Negotiations to further liberalise international trade in services started in early 2000 as mandated by GATS (Article 19). The first cycle of the negotiations was for members to agree on the guidelines and procedures for the negotiations – this concluded successfully in March 2001. By agreeing to these guidelines, members set the objectives, scope and method for the negotiations. In doing so, Members also embraced some of GATS’ fundamental principles such as members’ right to regulate and to introduce new regulations on the supply of services in pursuit of national policy objectives; their right to specify which services they wish to open to foreign suppliers and under which conditions; and the overarching principle of flexibility for developing and least-developed countries.
These negotiations were incorporated into the 2001 Doha Ministerial Declaration into what is now commonly referred to as the “single undertaking” of the Doha Development Agenda.
Developing countries concerns in regard to market access negotiations revolve around the following:
- providing market access in the modes of supply and sectors of interest to developing countries;
- ensuring that the extent, time and conditions of market opening by developing countries be determined solely by their national policy priorities;
- ensuring the effective implementation of Article IV