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Harnessing services trade reform for inclusive growth: lessons from the 1980s vs. the 2000s / Bernard Hoekman -- Trade in services and human development: a first look at the links / Ben Shepherd, Gloria Pasadilla -- A comparison of the industrialization paths for Asian services outsourcing industries, and implications for poverty alleviation / F. Ted Tschang -- Access through presence: Australian perspectives on measuring Mode 3 trade / Jane Drake-Brockman -- Measuring trade in services in Mode 4 / Andreas Maurer, Joscelyn Magdeleine -- Measuring barriers to trade and investment in services / Hildegunn Kyvik Nordås -- Exploring access and equity issues in private higher education institutions: insights from Malaysia / Tham Siew Yean -- Services liberalization and wage inequality in the Philippines / Glenita Amoranto, Douglas H. Brooks, Natalie Chun -- Economy-wide impacts of liberalization in the Vietnamese banking sector / Huong Dinh

Mit dieser Untersuchung werden drei Ziele verfolgt: Erstens gilt es, die wirtschaftlichen Argumente für Reformen des Dienstleistungssektors sowie die politischen Beweggründe für eine Öffnung der Dienstleistungsmärkte durch Liberalisierung von Handel und Investitionen in Erinnerung zu rufen. Zweitens sollen die Bedenken über die Auswirkungen des GATS zerstreut werden, indem die Wirkungsweise des Übereinkommens, die damit von den WTO-Mitgliedern eingegangenen Verpflichtungen sowie die ihnen im Rahmen des Übereinkommens offen stehenden Optionen erläutert werden. Und drittens sollen einige besonders wichtige Verhandlungsthemen im Rahmen der derzeitigen GATS-Runde aufgezeigt werden, wobei den Interessen und Sorgen der Entwicklungsländer besondere Aufmerksamkeit gilt und erneut auf die Chancen verwiesen wird, die das GATS für die Umsetzung entwicklungsfördernder Reformen auf den Dienstleistungsmärkten bietet. Gliederung: 1. Einführung. - 2. Argumente für offene Dienstleistungsmärkte. - 3. Verstärkte Nutzung der positiven Effekte effizienter Dienstleistungssektoren auf die Gesamtwirtschaft. - Die Vorteile offener Dienstleistungsmärkte - empirische Untersuchungen. - 4. Reformen des Dienstleistungssektors - eine komplexe Aufgabe. - 5. Was das GATS ist - und was nicht. - 7. Antworten auf die Kritik am GATS. - 8. Zentrale Verhandlungsthemen im Rahmen des GATS. - 9. Schlussbetrachtungen. (HoF/Text übernommen)

Abstract
Goods and services were separated (politically) at birth when the Uruguay Round of multilateral negotiations was launched. The goods and services divide reflected in today's structure of global trade governance has increasingly come into question in a world of cross-border production networks. This begs the question of the desirability and political economy feasibility of fusing the law of goods and services trade into one undifferentiated whole. This paper asks whether the current architectures of multilateral and preferential trade governance are compatible with a world of trade in tasks; whether existing rules offer globally active firms a coherent structure for doing business in a predictable environment; whether it is feasible to redesign the structure and content of existing trade rules to align them to the reality of production fragmentation; and what steps can be envisaged to better align policy with market realities if restructuring prospects appear unfavorable. The paper argues that fusing trade disciplines for goods and services is neither needed nor feasible and may actually deflect attention from a number of worthwhile policy initiatives where more realistic (if never easily secured) prospects of generic rule-making may well exist.

This paper explores the industrial policy options and constraints confronting countries acceding to the World Trade Organization stemming from the obligation to phase out non-compliant local content requirements (LCRs). The widespread recourse to various local content practices and their political economy appeal make their removal a daunting task in many countries, particularly those characterized by weak productive diversification and a heavy reliance on extractive activities. After reviewing the policy rationale behind the prohibition of LCRs, the paper advances a number of alternative measures of industry support available to WTO acceding countries, placing particular emphasis on corporate social responsibility incentives and the design of supplier development programmes aimed at strengthening linkages between foreign invested or lead firms to an ecosystem of typically small and medium-sized local suppliers.

Presentation given by Pierre Sauvé at the international conference on the political economy of liberalising trade in services at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem

Think piece by Pierre Sauvé for the E15 Initiative on Strengthening the Global Trade System In his latest essay for the ICTSD-World Economic Forum E15 initiative on Strengthening the Global Trade and Investment System for Sustainable Development, WTI Director of External Programmes and Academic Partnerships and faculty member Pierre Sauvé explores the case for fusing the law of goods with that of services in a world of global value chains. The paper does so by directing attention to the questions of whether the current architectures of multilateral and preferential trade governance are compatible with a world of trade in tasks; whether the existing rules offer globally active firms a coherent structure for doing business in a predictable environment; whether it is feasible to redesign the structure and content of existing trade rules to align them to the reality of production fragmentation; and what steps can be envisaged to better align policy and realities in the marketplace if the prospects for restructuring appear unfavourable. The paper argues that fusing trade disciplines for goods and services is neither needed nor feasible and may actually deflect attention from a number of worthwhile policy initiatives where more realistic (if never easily secured) prospects of generic rule-making may well exist.

This paper explores a number of procedural and substantive considerations arising from ongoing attempts to craft a plurilateral Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) among the so-called "Really Good Friends of Services" coalition of WTO Members. The paper suggests that considerable scope exists to move forward a multilateral negotiating agenda on services that both the digital revolution and a continued surge of preferential rule-making has rendered increasingly obsolete. As the most significant attempt to date to craft a GATS Article V-compatible PTA in services, TISA offers considerable promise. The paper, however, cautions that the case for embedding TISA into the architecture of WTO rules alongside the General Agreement on Trade in Services or in its place is weak on both procedural and substantive grounds to the extent that the ongoing talks take place behind doors that remain closed even to the WTO Secretariat, let alone to many of the world's leading developing country suppliers of services, and involve potentially significant departures from GATS rules liable to complicate any hoped for multilateral migratory journey. Key words: WTO, GATS, trade in services, plurilateral agreements, critical mass negotiations, preferential trade liberalization.

Pierre Sauvé addressed the issue of the WTO's institutional crisis at a workshop on "The Future of the WTO and the International Trading System" organized by the European Parliament's International Trade Committee in Brussels on May 8th, 2012.

Lecture given by Pierre Sauvé at Utrecht University School of Economics

This presentation by Pierre Sauvé was presented to the ICC Commission on Trade and Investment Policy in Paris.

Este artículo analiza, desde el punto de vista latinoamericano, el panorama internacional de elaboración de normas sobre inversión, considerando la evolución reciente de tales normas, las diferencias y sinergias de procesos estrechamente entrelazados y el papel de los países latinoamericanos en su configuración. Teniendo presente los muchos intentos fallidos de elaborar un conjunto amplio de disciplinas sobre inversión a nivel multilateral, examina argumentos recientes a favor y en contra de establecer normas globales sobre inversión y escudriña las razones que en la OMC llevaron a sacar la inversión de la agenda de negociaciones del Programa de Doha para el Desarrollo. Por último, extrae algunas conclusiones de política respecto al mejor marco institucional para avanzar en la elaboración