Nowhere is the awesome boldness of the WTO agreement better demonstrated than in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), which it incorporates. The expressly declared objective of the GATS is to commercialize every service sector in every WTO member country. When one considers that under the GATS a service is described as any "product of human activity aimed to satisfy a human need and which does not constitute a tangible commodity," this commitment embraces virtually every aspect of human life.

Far-reaching and comprehensive

Put another way, not only is the GATS the first far-reaching and comprehensive multilateral agreement covering international trade in services, but as late as the beginning of the 1990s, most analysts would have thought it unlikely that such an agreement could ever be reached. Yet, the GATS exists and lists 12 broad categories of services with which it deals. These include: businesses; communication; construction and related engineering; distribution; education; environment; financial; health and social services; tourism and travel-related recreational; culture and sport; transport; and, a catch-all category "any others not included elsewhere."

An obvious feature of this list is that many of the services it contains traditionally fall within the purview of services provided by governments. Perhaps the best examples are health and education. We can conclude very early on therefore, that the GATS brings a great deal of governmental action under WTO oversight.

Four ways to trade in services

From a functional standpoint, the GATS covers international trade in services in the four different ways in which such services can be treated. There is first of all the traditional "cross-border" trade in services. This refers to items like international telephone calls and international postal services. This group of cross-border services is large and represents about 20-25 percent of global trade. The second way in which services are provided in international trade is through "consumption abroad." The best known example of this is of course tourism, where one travels abroad to consume the tourism services offered by another country. In the CARICOM region this is the largest economic sector. The third way in which services can be traded internationally is through the "commercial presence" of a firm in an overseas market. Good examples of this are foreign subsidiaries of manufacturing companies and branches of banks or other financial service providers. The fourth way in which services are provided internationally is through the "movement of natural persons" who work abroad in connection with the supply of a particular service. Good examples are foreign consultants or other specialist staff connected with a product sold through a local subsidiary or branch. This right to movement of individuals should not be confused with immigration. It is a right to temporary residence and solely for the purpose of providing a service.

National treatment

In providing rules for all these services, the GATS operates on the basis of several underlying principles. One of these is the principle of "national treatment." In layman's language, this means that foreign suppliers and foreign services should be treated no less favourably than the treatment afforded to national service suppliers, for those areas where governments give commitments to the WTO.

MFN status

The second principle is the practice of the"most-favoured-nation principle" (MFN) . This principle generally applies to all services. It means that there can be no discrimination among WTO members when allowing them access to domestic markets. In other words, whatever access is offered by one member to another, is in principle available to all other members, save where exceptions are expressly provided.

Transparency

Since the commitments referred to here can only operate if they are known, the third principle follows obviously. It is that all members commit themselves to "transparency." This commitment usually takes the form of readily accessible publication by the Authorities of all policies\regulations that encourage, impede, or discriminate in providing access for services supplied from overseas. Provisions made under this heading are practically "irreversible." That is, to reverse them involves complex, tortuous, and costly procedures. Penalties also apply to compensate those affected by the withdrawal of commitments. In other words members bind themselves to commitments that are strictly enforceable.