SERV26-2

The workshop will examine the role of the services sector and trade in services in achieving development, drawing on current global and regional trends to inform appropriate policymaking. Participants will use a number of analytical tools developed by the World Trade Organisation and the World Bank, such as the Trade in Services Policy Database (I-TIP) tool, the Trade in Services Policy Database (STPD) and the Services Trade Restriction Index (STRI), along with associated charts and analytical insights, as well as the Competitiveness Scorecard and domestic services regulation assessment cards.
These tools aim to analyse trade regimes, identify barriers and propose appropriate policies to address them. The workshop also reviews the key rules and provisions governing trade in services agreements, focusing on how commitments are presented in these agreements and the mechanisms for their interpretation. The workshop includes a series of practical exercises on the preparation of schedules of commitments in trade in services agreements, helping participants to understand how commitments relating to service sectors are structured and to identify the levels of market access and associated restrictions.