Malaysia's higher education sector expanded rapidly in the late 1990s, with the number of institutions peaking in 2001 and the number of international students peaking in 2017. Following improvements in the quality of local universities and the establishment of branches of international campuses...

When it comes to services traded through the international movement of individuals (mode 4), Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have increasingly adopted trade-facilitating disciplines that both build upon and innovate the GATS framework. By analysing relevant provisions of RTAs, we are able to...

This study investigates the effect of GATS, a service-specific trade agreement, on the survival of service exports from Kenya to 176 countries between 1995 and 2019. Services are classified at a 1-digit level: travel, transport, computer and information, construction, financial, insurance,...

This research paper highlights the adverse impacts of the continuing WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions on the developing and least developed countries. The rapidly progressing digitalization along with the ongoing pandemic and the food crisis are creating multiple...

This research paper highlights the adverse impacts of the continuing WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions on the developing and least developed countries. The rapidly progressing digitalization along with the ongoing pandemic and the food crisis are creating multiple...

This paper reviews the Philippines' participation in services trade agreements to date at the multilateral (WTO GATS), regional (ASEAN and dialogue partners), and bilateral levels (PJEPA and PH-EFTA FTA). It also discusses the government's institutional arrangements for trade in services...

Research on trade in education services intensified at the beginning of the 21st century after the proposal to include these services into the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations under the auspices of WTO. The proposal triggered controversy among many academics, arguing that education...

This paper identifies regulators’ increasing discretionary practices in the innovation sectors and examines whether international economic law is prepared for this supervisory evolution. As demonstrated by the three cases studied, very often technology laws themselves do not entail sufficient...

Agreed commitments under GATS — both general and specific — amount to substantial qualifications to the exercise of sovereignty and powers in shaping domestic regulation of services. Members therefore agreed to introduce security exceptions aimed to preserve Members’ freedom of action in...

This contribution offers a comprehensive analysis of Art. XIX GATS, entitled “Negotiation of Specific Commitments”, which clarifies the manner in which negotiations under the GATS should proceed in order to progressively achieve higher levels of liberalization. This provision also identifies...

The general and specific obligations undertaken under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) by Members in relation to non-discrimination and market access and a level playing field in services, may under certain circumstances, considerably restrict the pursuit of equally legitimate,...

This paper considers liberalization of trade in both inter-temporal intermediation services and goods in a joint spatial-intertemporal trade model. Joint multi-commodity spatial intertemporal models are not (to our knowledge) used in the trade literature as general comparative statics results...

This is an updated commentary of Article IX of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) on business practices, including a textual analysis of the provision, as well as an examination of the pertinent WTO case law and of other related international and regional rules and practices

Measures restricting data flows outside one's borders, including mandatory data/server localization measures, are not only a barrier to trade, but also largely ineffective in achieving better internet security or trust. Nevertheless, governments deploy such measures, primarily on grounds of...

While the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) provided for the applicability of non-violation and situation complaints to the settlement of disputes in the area of intellectual property (IP), when the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements were adopted...

Services have long been perceived as playing a secondary role in world trade. In particular, the role of services trade policies and multilateral services commitments often tends to be downplayed. However, in value added terms, services account for about 50% of world trade and are significant in...

This paper quantifies the economic implications of reducing barriers to services trade in the context of the Trade in International Services Agreement (TISA) using an extension of the GTAP model which incorporates a dynamic mechanism, a MONASH-style investment function, and disaggregated...

Experience has shown there has been a need for prudential measures to be imposed on financial services. The global financial crisis of 2007-08 is quite an emblematic example. Therefore, states and financial institutions have united to establish standards as for financial services like the Basel...

Services have long been perceived as playing a secondary role in world trade. In particular, the role of services trade policies and multilateral services commitments often tends to be downplayed. However, in value added terms, services account for about 50% of world trade and are significant in...

The number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have increased markedly over the last decade, with many addressing market openness and rule-making for services trade. Recent RTAs are breaking down existing barriers: on average, removing between 10% and 40% of services restrictions present in the...

This article removes the ambiguity surrounding the GATS classification of digital services and provides a technical analysis that might guide this (heavily politicized) debate. Digitization principally impacts trade in services, enabling the widespread use of digital services and enabling...

Following the 2008 financial crisis the EU reformed the regulatory regime pertaining to clearinghouses (or CCPs), and in particular the clearing of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. This paper evaluates whether the EU regime for CCPs is consistent with WTO Law and discusses how regulatory and...

Services have a direct impact on the competitiveness of the goods sector. This paper illustrates the importance of logistics services, their trade dimension, and how regulatory issues act as perhaps one of the most significant barriers to competitiveness. The paper discusses recent developments...

Trade and investment in services are inhibited by a range of policy restrictions, but the best offers so far in the Doha negotiations are on average twice as restrictive as actual policy. They will generate no additional market opening. Regulatory concerns help explain the limited progress. This...

This paper examines how services trade and policies contribute to connectivity. It highlights the economic relevance of services and identifies some key channels through which trade in services contributes to physical and digital connectivity. The paper examines the impact of services trade...

Can a WTO Member discriminate against foreign suppliers of services located in jurisdictions that refuse to share information with a government to permit it to determine if its nationals engage in tax evasion? Does it matter if the Member uses standards developed by an international body as the...

This paper examines how services trade and policies contribute to connectivity. It highlights the economic relevance of services and identifies some key channels through which trade in services contributes to physical and digital connectivity. The paper examines the impact of services trade...