International Trade in Services.pdf - DSpace at Khazar University

44 International Trade in Services
Canadian market prior to the current crisis, the government has negotiated recent
FTAs that go quite far toward providing increased access not only for professionals,
but also for semiskilled foreign workers. While the FTA that Canada negotiated
with Chile in 1997 looks similar to NAFTA in that the only categories of
workers covered are investors, traders and BVs, ICTs, and professionals, it was
already notable because the FTA placed no numerical limits on 72 of these categories
of professional labor.
The recent FTAs negotiated by Canada with Colombia (2008) and Peru (2009)
go much further. They cover all professional categories and impose no numerical
limits and no specified length of stay, meaning that visas could, in theory, be
renewed indefinitely. For the first time, they also expand coverage of worker categories
beyond highly trained professionals so as to include technicians. In the
Colombian and Peruvian FTAs, Canada has listed 50 categories of technicians
who may be admitted into the Canadian market with no specified length of stay.
These technicians must have an educational degree and two years of technical
training. Technician categories include mechanics, construction inspectors, food
and beverage supervisors, chefs, plumbers, and oil and gas well drillers. This
recent development constitutes a major step forward for the expansion of temporary
entry within trade agreements.
RTAs negotiated by the EU
In this section, we examine RTAs involving the EU and third countries, not
arrangements among the 27 current members of the EU. Among the members,
total labor mobility is guaranteed, though only after 10 years with respect to some
of the newest EU members.
The form of the RTAs negotiated by the EU differs from that pioneered by the
United States. Provisions for the liberalization of services and investment are set out
in a section of the EU agreements titled “Trade in Services and Establishment.” The
European Commission does not yet have exclusive negotiating authority from the
EU member states with regard to services and investment. 5 So far, the European
Commission has followed a GATS-type model and a positive list approach in its
trade agreements, with lists of commitments attached to the main text of the agreements.
Thus, in terms of market access, Mode 4 is brought within the scope of the
EU RTAs in a way similar to that followed under the GATS. Categories of workers
included in Mode 4 commitments by the EU include the four that are traditional in
RTAs (traders and investors, BVs, ICTs, and IPs). However, the EU has negotiated
relatively few RTAs with developing countries that cover services. Although it has
numerous association agreements in place with neighboring Mediterranean countries
(Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, the Syran Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, and others),
these agreements focus on goods and have not yet incorporated service provisions.