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The first WTO ‘services week’ in more than six months will take place from 30 March to 8 April. The talks will include meetings of the working groups on financial services, domestic regulation, rules and scheduling, as well as bilateral and plurilateral market access discussions between Members. A number of delegates are keen to see where countries stand with regard to the conditional market opening offers they made at the ‘signalling conference’ held last July (Bridges Year 12 No.4 page 11).
At that meeting, a number of countries indicated that they could improve their earlier offers, but the worsening global economy is likely to make delegates cautious about further liberalisation.
Developed countries in particular have criticised the offers currently on the table for providing little, if any, new market access, and often falling short of the de facto level of openness achieved through autonomous liberalisation in developing countries. At the same time, developed countries have trod gingerly on demands for more access for temporary developing-country service providers. New Democrats in the US Congress have already expressed concern about the “WTO-binding of increased numbers of guaranteed US visas for foreign workers seeking employment here” (see page 16). But others are worried about jobs, too. In January, the Malaysian government prohibited factories, restaurant and stores from hiring foreign workers to stave off mass unemployment.
Members may also raise questions about the WTO-compatibility of banking-sector bailouts and other stimulus measures.
In February, the influential US Coalition of Service Industries called for the US to focus on negotiating sector-specific plurilateral agreements in areas such as computer and energy services with a smaller group of countries. Such an approach could “circumvent some of the obstacles that have hampered more comprehensive negotiations,” the group said.
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