Working Paper: NBER ID: w22960
Authors: Robert W. Staiger; Alan O. Sykes
Abstract: The existing economics literature on international trade agreements focuses on tariff agreements covering trade in goods, and offers an explanation for core features of the GATT. Tariffs play almost no role in services markets, however, and the existing models cannot account for the dramatically different approach to trade liberalization in agreements such as the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). We develop a model through which key features of GATS, including its emphasis on "deep integration" – sector-by-sector negotiations on behind the border policy instruments – can be understood. And we use this model to suggest that there may also be a middle ground for services trade liberalization between the GATS deep-integration approach and the traditional border-policy focused "shallow integration" approach of GATT.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: F13; F23
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| GATT (shallow integration) (F15) | GATS (deep integration) (F15) |
| Differences in design and nature of trade barriers (F13) | Lack of success in GATS achieving liberalization of services trade (F69) |
| Shallow integration approach suitably modified for services (L80) | Potential for a successful framework akin to GATT's for services trade (F13) |