Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Basic purpose and concepts
- 2 Main building blocks: agreement, annexes and schedules
- 3 A closer look at domestic regulation
- 4 How the GATS is administered
- 5 The role and responsibilities of Member governments
- 6 The challenges ahead
- 7 Preparing requests and offers
- 8 Misconceptions about the GATS
- Appendix 1 Understanding your country's services trade
- Appendix 2 Relevant services statistics and classifications
- Annex: General Agreement on Trade in Services
- Index
4 - How the GATS is administered
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 October 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Introduction
- 1 Basic purpose and concepts
- 2 Main building blocks: agreement, annexes and schedules
- 3 A closer look at domestic regulation
- 4 How the GATS is administered
- 5 The role and responsibilities of Member governments
- 6 The challenges ahead
- 7 Preparing requests and offers
- 8 Misconceptions about the GATS
- Appendix 1 Understanding your country's services trade
- Appendix 2 Relevant services statistics and classifications
- Annex: General Agreement on Trade in Services
- Index
Summary
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES
The top decision-making body of the WTO is the Ministerial Conference, which is composed of representatives of all Members and meets every two years. In the interim, the Conference is represented by the General Council. The Council for Trade in Services operates under the guidance of the General Council and is responsible for overseeing the functioning of the GATS. It is open to all WTO Members and meets several times a year in regular session and, for the conduct of the ongoing services negotiations, in special session. Minutes of meetings can be found on the WTO website.
SUBSIDIARY BODIES
The Council for Trade in Services has instituted four subsidiary bodies to deal with individual sectors or technical issues and/or to conduct negotiations in rule-making areas not finally concluded during the Uruguay Round.
The Committee on Trade in Financial Services discusses trade and regulatory developments in financial services and reviews the application of the GATS to this sector. As part of its monitoring function, the Committee receives periodic updates from the few Members that have not yet ratified the Fifth Protocol. (The Protocol is intended to ensure implementation of the results of the negotiations on financial services which were extended, among some seventy Members, until December 1997.)
The Working Party on Domestic Regulation is mandated, pursuant to Article VI:4, to develop disciplines in the area of domestic regulation.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- A Handbook on the GATS AgreementA WTO Secretariat Publication, pp. 26 - 29Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2005