EC Proposes to Launch Plurilateral Trade Talks on Services
The European Commission asked the Council Feb. 15 to green-light negotiations on a new international agreement on trade in services. Twenty-one WTO members (48 including EU members) will be at the table to begin with, but the EU wants others to join, the EC said. The EU also wants the pact to dovetail with WTO rules so it can later be folded into the WTO system.
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The nations involved are Australia, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Costa Rica, the EU, Hong Kong China, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, Turkey and the U.S. The initial 21 countries represent more than two-thirds of world trade in services. Trade in services is strategically important to the EU because the sector accounts for around three-quarters of EU gross domestic product and jobs, the EC said. Talks are expected to start in the spring.