R E S U L T S  O F
SERVICES 2000
A Conference and Dialogue on Global Policy Developments and U.S. Business

FRIDAY October 16, 1998
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Washington, D.C. 20230

The Services 2000 Conference brought together a broad spectrum of service industry representatives from many sectors and U.S. Government officials to move forward the process of developing the U.S. approach to the services negotiations that are mandated by the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and scheduled to begin in 2000. The participants looked at broad range strategies for the services negotiations as a whole, how they would relate to full range of WTO work, and the objectives of numerous individual service industries in opening foreign markets and the challenges opening U.S. markets to foreign service providers.

More than 350 participants, including over 175 business representatives, met Friday, October 16 at the Commerce Department to address key issues in the services trade. Sponsored by Commerce=s Service Industries and Finance unit and the U.S. Coalition of Service Industries, the Conference reviewed the current status of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and considered the range of important issues for U.S. service industries in shaping an agenda for the new negotiations which will begin in earnest in January of 2000. This included very extensive discussion of negotiating strategies and objectives to accomplish substantive commitments in services trade. Challenges were identified with respect to multilateral and regional negotiations, the GATS architecture, and crosscutting issues such as movement of people, electronic commerce, government procurement, regulatory reform, and current global economic problems. The day-long event also included roundtable discussions on specific services sectors: professional, healthcare, energy, environmental, distribution (retailing, wholesaling, and franchising), express shipping, education and training, financial, telecommunications, and audio visual. Additional roundtable discussions focused on cross-cutting issues, including movement of people, electronic commerce, and services trade statistics.

There was strong support for services negotiations in the WTO (World Trade Organization) for most of the sectors discussed, with a strong preference for a top down approach (commitments for sectors with explicit reservations) compared to the bottom up approach (making specific commitments with reservations) which was used in the last Round. A major conclusion was general recognition that service sectors differ and that the various sectors need to be approached and treated differently. While there was agreement that revising the GATS architecture may not be achievable, there was a recognition that many sectors need better definitions which would enhance the negotiations. There was recognition of the fact that national regulatory regimes often act as trade barriers to the export of services and that any reservations based on regulations should be explicit and transparent. It was recognized that concerns over the global financial crises would have the potential to affect a country=s willingness to make substantive commitments. Electronic commerce was seen as a cross cutting issue for most services and that it should be kept free of regulation and taxation that would impede trade and create barriers to services. While not a requirement to hold Services 2000 negotiations which are mandated in the GATS, there was recognition of the need for fast track authority.

The dominant role that services play throughout the U.S. economy translates into leadership in technology advancement, growth in skilled jobs, and global competitiveness. Since 1987, U.S. services exports have more than doubled, reaching $239 billion last year. In 1997, U.S. services exports exceeded imports by $84 billion--offsetting 42 percent of the merchandise trade deficit.

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