Although services facilitation is recent topic of discussion at the World Trade Organization, it is not novel in the context of regional trade agreements (RTAs), where provisions on increased transparency, improved administration of procedures, and advanced disciplines on regulatory requirements can often be found. This paper, utilising the conceptual framework of Facilitation 2.0 , explores existing approaches to services facilitation in RTAs and how these regional regulatory experiences can inform WTO members on potential opportunities for convergence at the multilateral level. It also addresses paths to multilateralisation, offering a potential alternative to the negotiation of a self-standing services facilitation agreement. The think piece is part of a series of four publications: Facilitation 2.0: Investment and Trade in the Digital Age Facilitation 2.0: Services and Trade in the Digital Age Facilitation 2.0: E-commerce and Trade in the Digital Age Facilitation 2.0: Goods and Trade in the Digital Age (forthcoming) The RTA Exchange, jointly implemented by the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is a platform that convenes purposeful multi-stakeholder dialogues that work in the interest of constructing better trade and investment agreements for sustainable development at the regional and multilateral levels.
Written by Marta Soprana