Updating the general agreement on trade in services

Publication date: 12 July 2021Since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, members have done little to adapt and expand the rules of the game for policies that affect trade in services. Structural transformation trends that are increasing the role of services in economic activity have not been accompanied by revision of WTO rules and coverage, reducing the salience of the organisation. Ongoing talks among groups of WTO members on e-commerce and domestic regulation of services will help to fill the gap, but need to be complemented by action to update and expand the coverage of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). China and the European Union (EU), for different reasons, have a strong interest in expanding services trade, as do India and the United States (US), providing the basis for a China-EU led plurilateral initiative to resuscitate talks on trade in services in the WTO