The General Obligations: Articles III to V bis

In one line

Five obligations bind every member in every sector without any commitment being made: publish the rules, protect confidences, help developing members participate, keep economic integration agreements within limits, and do the same for labour market integration.

In exam wording: Articles III, III bis, IV, V and V bis of the GATS contain general obligations and disciplines applying to all members in all sectors, independently of any specific commitment scheduled under Part III.

Article III: transparency

Article III:1 requires each member to publish promptly, and except in emergency situations at the latest by the time of their entry into force, all relevant measures of general application which pertain to or affect the operation of the Agreement, together with the international agreements to which it is a signatory pertaining to or affecting trade in services.

Article III:3 requires prompt and at least annual notification to the Council for Trade in Services of the introduction of any new, or any changes to existing, laws, regulations or administrative guidelines which significantly affect trade in services covered by its specific commitments.

Article III:4 requires each member to respond promptly to requests for specific information from any other member, and to establish one or more enquiry points to provide such information on request. Developing members were given flexibility on the time limit for establishing them.

Article III bis is the counterweight: nothing requires a member to disclose confidential information the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement or be contrary to the public interest, or would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises.

Transparency is the obligation that does the most quiet work in services. A services barrier is usually a rule rather than a rate, and a rule that cannot be found is an absolute barrier.

Article IV: increasing participation of developing countries

Article IV:1 requires the increasing participation of developing members in world trade to be facilitated through negotiated specific commitments relating to: the strengthening of their domestic services capacity and its efficiency and competitiveness, including through access to technology on a commercial basis; the improvement of their access to distribution channels and information networks; and the liberalisation of market access in sectors and modes of supply of export interest to them.

The third limb is mode 4 in all but name, and it is the textual foundation of India's negotiating position.

Article IV:2 requires developed members, and to the extent possible others, to establish contact points to facilitate access by developing members' suppliers to information on commercial and technical aspects of supply, registration and recognition of professional qualifications, and the availability of services technology.

Article IV:3 gives special priority to least developed members, with particular account taken of their serious difficulty in accepting negotiated specific commitments.