Public Services under GATS and NAFTA: Striking a Balance between regulatory Autonomy of States and..

http://nacle.org/sites/default/files/Olga%20Gerlich-Ottawa.pdf

Public Services under GATS and NAFTA: Striking a Balance between regulatory Autonomy of States and the Open Market

TABLE OF CONTENT: ....................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................. 2
I.THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................... 3
1.
2.
3.
4.
Liberalization of trade in services ............................................................................... 3
Public services ............................................................................................................. 4
Regulatory autonomy of states .................................................................................... 6
Assessment .................................................................................................................. 7
II.APPLICATION OF GATS AND NAFTA TO PUBLIC SERVICES .......................................... 8
1.
S COPE OF APPLICATION OF GATS ............................................................................................ 8
EXCEPTION UNDER ARTICLE I:3 ( B )( C ) OF GATS ...................................................................... 9
“governmental authority” ....................................................................................................... 9
“supplied neither on a commercial basis” ............................................................................ 11
“nor in competition with one or more service suppliers” ..................................................... 13
A .
B .
i.
ii.
iii.
A .
B .
Application of GATS to public services ...................................................................... 8
2.
3.
Application of NAFTA to public services ................................................................. 16
S COPE OF APPLICATION OF NAFTA ........................................................................................ 16
I NTERPRETATIVE DIRECTIVE UNDER A RTICLES 1201 (3)( B ) AND 1011 (4) OF NAFTA .............. 17
Assessment ................................................................................................................ 18
III.OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBER STATES CONCERNING TO TRADE IN SERVICES ...... 21
1.
2.
A .
B .
C .
Obligations of Members under GATS ....................................................................... 21
GENERAL OBLIGATIONS ........................................................................................................... 21
SPECIFIC C OMMITMENTS ........................................................................................................ 22
NATIONAL SCHEDULES ............................................................................................................ 27
A .
B .
C .
3.
Obligations of the Parties under NAFTA .................................................................. 29
O BLIGATIONS SUBJECT TO RESERVATIONS ............................................................................... 29
O BLIGATIONS NOT SUBJECT TO RESERVATIONS ........................................................................ 31
A NNEX I AND II RESERVATIONS ................................................................................................ 33
Positive v negative list approach: assessment ........................................................... 34
CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................................................. 37
BIBLIOGRAPHY: .............................................................................................................................. 39


Introduction
This paper seeks to explore the area of tension between the principle of regulatory
autonomy of states under the General Agreement on Trade in Services 1 (“GATS”) and North
American Free Trade Agreement 2 (“NAFTA”) and the liberalization of trade which is the
regulation of public services. The choice of trade agreements analysed in this paper is based
not only on their fundamental importance to international trade in services in the Canadian
context, but also on the fact that they serve as two major models for other Preferential Trade
Agreements (“PTAs”) concluded regionally. Although the problem of public services in the
context of trade liberalization is not new, it remains controversial. This was most recently
demonstrated in the negotiations of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement 3
(“CETA”), and remains largely unexplored in both scholarly writings and jurisprudence.

This paper seeks to examine the extent to which states are constrained in their regulatory
autonomy under the obligations regarding trade liberalization in services under GATS and
NAFTA.

Chapter I will provide a theoretical framework for further analysis of the issue.
After introducing the concepts relevant to the topic, the potential for conflict between the two
principles, the progressive liberalization of trade in services and the regulatory autonomy,
will be assessed. The substantial analysis will be conducted in two steps. In the first step
(Chapter II), the scope of application of the treaties will be scrutinized. In particular, the
question of whether or not there are general exemptions applicable to the provision and the
regulation of public services under GATS and NAFTA will be addressed. In the second step

(Chapter III), the specific obligations relating to public services will be discussed. This
section will be further subdivided between obligations of general application and obligations
subject to country - specific carve - outs. The methods of negotiating commitments employed
in both agreements and the flexibility to include carve - outs on public services will be further
examined.

http://nacle.org/sites/default/files/Olga%20Gerlich-Ottawa.pdf