The World Trade Organization (WTO) and
The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Treaty
Last Update: 24-Aug-2005 12:01
The World Trade Organization (WTO), established in 1995, is an important international body with 140 member nations. The WTO administers trade agreements among its members, settles trade disputes and assists developing nations with trade policies. The member nations interact according to rules determined by over 30 agreements and other separate commitments, which relate to every aspect of trade or services. (see Related Links below)
ALA is involved with the WTO when international trade agreements incorporate intellectual property provisions or when agreements have ramifications for U.S. copyright law. One of the many agreements administered by the WTO is the General Agreement on Trade in Service (GATS), which libraries have been concerned could lead other countries to challenge government support to libraries. (See Related Links below)
In 1995 the WTO collaborated with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) (See Related Links below) to produce the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement (See Related Links below) which drastically revised existing international standards and required their national implementation as well. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was drafted to bring U. S. law into agreement with the TRIPS standards.
What is the GATS?
The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is one of more than twenty trade agreements administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The goal of the GATS is to remove barriers to competition in the services sector, although individual governments may choose the degree to which GATS obligations apply to any particular service sector. The US government, through the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), has been negotiating our obligations and commitments under GATS since 1995.
How is ALA involved with the GATS?
A question that has arisen in the library community - to which there is not yet a clear answer -- is how GATS will affect the library and education sectors, either directly or by GATS obligations concerning key services sectors with which we interact, such as education, publishing and postal services.
U.S. libraries became concerned when they learned that, included among the American obligations and commitments under GATS, was the sector of “recreational, cultural and sporting services” which covers libraries, archives, museums and other cultural services.
In 2002, ALA sought and received confirmation from the USTR that GATS obligations would not and should not apply to public library services. ALA requested the US Trade Representative and his negotiators to remain mindful of the needs of publicly supported libraries and to protect and promote these interests as implementation and further negotiation of the GATS proceeded. [See Related Files below from 2002]
In spring 2003, in the course of further GATS negotiations, the USTR (at the request of ALA) put forward clarifying language in the schedule of commitments to the effect that the commitment for libraries does not apply to non-profit, public or publicly funded entities. Those negotiations failed to move forward (for reasons unrelated to our issues), but resumed in spring 2005.
What is the status of the GATS commitments regarding libraries?
In June 2005, libraries were surprised to find that in its May 31, 2005 proposal, the US had withdrawn the clarifying language that it had offered previously regarding libraries, archives, museums and other cultural services. ALA sent a letter to the USTR, expressing grave concern about this development and about the lack of communication, and requested a meeting. [see Related Files below]
In a letter to ALA prior to a meeting in July 2005, the USTR stated that the clarifying language previously offered and then withdrawn was “redundant with the general exclusion [from GATS] for governmental services.” USTR further explained that in its view, “…services provided free of charge to the general public are not supplied on a competitive or commercial basis, and therefore are excluded by definition from the scope of the GATS…[and] nothing in the GATS limits the ability of federal, state, or local governments to provide subsidies to public libraries.” [see Related Files below]
The USTR explained that it withdrew the language that it had put forward in 2003 because “[r]ather than achieving the desired result of providing greater clarity concerning the nature of governmental services in the library sector, the language was having the opposite effect of injecting uncertainty into the general exclusion for all services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority.” The USTR further reiterated its position that “we have not in any way deviated from our longstanding policy of ensuring that trade agreements do not have any adverse effects on the supply of public services. We remain fully committed to preserving public support for public libraries, and to ensuring the efficient supply of all public services.”
USTR officials reiterated these assurances in a meeting with ALA on July 25, 2005, along with a renewed intention to consult with ALA on these and related issues of importance to libraries. The US Trade Representative also wrote to ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels, on August 8, 2005 [see Related Files below], to confirm these assurances. Ambassador Robert Portman wrote:
Given the pervasiveness of government support for public libraries around the world, we believe it is highly unlikely that any of our trading partners would ever challenge our ability to support public libraries in the United States. If there ever were such a challenge, I expect USTR would argue that U.S. GATS commitments do not impact governmental support for core library services provided free of charge to the general public. In addition, the GATS contains no provisions limiting the ability of federal, state, or local governments to provide funding to public libraries.
ALA will continue to follow up regularly to help the USTR understand the needs of America's publicly supported libraries and to monitor developments with regard to the GATS negotiations.
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