The proliferation of regional and bilateral preferential trade agreements has spurred a dynamic evolution of “mode 4” provisions well beyond the standard acquired in the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services. Free trade agreements signed by China and India also cover non highly skilled workers delinked from commercial presence, contain more provisions facilitating mobility, and even include social and economic rights for spouses and dependants of “mode 4” workers. In some regions, the mobility of service providers overlaps with more encompassing provisions on the free movement of persons. In regions more hesitant towards freedom of movement, limited provisions on labour mobility have been introduced in conjuncture with the liberalisation of service trade. International migration is a relative newcomer on the “trade and” agenda. International rules regarding the mobility of persons within the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have remained limited, favouring the interests of big business. Basically, multilateral commitments are limited to facilitating the mobility of highly skilled managerial staff within multinational companies. However, the inclusion of the mobility of natural persons in the GATS as one essential mode of cross-border trade in services, so-called “ mode 4 ,” has opened...
Written by Sandra Lavenex