In most of the current literature, the spread of regionalism in international trade relations is discussed in terms of a rapidly rising number of preferential trade agreements (PTAs). Far less attention is given to the even more rapid proliferation of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and...

WTO Members have more leeway under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) to elude the WTO's basic most favoured nation (MFN) obligation than in merchandise trade under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. In particular, under the Annex on Article II Exemptions, each Member had...

The status of public services is one of the most hotly debated issues surrounding the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In principle, there are two approaches to define such services: an institutional approach focusing on the conditions governing supply (e.g. ownership status and...

The World Trade Organization (WTO) rules for services trade, under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), are far broader in policy coverage than their counterpart provisions under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), reflecting, inter alia, the Agreement's extension to...

At first glance, this article deals with a simple classification issue only: the coverage of certain manufacturing operations and the resulting products under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) rather than under its long-standing counterpart in merchandise trade, the General...

Regional trade agreements in services are a relatively recent, but rapidly expanding phenomenon. Their relationship with commitments undertaken under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) or offered in the Doha Round has attracted some attention in the literature. Relevant...