The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is a legal agreement between many countries whose primary objective was to promote international trade by removing or removing barriers to trade such as tariffs or quotas. According to its preamble, its purpose was to “significantly reduce tariffs and other barriers to trade and eliminate preferences based on reciprocity and the mutually beneficial principle”. One of the most important achievements of GATT has been trade without discrimination. Each signatory member of gatt should be treated as equivalent to any other. This is called the most-favoured-nation principle and it has been adopted in the WTO. In practice, it follows that once a country has negotiated a tariff reduction with other countries (usually its main trading partners), the same reduction automatically applies to all GATT signatories. There were fallback clauses that allowed countries to negotiate exemptions if their domestic producers were particularly harmed by tariff reductions. The interests of developing countries have inspired both the general structure of the agreement and the individual articles. In particular, the objective of facilitating the increased participation of developing countries in trade in services has been enshrined in the preamble to the Agreement and is subject to the provisions of Article IV. This Article requires, inter alia, Members to negotiate specific commitments with regard to strengthening the domestic service capacities of developing countries; improving developing countries` access to distribution channels and information networks; and liberalization of market access in areas of export interest to those countries. The provision of many services often involves the simultaneous physical presence of the producer and the consumer. There are therefore many cases where, in order to be economically viable, commercial obligations must extend to the cross-border movements of the consumer, the establishment of a commercial presence on a market or the temporary transfer of the service provider.
The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a World Trade Organization (WTO) treaty that entered into force in January 1995 following the Uruguay Round negotiations. The treaty was created to extend the multilateral trading system to the services sector, just as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides for such a system for trade in goods. Another outcome of the Kennedy Round was the adoption of an anti-dumping code containing more precise guidelines for the implementation of Article VI of the GATT. In particular, it called for prompt and fair investigations and imposed limits on the retroactive application of anti-dumping measures. As the Dillon Round moved through the arduous process of single-article customs negotiations, it became clear well before the end of the Round that a more comprehensive approach was needed to address the challenges arising from the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) and EFTA, as well as the resurgence of Europe as a major international trader in general. National treatment: A national treatment obligation presupposes that the Member concerned does not implement discriminatory measures in favour of domestic services or service providers. The main requirement is not to change the conditions of competition, in law or in fact, in favour of the Member`s service sector. Here, too, the extension of national treatment in a particular sector may be subject to conditions and restrictions. The working hypothesis for collective bargaining was a linear tariff reduction of 50% with the fewest exceptions.
A lengthy argument has developed about the trade policy implications that a uniform linear reduction would have on the dispersed interest rates (low and high tariffs that are quite distant) of the United States compared to the much more concentrated rates of the EEC, which also tended to be in the lower tariffs of the United States. To some extent, this view was shared in Europe, but the process of European unification created its own burdens, under which the Kennedy Round sometimes became a secondary focus for the EEC. An example of this is the French veto in January 1963, even before the start of the round, against the accession of the United Kingdom. The GATS Convention covers four types of cross-border commercial services:[3] Some activist groups believe that the GATS could undermine the ability and authority of governments to regulate commercial activities within their own borders, resulting in the transfer of power to commercial interests before the interests of citizens. In 2003, the GATSwatch network issued a critical statement supported by more than 500 organizations in 60 countries. [1] At the same time, countries are not required to conclude international agreements such as the GATS. For countries that like to attract trade and investment, the GATS adds a certain level of transparency and legal predictability. Legal barriers to trade in services may have legitimate political reasons, but they can also be an effective tool for large-scale corruption. [2] The creation of the GATS was one of the most important achievements of the Uruguay Round, the results of which entered into force in January 1995.
The GATS is essentially based on the same objectives as its merchandise trade counterpart, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT): to create a credible and reliable system of international trade rules; ensure fair and equitable treatment of all participants (principle of non-discrimination); stimulate economic activity through guaranteed political links; and promoting trade and development through progressive liberalization. A.It`s a mature agreement that regulates all types of international trade. The sixth round of multilateral trade negotiations under GATT took place from 1964 to 1967 […].