Services
The international trade in services is big business, comprising between half and three quarters of all economic activity in richer and poorer countries. This is a lucrative market which the world’s transnational corporations want to control. They want services to be treated purely as commodities to be bought and sold in a competitive market.
Services have been described as anything that you cannot drop on your foot, including banks, education, energy, healthcare, water, rubbish collection, libraries, railways, airlines, tourism, TV and radio.
Under the WTO’s GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services), and the services provisions in bilateral and regional free trade agreements, governments agree to open the economy to foreign suppliers of certain services. In those services, foreign suppliers must be given at least as favourable treatment as it gives to local suppliers. Governments cannot set limits on the numbers of service suppliers operating in its market or impose requirements for local content.
Free trade in services threatens to restrict a government’s ability to ensure access to affordable, adequate basic services for all its citizens by removing any restrictions and internal government regulations in the area of service delivery considered to be "barriers to trade". These include measures which pursue environmental, social or community objectives.
Services liberalization provisions of bilateral FTAs often go further than governments’ GATS commitments. For example, while Australia excluded water ‘services’ from its GATS offer, this is included under its FTA with the USA, opening up Australia’s water resources and utilities to US-based TNCs.
last update: May 2012
Articles
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3-Nov-2016 EurActiv EU-US Privacy Shield pact faces second legal challenge
A new EU-US pact governing the transfer of personal data faces a second legal challenge, putting the details of the deal which underpins billions of dollars of transatlantic trade in digital services under further scrutiny. -
31-Aug-2016 IUF Emergency services turn life-threatening under US private equity owners — and a global Trade in Services Agreement would globalize the damage
Vital public services like firefighting and ambulances are being handed over to a small number of transnational companies worldwide, a trend that will be hugely boosted by TPP, TTIP, CETA and TiSA. -
15-Jul-2016 Lexology Financial services: the challenge of data flows
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced a proposal to resolve the data localization issue in financial institutions in future trade agreements. -
14-Jul-2016 EDRi Privacy Shield: Privacy sham
The European Commission adopted the so-called “Privacy Shield”, a special arrangement that allows the transfer of personal data from the EU to the United States. -
14-Jul-2016 Numerama Données personnelles : le Privacy Shield USA / UE adopté mais critiqué
La Commission européenne a adopté le Privacy Shield, le cadre juridique qui remplace le Safe Harbor. Applaudi par Microsoft, l’accord est critiqué par les défenseurs de la vie privée. -
4-May-2016 EPSU New EPSU working paper on CETA and TTIP: Potential impacts on health and social services
New working paper highlights the potential harmful impact of CETA and TTIP (and other trade and investment agreements) on healthcare and social services. -
15-Apr-2016 Sputnik Données personnelles: le nouvel accord UE-USA doit être amélioré
Les autorités européennes de protection des données personnelles ont exprimé leurs "inquiétudes" face au nouveau cadre juridique négocié avec les Etats-Unis pour les transferts transatlantiques de données. -
17-Mar-2016 The Jakarta Post Whose healthy ASEAN Community?
The liberalization of health care under the ASEAN Economic Community is clearly biased toward curative services as being more profitable than health promotion. -
10-Mar-2016 La Quadrature du Net Open letter to Věra Jourová: from Safe Harbor to Privacy Shield, words in the wind
The "Privacy Shield", an agreement stemming from an exchange of letters, only contains vague promises. -
10-Mar-2016 La Quadrature du Net Lettre ouverte à Věra Jourová : du Safe Harbor au Privacy Shield, des promesses et du vent
Le « Privacy Shield » (bouclier de confidentialité UE-USA), un accord issu d’un échange de lettres, ne contient qu’une série de vagues promesses. -
10-Mar-2016 Rabble Thousands march against water privatization in Peru as TPP and ICSID ruling looms
More than 2,000 people marched in Lima, Peru in opposition to the government’s plan to privatize public water services. -
16-Sep-2015 Sputnik Con el TiSA, EEUU busca quebrar al Mercosur, indica economista
Detrás del Acuerdo sobre Comercios de Servicios (TiSA, por sus siglas en inglés) está la intención de EEUU de quebrar geopolíticamente al Mercosur, aprovechando que el bloque regional no está pasando por un buen momento. -
4-Sep-2015 El Destape Web TiSA and the new development bank: two antagonistic proposals
The central banks of BRICS bloc bet on the New Development Bank, while the central countries put their money on TiSA: free trade in services. -
4-Sep-2015 Diario Información Free trade treaties and the health system
While mass media are almost entirely absorbed with cases of corruption, trade and investment agreements slip by, almost unnoticed. TTIP, CETA and TiSA are being negotiated throughout the world, in complete opacity and in the absence of democratic checks. -
26-Aug-2015 TNI How TiSA strolls off with our services
While TTIP is currently the center of attention, our world leaders discuss TiSA, an extensive service agreement meant to put (public) services, like the water supply, in the hands of the international market. -
5-Aug-2015 War on Want TTIP, CETA, TISA and public services
What is the threat from free trade agreements to public services? -
30-Jul-2015 El Destape Web TiSA vs. Nuevo Banco de Desarrollo: dos propuestas antagónicas
Los bancos centrales del bloque BRICS apuestan al Nuevo Banco del Desarrollo, mientras que los países centrales al libre comercio de servicios, llamado TiSA. -
22-Jul-2015 Piensa Chile Cómo EE.UU. pretende librarse de sus obligaciones con la OMC mediante el tratado TISA
Cada vez es más evidente que las negociaciones sobre el acuerdo internacional sobre el comercio de servicios (TISA, por sus siglas en inglés) son un intento de presionar a los países en vías de desarrollo para permitir una mayor liberalización de los sectores de interés de EE.UU. -
14-Jul-2015 Canadian Union of Public Employees CUPE delegates in Colombia to oppose secret trade deal
Four national public sector unions have joined forces with sister unions in Colombia to fight against the privatization of public services and to strengthen each other’s struggles to defend human and labour rights. -
24-Jun-2015 Herald Scotland Cut NHS from trade deal say doctors
Doctors attending the British Medical Association’s (BMA) annual representative meeting in Liverpool have voted overwhelmingly to urge the Government to remove health and social care services from a controversial trade agreement between the EU and US
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Coalition of Service Industries
CSI is the leading US business organization dedicated to the reduction of barriers to US services exports, and to the development of constructive domestic US policies, including tax policies, that enhance the global competitiveness of its members. Website covers bilateral FTAs. -
ESF
The European Services Forum (ESF) is a network of representatives from the European services sector. We are committed to actively promoting the interests of the European services sector and the liberalisation of services markets throughout the world in connection with the GATS negotiations.
Links
News from the movements
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27-Jul-2017 Intercontinental Cry
Harsh sentencing of Aymara leader reveals the politics of criminalization in Peru
This past month, eighteen Aymara community leaders endured the final stages of a trial that had them facing up to 28 years in prison and massive fines for their alleged roles in the 2011 ‘Aymarazo’ protests against the Santa Ana silver mine on the Peru-Bolivia border. -
26-Jul-2017 Scoop
Zombie actors protest TPPA at Auckland trade office
A mock zombie virus outbreak was quarantined at the offices of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Trade in Auckland by campaigners demanding the NZ government end efforts to resurrect the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement.
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26-Jul-2017 Newsclick, PSI, TNI and Focus on the global south
Video: "Can’t trade with our lives and livelihood" Hyderabad says no to RCEP
A massive protest march was organised in Hyderabad on July 24 at People’s Plaza against Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with the slogan "You can’t trade with our lives and livelihoods." The march is part of a week long activities of People’s convention against FTAs and RCEP.
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26-Jul-2017 Forum Against FTAs
“Stakeholder consultation a sham” – Boycott by people’s organizations
The People’s Resistance Forum against FTAs & RCEP calls the so-called “Stakeholder Consultation” on 25th July 2017 by the RCEP chief negotiators a sham – it is neither a meaningful consultation nor includes most stakeholders. -
25-Jul-2017 Desinformémonos
México - Anuncian movilización campesina por renegociación del TLCAN
El próximo miércoles 26 de julio se llevará a cabo una movilización para exigir que se excluya el capítulo agropecuario en la renegociación del Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte (TLCAN) -
25-Jul-2017 CGT
Le JEFTA ne doit pas se faire au détriment des travailleurs et des citoyens
La CGT de France et ZENROREN du Japon expriment leur profonde inquiétude face à un processus marqué par des négociations secrètes. -
25-Jul-2017 The Hans India
Women up in arms against Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
At a rally held in Hyderabad, women from different parts of India marched along with other marginalised communities to protest the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership -
24-Jul-2017 Forum Against FTAs
People’s groups demand a halt to RCEP talks
People’s groups from across the country converged in Hyderabad from July 22-26 to unanimously reject the RCEP.
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