ASSESS_TISA: Assessing the claimed benefits of the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA)

The negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) were officially launched in April 2013 and comprise 22 countries, most of which are OECD countries and the European Union. Until December 2016, when TiSA negotiations were paused, 21 negotiating rounds had taken place. Whatever in the end will happen to TiSA, the fundamental objectives pursued by the agreement with its commitment towards progressive services trade liberalization as well as its regulatory agenda will likely resurface in other negotiating fora and pending trade deals, including those pursued by the EU as well as the US administration. Therefore, this study does not only analyse the claimed economic effects of TiSA but includes recommendations on how to assess regulation in the context of trade liberalization. Importantly, this requires the adequate consideration of social benefits of regulation beyond the common focus on economic costs.