Investment Facilitation and Mode 3 Trade in Services : Are Current Discussions Addressing the Key Issues?
Based on a novel approach to measuring the cost of trade in services for Modes 1 (cross-border supply), 2 (consumption abroad), and 4 (temporary movement of service suppliers), developed by the World Trade Organization Secretariat, this paper revie...
Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Working Paper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/698571588702481484/Investment-Facilitation-and-Mode-3-Trade-in-Services-Are-Current-Discussions-Addressing-the-Key-Issues http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33711 |
Summary: | Based on a novel approach to measuring
the cost of trade in services for Modes 1 (cross-border
supply), 2 (consumption abroad), and 4 (temporary movement
of service suppliers), developed by the World Trade
Organization Secretariat, this paper reviews available
evidence on factors affecting trade costs for services
supplied via a commercial presence in a host country market,
so-called Mode 3 trade. It does so with a view to answering
the question of whether the current “facilitation” agendas
on services and investment proceeding at the World Trade
Organization focus on the most important factors affecting
Mode 3–related trade costs, by far the most important of all
modes of supplying services internationally. The paper
explores the policy opportunity costs arising from the
decision to focus the investment facilitation agenda on
matters of regulatory transparency and the streamlining of
administrative procedures. It recalls how reducing
regulatory heterogeneity, tackling discriminatory
impediments to cross-border investment, and developing
investor-state conflict management mechanisms to retain and
expand investment and prevent dispute escalation -- all
issues left unaddressed by ongoing negotiations -- hold
important potential for reducing Mode 3 trade costs and
facilitating expanded investment. |
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