While concessions to labour mobility at the international level seem off the agenda, with the General Agreements on Trades in Services essentially tabled, the past decades have produced a proliferation of regional trade agreements (RTAs), some of which are facilitating labour mobility specifically. In this paper, the author first conducts a comparative overview of RTAs that have a form of labour mobility programmes: namely, ECOWAS, ASEAN, the European Union, NAFTA, CARICOM and MERCOSUR. Building on an overview of the regulatory frameworks, institutions and legal instruments of these RTAs, the author seeks to find if patterns or lessons to be learned emerge that are relevant from a global perspective and to enhance the legal architecture of international labour mobility. The findings show positive outcomes, with some RTAs generating trade benefits and even moving forward with a common passport based on the newly shared regional identity, and at times even creating dispute settlement and legal systems for regional litigious matters. On the other hand, this exercise also points to various problems such as the poor implementation of the labour mobility provisions, to overly strict restrictions based on skill and to difficulty securing documents to benefit from the labour mobility programmes - in some of the agreements. In the second part, the author discusses these challenges faced in these regional systems. She notes that prioritising skilled as opposed to low-skilled workers has not yielded a comparative advantage and may also be fostering irregular movements. She also highlights that trade liabilities emerge from the association of countries with similar levels of development and that it accentuates the North-South paradigm. These problems disrupt access to the benefits of the programmes, which ultimately creates irregular migrations and uneven labour standards for migrant workers. Finally, the author finds that most RTAs reviewed are developing their own legal frameworks with limited interest for the international instruments available, which are at best a source of inspiration. In the third part, the author invites the reader to challenge many preconceived ideas on international mobility emerging from the first two sections, and shares her thoughts on ways forward to build an international framework, based on existing scholarly work and considering the unpopularity of the GATS. She concludes with a discussion on ‘new regionalism’ as an alternative until a shared international framework to facilitate migrations is set up, with the possibility of a merger between RTAs from the North and the South. This, she argues, could possibly unleash the full benefits of labour mobility such as increased GDPs, poverty reduction and tackling irregular migrations; benefits that have not been entirely felt to date.

技師服務具有高度專業性與技術性，且與一國基礎建設具重大關係，攸關人民生命財產安全，往往受到各國政府之管制。各國為確保技師服務提供之品質，通常對於技師服務進行證照管制，令技師服務之提供限於取得該國技師資格與執業執照者始得為之。有關技師資格與核發執業執照之規定通常散落於各國國內規章中，該等國內規章之適用勢必將對技師服務貿易產生影響。 在世界貿易組織(World Trade Organization，以下簡稱WTO)之服務貿易總協定下(General Agreement on Trade in Services)，WTO會員基於自願性之基礎對各項服務部門之市場開放提出承諾，技師服務屬於專業服務之範疇，亦包含於會員可能提出開放承諾之範圍內。由於各會員國內規章之規定並不須納入會員服務貿易特定承諾表內，因此若欲了解技師服務貿易自由化之情形，除須檢視各國對於技師服務所為之開放承諾外，亦應瞭解國內規章對於技師服務貿易所造成之限制。 本文以技師資格相關之國內規章為出發點，探討國內規章對於技師服務貿易自由化所產生之影響，並針對目前國際間有關技師資格之相互認許進行討論，最後對於未來技師服務貿易自由化提出建議。 / Engineering services, with high professional specialty and technical background, plays an essential role in national infrastructure and is fatal to public security. To ensure the quality of the services provided, national governments usually implement the license regulation on engineering services. Only those who obtain the engineer qualification and acquire the license can practice their own specialty. The requirement for engineer qualification and license issuing, containing in the domestic regulations, will definitely have the impact on trades of engineering services. Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services of the World Trade Organization (hereinafter the “WTO”), WTO members make market-access commitments on a number of service sectors on the basis of voluntary. Since engineering services belongs to the category of professional services, it may also be the subject included in the commitments made by members. Since members have no obligations to inscribe domestic regulations in their schedules of specific commitments, with the purpose to understand the practical trade liberalization of engineering services, we should not simply focus on the commitments made by members, the limitation to trade of engineering services caused by domestic regulations should also be taken into consideration. This thesis initiates with the relevant domestic regulations of engineer qualification, observing how those regulations would affect the trade liberalization of engineering services. It accordingly discusses the nowadays international mutual recognition system of engineer qualification, and ends with some suggestions and thoughts regarding the future trade liberalization of engineering services.

For the European Union (EU), the field of trade policy is a main field in which the EU can assert its actorness and build its identity as an international actor. This "superpower" potential arises out of the EU's extensive resource equipment in trade policy and is driven forward by the EU's significant economic interests. To what extent, however, the EU has been able to use its resources to shape the rules of the international trade regime according to its own preferences has remained questionable. This thesis investigates the question of the EU's impact on and power utilisation in the international trade regime by analysing the EU's changing involvement in World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations. Drawing from the theoretical concepts of the "international regime" and "power", the thesis proposes an approach centred on the possession, mobilisation and impact of actors' power in international regimes. In particular, the thesis proposes a framework centred on five key elements: specification of the regime, its qualities and focus; the resources or 'underlying power' that actors bring to the regime; the resources derived by actors from the operation of the regime itself, or 'organisationally dependent capabilities'; the manifestation or deployment of resources and strategies by actors in negotiations; and outcomes defined in terms of actors' power over the regime itself. After an examination of the broad context of the WTO's development and the EU's involvement in the international trade regime, this framework is then explored through a detailed study of the EU's involvement in the negotiations over trade in services that took place in the WTO between 1995 and 2005, using evidence from a wide range of documentary sources and from interviews. On the basis of this exploration of trade in services, the thesis finds that despite the EU's outstanding resources, the WTO negotiations have become too complex for the EU to decisively influence them due to a power shift in the international trade regime. The special nature of the trade in services negotiations makes these particularly unmanageable and they do not seem to present the EU with a setting for achieving its preferences. A lack of cooperation among the WTO members in favour of the negotiations has made progress in the negotiations very hard to realise for the EU. At the same time, the erosion of the EU's resources by the shifting attitude in civil society towards trade policy, and an apparent Jack of business support, has increased the challenge for the EU of managing the international trade regime. Questions are therefore raised about the extent to which the EU has responded to change, mobilised its resources effectively and had a consistent impact on the international trade regime since the mid-1990s.

<p>Increasing energy needs globally have recently led to an interest in effectively bringing energy services in the trading system. Energy services were part of the Uruguay Round of negotiations, whose main achievement was the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The objective of the GATS is to achieve progressive liberalisation and reduction or elimination of trade barriers of all services sectors, including energy services. The GATS has made commendable progress in liberalising many service sectors, however it has not made meaningful progress with energy services. Furthermore though the SADC region engages in energy services trade through bilateral and regional agreements, a variety of&nbsp / barriers inhibit major successes from being achieved. Effective energy services trade and liberalisation has therefore proved problematic both at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level. This study, seeks to investigate why energy services liberalisation and trade at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level is problematic, with a particular focus on&nbsp / the SADC region.</p>

<p>Increasing energy needs globally have recently led to an interest in effectively bringing energy services in the trading system. Energy services were part of the Uruguay Round of negotiations, whose main achievement was the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The objective of the GATS is to achieve progressive liberalisation and reduction or elimination of trade barriers of all services sectors, including energy services. The GATS has made commendable progress in liberalising many service sectors, however it has not made meaningful progress with energy services. Furthermore though the SADC region engages in energy services trade through bilateral and regional agreements, a variety of&nbsp / barriers inhibit major successes from being achieved. Effective energy services trade and liberalisation has therefore proved problematic both at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level. This study, seeks to investigate why energy services liberalisation and trade at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level is problematic, with a particular focus on&nbsp / the SADC region.</p>

Univ., Diss.--Zugl.: Bern, 1988. / Includes index.

Diss. Univ. Bern, 1999. / Literaturverz.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Increasing energy needs globally have recently led to an interest in effectively bringing energy services in the trading system. Energy services were part of the Uruguay Round of negotiations, whose main achievement was the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The objective of the GATS is to achieve progressive liberalisation and reduction or elimination of trade barriers of all services sectors, including energy services. The GATS has made commendable progress in liberalising many service sectors, however it has not made meaningful progress with energy services. Furthermore though the SADC region engages in energy services trade through bilateral and regional agreements, a variety of barriers inhibit major successes from being achieved. Effective energy services trade and liberalisation has therefore proved problematic both at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level. This study, seeks to investigate why energy services liberalisation and trade at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level is problematic, with a particular focus on the SADC region. / South Africa

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Increasing energy needs globally have recently led to an interest in effectively bringing energy services in the trading system. Energy services were part of the Uruguay Round of negotiations, whose main achievement was the General Agreement on Trade in Services(GATS). The objective of the GATS is to achieve progressive liberalisation and reduction or elimination of trade barriers of all services sectors, including energy services. The GATS has made commendable progress in liberalising many service sectors, however it has not made meaningful progress with energy services. Furthermore though the SADC region engages in energy services trade through bilateral and regional agreements, a variety of barriers inhibit major successes from being achieved. Effective energy services trade and liberalisation has therefore proved problematic both at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level. This study,seeks to investigate why energy services liberalisation and trade at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level is problematic, with a particular focus on the SADC region.

A service can be traded either directly between a consumer and provider of the service or a service can serve as an input into the manufacturing of various products and other services that are traded. Trade in services has therefore become an essential part of global trade and contributes significantly to global, as well as South African economic growth, development and productivity. Service trade has furthermore been growing at a greater rate than trade in manufactured goods. The growth of services trade can be attributed to growth in goods trade, technological advances, rising per capita incomes, micro-economic reforms, as well as increased consumer and business demand, and technological change. According to the GATS’ (General Agreement on Trade in Services) services sectorial classification list, the service sector can be classified into twelve major categories and these sectors can further be divided into 160 sub-sectors. One of the sub-sectors that have been identified that has significant growth potential globally and for South Africa is the sub-sector, ‘other business’ services. This sub-sector falls under the sector, business services. Trade data revealed that this sub-sector is one of the top three traded service categories internationally, as well as for South Africa. For the purpose of this study the focus was specifically on ‘other business’ services provided by members of the BEPEC (Built Environmental Professional Export Council). The services performed by the members of the BEPEC are: consulting engineering, architectural, quantity surveying, and construction project managing services. These services are inputs into the manufacturing or construction of human creations such as buildings, structures, dams, roads etc. Trade barriers, however, hinder the free flow of services from the service provider to customers in other countries. This is no different for the providers of ‘other business’ services. Therefore in order to increase the competitiveness of South Africa’s ‘other business’ services sector internationally; the primary objective of this study was to identify the internal, as well as external barriers experienced by the exporters of ‘other business’ services. These internal and external barriers were identified by means of a questionnaire that the members of the BEPEC, who are exporters of ‘other business’ services, completed. Once these barriers were identified recommendations were made to the South African government. The most significant internal barriers were found to be: • lack of information about foreign markets; • lack of information on how to enter these foreign markets; • lack of personnel who are experienced in export activities; • scarcity of internal financial resources for export purposes and export promotion. • The most significant external barriers were found to be: • exchange rate risk and the risk of non-payment; • corruption and bribery; • risks involved with political instability in a country; • restrictions on immigration provisions such as delay in obtaining entry visas, residency or work permits; • poor infrastructure; • foreign government procurement policies; • distance to the target market. All of the identified barriers can mostly be addressed by the South African government by providing training, the provision of market related information, and trade negotiations. / Thesis (MCom (International Trade))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012