Overview of The WTO

 Objective of presentation

 WTO: The Beginnings

 Growth in Trade Underway

 A New Multilateral Organization

 The WTO: what is it?

 How does the WTO function?

 Principles of the Trading System

 Provisions for developing countries

 Progressing by packages

 The Round to end all rounds

 The WTO Agreement

 Liberalising trade in goods

 Textiles - back in the mainstream

 Agriculture: fairer markets for all

 Trade remedies

 Standards and procedures

 Administrative procedures

 Services: rules for growth and investment

 Services: the key rules

 Services: Better Access to Markets

 Intellectual Property: protection and enforcement of rights

 TRIPS: what does it cover?

 Settling Disputes: the heart of the system

 Meetings of Ministers

  Singapore Ministerial

 Geneva and Seattle Ministerials

 Doha Ministerial Meeting

 Cancun Ministerial Meeting

 Recent Developments

Services: Better Access to Markets

Specific commitments

Individual countries' commitments to open markets in specific sectors — and how open those markets will be — are the outcome of negotiations. The commitments appear in "schedules" that list the sectors being opened. The schedules record the extent of market access being given in those sectors - for example, whether there are any restrictions on foreign ownership. The schedules also show if there are any limitations on national treatment - for example, whether some rights granted to local companies will not be granted to foreign companies.

Binding market access

These commitments are "bound". Like bound tariffs, they can only be modified or withdrawn after negotiations with affected countries. This would probably lead to compensation being paid. Because "unbinding" is difficult, the commitments are virtually guaranteed conditions for foreign exporters and importers to do business in the sector.

Progressive liberalization

As far as liberalization is concerned, the Uruguay Round was only the beginning. The GATS Agreement requires more negotiations, and the first is already well underway and now an essential part of the Doha Development Agenda. The goal is to take the liberalization process further by increasing the level of commitments in schedules.