Reciprocity across modes of supply in the World Trade Organization : a negotiating formula

Negotiations on trade in services at the World Trade Organization (WTO) have so far produced little liberalization beyond levels countries have undertaken unilaterally. One reason: limited application of the traditional negotiating principle of reciprocity. In particular, participants have failed to exploit the scope of the services agreement (General Agreement on Trade in Services -GATS) for the exchange of market-access"concessions"across different modes of supply - cross-border delivery and the movement of capital and workers. Using the Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek framework, the authors propose a negotiating formula that generalizes the fundamental WTO principle of reciprocity to include alternative modes of delivery. Adoption of this formula as a basis for negotiations could bring greater commitments to liberalization on all modes of delivery, producing substantial gains in global welfare and more balanced outcomes.