Coherence and Divergence in Services Trade Law

This book addresses topical questions concerning the legal framework of trade in services, and assesses how these issues are dealt with in GATS and in selected preferential trade agreements. In addition, the chapters discuss whether the differences and similarities (if any) are evidence of greater coherence or greater divergence. The book combines the individual analyses to provide a more comprehensive picture of the current law on services trade liberalisation.

A quarter of a century after the conclusion of the General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS), international law on trade in services is still in a state of flux: on the one hand, countries increasingly conclude bilateral and regional trade agreements with sections on trade in services that aim at a further liberalisation of services trade. On the other, the GATS structure remains the dominant model and serves as the basis for many preferential trade agreements. In addition, new aspects such as electronic commerce, data protection and taxation are now emerging, while issues that had already manifested in the mid-1990s such as financial services regulation, labour mobility, and telecommunications continue to be problematic. 

Usually, the debates focus on the question of whether preferential trade agreements serve as a stepping-stone or stumbling block for trade liberalisation at the multilateral level. However, it can be assumed that rules on trade in services in preferential trade agreements will coexist with the global GATS regime for the foreseeable future. This raises the question of whether we're currently witnessing a drive towards greater coherence or more divergence in agreements on trade in services.

Rhea Tamara Hoffmann is a post-doc researcher at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. Her research focusses on international investment and trade law and fundamental rights, including the principle of non-discrimination. Previously she was a researcher at the cluster of excellence 'Formation of Normative Orders' at the University of Frankfurt am Main and worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.

Markus Krajewski holds the Chair in Public Law and Public International Law at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg. His research focusses on international economic law, human rights, European external relations and the law of public services. He is co-editor of the European Yearbook of International Economic Law and serves as Secretary-General of the German Branch of the International Law Association (ILA).