Становление многосторонней системы регулирования торговли услугами

Abstract

The author presents the history of the development of multilateral trade negotiations on services within the GATT network and reviews the factors underlying this process. They are determined by the foreign trade policy of the USA and other developed countries within the OECD. The article considers the positions of the GATT member-countries on the issue of developing a general agreement on services trade. The position of the opponents of this agreement is also presented here. Led by Brazil and India, these countries insist that it is hardly possible to develop clear rules for regulating the trade in services. Opponents also expressed the opinion that it is more expedient to regulate trade in particular kinds of services, referring to the existing differences in rendering various services. They also pointed out that GATT is not very orderly or systematic in its approach. There are controversial issues concerning trade in agricultural produce and textiles. Difficulties exist in settling trade disputes in GATT. The wide-spread misinterpretation of the anti-dumping policy, no less wide-spread use of bilateral agreements to circumvent GATT provisions have been understood by some countries as developments leading to disintegration of GATT. Naturally, the US opponents wondered whether a new system of services trade, using more complicated rules and norms is possible, when a multilateral system of rules governing the trade in googs is not working well. The report of the group of top officials of the OECD governments, which defined the conditions of possible trade negotiations on services trade was well received. It pointed out the negative impact of the existing restrictions in international services trade. Thus the Group laid the foundation for the development of multilateral regulations covering trade in services. In 1981 the International Chamber of Trade Commission on Trade Policy and Trade Disputes issued the document entitled «The International Chamber’s Position on Services Trade Liberalization» which showed the necessity to create a systematic and detailed codex of the main elements of the future agreement regulating services trade. In 1981 the OECD proposed the adoption over the principle of a national regime as a cornerstone in any future agreement and stressed the importance of this principle. The developed countries who have a great export potential in services trade wanted to extend onto this sphere the same principles of regulation as fixed in GATT. Following pressure by the USA the Conference of Ministers of the GATT member-states therefore included the services issue in the final declaration. The Declaration contains a recommendation for member countries to study their national problems in services trade and share information on these issues with each other and with international organisations. The General Agreement on Services Trade, worked out within the GATT framework, came to be the first international act to regulate international services trade. The present study led the author to the conclusion that no state is ready at present to sacrifice the interests of its own companies in order to establish a universal international system of free services trade. In view of that, the accession of Belarus to the WTO, the GATT successor, should be carefully considered, because excessive opening of the services market will have negative consequences.