International Trade in Services.pdf - DSpace at Khazar University

38 International Trade in Services
temporary employment. However, the BV and ICT categories are of interest to
successful emerging countries, such as Brazil, China, and India.
Labor Mobility in RTAs
Several free trade agreements (FTAs) have been entered into by developing
countries in the Americas and in Asia that contain provisions to facilitate the
procedures for temporary labor movement. Some agreements include, for example,
guaranteed numerical quotas for certain categories of skilled labor. In this
section, we compare and contrast approaches to labor mobility in RTAs between
developed and developing economies. The focus is only on RTAs negotiated
following the conclusion of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
which entered into force in 1994 and which signaled an era of deeper and more
comprehensive regional agreements. The discussion is divided along geographical
lines, distinguishing RTAs negotiated by Canada and the United States, the
European Union (EU), Japan, and Australia and New Zealand. Tables 2.3–2.7
provide summaries of the salient labor mobility provisions of select RTAs.
RTAs negotiated by Canada and the United States
NAFTA was a pioneer agreement and template for many subsequent RTAs. With
respect to labor mobility, it contains a chapter entitled “Temporary Movement of
Business Persons,” the purpose of which is to facilitate temporary entry across
Canada, Mexico, and the United States for business people who are involved in
goods or service trade or in investment activities. The categories defined under
NAFTA are traders and investors, business visitors, ICTs, and professionals. In the
case of business visitors, there is no limit on the number of visas, and work permits
are not required. As argued by Martin and Lowell (2008), the novel migration
component of NAFTA is the trade NAFTA visa. This visa was uncapped in 1994
for Canadians and has been uncapped for Mexicans since 2004. Upon demonstrating
proof of a job offer, the trade NAFTA visa permits employment for one
year with unlimited renewal.
In addition to the chapter on temporary entry, NAFTA and subsequent agreements
with a similar structure contain an annex on professionals that is specifically
targeted at professional service suppliers. The annex in these agreements is intended
to promote the development of mutually acceptable standards and criteria for the
licensing and certification of professional service suppliers based on factors such as
educational background, qualifying examinations, and experience. Additionally, the
annex encourages agreement members to provide recommendations for furthering
the process of mutual recognition. A qualifying list of professions is set out in an
appendix. In the case of NAFTA, 62 professions are specified for which the applicant