欧盟服务贸易协定（英）
Services in EU agreements1
A comparison of FTAs concluded by the EU with third countries suggests there is a general trend towards liberalising trade in services. The ten agreements, or in some cases interim agreements, which the EU has signed with its Mediterranean (MED) partners, South Africa, Mexico and Chile differ significantly in terms of their scope and contents. However, they all follow the provisions set out in GATS Article V:1 relating to the further liberalisation of trade in services within economic integration agreements. Critically, Article V:1(a) requires such agreements to provide ‘substantial sectoral coverage’, while Article V:1(b) adds that they must provide ‘for the absence or elimination of substantially all discrimination […] between or among parties’.
However, the MED agreements are limited in their provisions on services liberalisation and also vary in their ambitions, partly due to the fact that not all MED partners are members of the WTO (Algeria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority) and therefore are no signatories to the GATS, though Algeria and Lebanon have applied for WTO membership. The agreement between the EU and South Africa, although potentially broader in scope than the MED agreements, contains a postponement of liberalisation for a period of at least five years. In contrast to the MED agreements, the GATS provisions on special and differential treatment for developing countries (Art. V:3) are clearly reiterated for South Africa. The FTAs with Mexico and Chile include significant provisions on liberalisation, including in the financial services sector and, in the agreement between the EU and Chile, also in telecommunications.
A comparison of FTAs concluded by the EU with third countries suggests there is a general trend towards liberalising trade in services. The ten agreements, or in some cases interim agreements, which the EU has signed with its Mediterranean (MED) partners, South Africa, Mexico and Chile differ significantly in terms of their scope and contents. However, they all follow the provisions set out in GATS Article V:1 relating to the further liberalisation of trade in services within economic integration agreements. Critically, Article V:1(a) requires such agreements to provide ‘substantial sectoral coverage’, while Article V:1(b) adds that they must provide ‘for the absence or elimination of substantially all discrimination […] between or among parties’.
However, the MED agreements are limited in their provisions on services liberalisation and also vary in their ambitions, partly due to the fact that not all MED partners are members of the WTO (Algeria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority) and therefore are no signatories to the GATS, though Algeria and Lebanon have applied for WTO membership. The agreement between the EU and South Africa, although potentially broader in scope than the MED agreements, contains a postponement of liberalisation for a period of at least five years. In contrast to the MED agreements, the GATS provisions on special and differential treatment for developing countries (Art. V:3) are clearly reiterated for South Africa. The FTAs with Mexico and Chile include significant provisions on liberalisation, including in the financial services sector and, in the agreement between the EU and Chile, also in telecommunications.
| Box 2 Where to find articles on services in EU trade agreements Euro-Med Agreements Title III of the agreements http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/euromed/med_ass_agreemnts.htm TDCA (South Africa) Liberalisation of Services: Articles 29-30 Cooperation: Articles 55-63 http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/archive/1999/l_31119991204en.html Global Agreement (Mexico) Services: Articles 6-7 Cooperation: Articles 16-32 http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=22000A1028(01)&model=guichett Decision 2/2001 of EU-Mexico Joint Council (entered into force on 1 March 2001), implementation of Article 6: Services: Articles 2-27 http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/countries/mexico/index_en.htm Association Agreement (Chile) Cooperation: Articles 20, 22-23, 34, 37, and 39 Services: Articles: 95-129 http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/issues/bilateral/countries/chile/euchlagr_en.htm For other agreements, see the Trade Agreements Database and Archive by the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business. http://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/cib/research/trade_agreements.html |
