Introduction
In 2022, global services exports were valued at $7.1 trillion, representing 7.1% of the world GDP and 23% of total global trade in both goods and services. [1] The Asia-Pacific region contributed 26.2% to global exports and 29.0% to imports in 2022, compared to 39.8% and 36.7% in merchandise trade.[2] These figures are projected to increase to 26.4% and 29.4%, respectively. Economies are increasingly addressing trade in services within trade provisions (Figure 1).
This facilitated course on services trade and provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs) aims to:
- Highlight trade patterns in international services trade.
- Introduce participants to countries’ commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization.
- Explain different approaches to addressing trade in services in RTAs.
- Launch and introduce new modules in the Legal Trade Intelligence and Negotiations Advisor (TINA) on services (https://legal.tina.trade).
TINA’s new modules offer seamless access to GATS and RTA commitments/reservations in trade in services, enable the comparison of texts between provisions, and provide large language module-based comparisons and interpretations of commitments/reservations.
Figure 1. Number of trade agreements with stand-alone services chapter
Source: Legal TINA search result for “services” by chapter/article title (https://legal.tina.trade/app/search)
Course format
The course is conducted as a facilitated online e-learning course. The course consists of 4 pre-recorded modules (approximately 20-30 min each) and a kick-off live webinar. The live webinar will also be used to launch the services module in TINA. Note that this course is offered for the first time on a pilot basis and participants are requested to kindly note down any feedback to the content of the course and quizzes for improvement. Interactive web space will be provided to discuss the content and ask any clarification questions are offered to participants who will have gone through the pre-recorded sessions and attempted all quizzes. Upon attending the live session, providing feedback and passing the quiz, participants will get a certificate of completion for the course.
Lecture modules:
- Services provisions and negotiations [lecture length: 50 mins]
- Services Trade and Domestic Regulations [lecture length: 20 mins]
- Trade in services performance analysis using the dashboards [lecture length: 20 mins]
- Introducing and demonstrating TINA’s new services module [lecture length: 20 mins]
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