Services Take Center Stage in TiSA; Goods Sector Should Applaud -

With Congress preoccupied with the debate over whether to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) (so-called "fast track" authority) and the merits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the negotiation of the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), which is also covered by TPA, has drawn scant attention over the past few months. Fifty-two World Trade Organization (WTO) members (with the European Union (EU) representing its 28 member states) concluded the twelfth round of TiSA negotiations in July with a stocktaking exercise to determine next steps.

Background -

A broad update to international disciplines on trade in services has been long overdue. The WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) entered into force in 1995. Consequently, the GATS does not fully take into account the ways that more recent developments in technology, business practices, and global integration have affected global trade in services. By way of example, to the extent electronic commerce existed in 1995, such trade traveled at 56 Kbps.