Looking for Facts in the GATS Attack: Impacts on Social Service Sovereignty

Abstract

This paper investigates the implications of the General Agree ment on Trade in Services (GATS) for members’ regulatory sovereignty over social services. It presents the moderate view that, while some of the outcomes envisioned by those op posed to the agreement are unlikely, they are not impossible and there is therefore some cause for concern. Legal ambigui ties and gaps in the GATS undermine how both civil society and World Trade Organization (WTO) members perceive it, limiting its credibility and future scope. The essay concludes with recommendations aimed at improving the reliability and credibility of the agreement in order to increase the degree of trade occurring under its purview.