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The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has launched new rules under the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, streamlining trade in services across 71 members, covering 92% of global trade. This development is a part of the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation. The essence of this initiative is to streamline the authorisation requirements and procedural barriers that businesses worldwide, especially micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), face. By introducing more transparent and efficient, the agreement is poised to reduce the costs associated with global services trade by over €110 billion annually.

One of the most notable aspects of the Joint Initiative is its potential to significantly ease the process for SMEs and women entrepreneurs, groups that traditionally face more significant challenges due to resource constraints. The rules set forth under this initiative promise not just to simplify their entry into foreign markets but also to support sectors like telecommunications, computer services, engineering, and banking through its alignment with the digital agenda.

Currently, 71 WTO members, including the EU, have committed to applying these new rules, thereby ensuring that service suppliers from any WTO member nation can benefit, courtesy of the most-favoured-nation principle. With these new rules in effect, the WTO members participating in this Joint Initiative have effectively enhanced their schedules of specific commitments, promising a brighter future for the trade in services sector.

Source: European Commission