11. Looking for Facts in the GATS Attack: Impacts on Social Service Sovereignty
- Author:
- Katherine Walraven
- Publication Date:
- 05-2006
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
- Institution:
- School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
- Abstract:
- This paper investigates the implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) for members’ regulatory sovereignty over social services. It presents the moderate view that, while some of the outcomes envisioned by those opposed to the agreement are unlikely, they are not impossible and there is therefore some cause for concern. Legal ambiguities and gaps in the GATS undermine how both civil society and World Trade Organization (WTO) members perceive it, limiting its credibility and future scope. The essay concludes with recommendations aimed at improving the reliability and credibility of the agreement in order to increase the degree of trade occurring under its purview.
- Topic:
- Sovereignty, Trade, Social Services, and WTO
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus