Rules of Origin in Services : A Case Study of Five ASEAN Countries
An important question in the design of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) covering services is to what extent nonmembers benefit from the trade preferences that are negotiated among members. This question is resolved through servic...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/02/7362293/rules-origin-services-case-study-five-asean-countries http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7141 |
| Summary: | An important question in the design of
bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) covering
services is to what extent nonmembers benefit from the trade
preferences that are negotiated among members. This question
is resolved through services rules of origin. The
restrictiveness of rules of origin determines the degree of
preferences entailed in market opening commitments, shaping
the bargaining incentives of FTAs and their eventual
economic effects. Even though the number of FTAs in services
has increased rapidly in recent years, hardly any research
is available that can guide policymakers on the economic
implications of different rules of origin. After outlining
the key economic tradeoffs and options for rules of origin
in services, the paper summarizes the main findings of a
research project that has assessed the rules of origin
question for five countries in the ASEAN region. For
selected service subsectors and a number of criteria for
rules or origin, simulation exercises evaluated which
service providers would or would not be eligible for
preferences negotiated under a FTA. Among other findings,
the simulation results point to the binding nature of a
domestic ownership or control requirement and, for the
specific case of financial services, a requirement of incorporation. |
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