in the Uruguay and post-Uruguay Round negotiations and the role of the sector in the ongoing Doha Round talks. The reader will be confronted with an extensive overview of the role of maritime transport services in the WTO/GATS framework, a topic basically uncovered in the literature so far.

This book provides a strategy for liberalizing the aviation services industry.

The Service Sector is one of the fastest-growing sectors in India. This sector had registered rapid growth in the past decade and has left behind many other established sectors. It is a matter of great satisfaction that the services sector has been recognized for the first time in the Uruguay Round and in GATS 2000 negotiation as an independent sector. There is considerable promise ahead. This treatise, therefore, examines in detail its various aspects. The treatise talks about the growth prospect in various critical sectors. It is a matter of satisfaction that the government has been giving tremendous support. The author has experience in dealing with commercial matters. He sees great prospects ahead & finds the horizon crimson red. If the trend continues then this poignant sector will go to greater heights and get India her rightful place in the years to come.

Both in WTO law and EU law there is a dichotomy between liberalisation based on market access and targeting domestic regulation. Consequently, both regimes share the problem of distinguishing national measures impairing market access and those that do not have such effect. Looking at the provision of services, a cornerstone of EU substantive law, in the EU and the WTO this book offers a comprehensive evaluation of the current legal status quo on transnational services provision on a global level. Based on thorough analysis of both EU and WTO law, policymakers are provided with concrete proposals for fostering the consistency and effectiveness of the current regime. A final chapter discusses possible approaches to regulation such as home state rule, host state rule and mutual recognition from a comparative perspective. Written by a highly respected author team, this is essential reading for EU internal market specialists and WTO law scholars alike.