Plurilateral services negotiations set to start on Mar 27, 2006
23 Mar '06
7 min read
Among the salient features of the request is its stipulation that wage parity should not be a pre-condition for the entry of foreign workers, which observers say is likely to attract the attention of labour unions in recipient countries.
The request likewise asks that economic needs tests (ENTs) should be removed or substantially reduced. These ENTs, which allow the entry of service suppliers only upon determination that there is no domestic supplier able and willing to supply the same service, are often used to keep out workers from developing countries.
The request enumerates an indicative list of around 24 sectors/sub-sectors where improved market access is sought for these categories of service suppliers.
An early criticism is that the criteria laid down for qualifying for entry as a contractual service supplier or an independent professional are quite narrow, and thus limit eligibility to workers with high skill levels.
According to some sources, this has prevented a number of developing countries from joining in the collective request.
The request on computer and related services appears to be the one with the most even represented of developed and developing countries.
Several negotiators point to this as evidence of the commonality of opportunities in this sector for countries across different levels of economic development.
Demandeurs presumed demanded
The 16 sectoral plurilateral requests generally share the same format, identifying the requesting Members and stating the number of Members receiving the request (without identifying them).
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