International Trade in Services.pdf - DSpace at Khazar University

50 International Trade in Services
list of nonconforming measures, and Mode 4 is treated in a chapter on the temporary
movement of business persons. This chapter defines movement for the four
categories usually seen in trade agreements (traders and investors, BVs, ICTs, and
IPs). However, Japan has set a time limit of three years for three of these categories
(all but business visitors), which is a fairly generous interpretation of length of stay.
The two more recent RTAs negotiated by Japan with countries in Southeast
Asia—Indonesia and the Philippines—are notable for their innovations in covering,
for the first time, specific categories of nurses and care workers. These RTAs
also have expanded the categories of workers in the chapter on Mode 4 to include
“professionals with personal contracts” (essentially the same as CSSs), as well as
nurses and care workers. For Japan, these categories (other than business visitors)
are allowed a stay of up to three years. Japan has also increased the number of professional
categories covered in the annex on professionals in these two RTAs (to 14
in the case of Indonesia and 10 in the case of the Philippines). No numerical limits
are placed on these professional categories, except for nurses and care workers,
for whom an annual quota is in effect. For the latter professions, specific education
and training requirements are also included in the agreements, namely, a
national health degree, plus two years of prior work experience and six months of
language training in Japanese. Professional categories are allowed a stay of up to
three years. The specification of particular categories of work with annual quotas
and training requirements is an innovative approach that has not yet been seen in
other RTAs.
RTAs negotiated by Australia and New Zealand
Four RTAs have been negotiated by Australia and New Zealand that are relevant
for this study, including one joint RTA with the 10 members of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They are summarized in table 2.7. Three of
these are recent agreements that have been signed or have come into force since
August 2008. The oldest of the four and the one with the least ambitious provisions
for labor mobility is the P4, also known as the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic
Partnership Agreement, between the four countries of Brunei Darussalam,
Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore. This agreement, which entered into force in
2006, follows a NAFTA-type structure, but with less in-depth content. The only
category of workers specified in the temporary entry (or labor mobility) chapter is
business persons, and no length of stay is specified. There is an annex for professional
services, but it primarily sets out a best endeavors clause for the development
of “mutually acceptable standards and criteria for licensing and certification
of professional service providers.” No professional categories of service providers
are listed; therefore, the annex has no market access component.