14th December 2005
Hong Kong Trade and Development Symposium Session 2.4: Services Trade for Sustainable Development: Options for Developing Countries
Services trade has the potential to be a driver of sustainable development in developing countries. However, trade liberalization in and of itself will not ensure that such trade will work for sustainable development. Developing countries need to have an adequate institutional environment in order for trade to work towards development. It is therefore imperative that ample space for such institutions is provided in trade agreements, including in trade commitments countries undertake.
As the GATS negotiations move towards its conclusion, concerns abound on the extent to which this space may be compromised, be it through mandatory ‘benchmarks’, where developing countries have to undertake market access commitments in a minimum number of services sectors and sub-sectors, or through new rules or disciplines, such as those proposed on domestic regulation. Some of these concerns may prove to be valid, while others certainly are not. In any case, these issues need to be re-visited with a critical eye, especially as Members seek agreement on the work programme for the last leg of negotiations at Hong Kong.
At the same time, if the development orientation of the Doha trade agenda is to be realised, cognisance must be taken of the opportunities which lie in those select sectors and modes of supply of interest to developing countries. Indeed, a purely defensive approach to the negotiations will not reap benefits for many developing countries. Progressive liberalisation in a particular sector, if well-managed, could lead to substantial benefits to a country’s economy as a whole. While countries should undertake individually an assessment of their services trade, certain sectors, such as tourism, energy services and environmental services, which have been the focus of study of international developmental organisations could prove useful starting points for such individual national assessments.
Most developing countries, especially the least developed among them, have likewise identified mode 4, or the movement and temporary stay of natural persons supplying a service, as the key development element which they can bring home from the Doha Round. While much has been written and said about this issue, renewed focus and some outside-the-box thinking, given the recent negotiating dynamics and developments, will be necessary in examining how trade can be enhanced and managed in this mode to ensure that services trade works towards sustainable development.
Agenda
I. The link between services trade and sustainable development: How to make trade in services for developing countries’ relevant to their sustainable development objectives.
Presenter: Kevin Gallagher
Discussant: Ricardo Melendez-Ortiz
II. Mode 4 Liberalisation as a Tool for Sustainable Development
Presenter: Rupa Chanda
III. Sectors of Opportunity: The Case of Environmental Services
Presenter: Mia Mikic
Discussant: Umberto Celli
IV. Disciplines on Domestic Regulation: How Real is the Threat to Policy Space?
Presenter: Thomas Chan
Discussant: Johannes Bernabe
Organisers
The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) with UNDP Regional Centre in Colombo