EU and WTO Members Strike Major Deal to Simplify Trade in Services

Rekabet Hukuku

A group of 67 World Trade Organization (“WTO”) members, including the EU, have concluded negotiations on a landmark agreement to cut red tape in services trade on 2 December 2021. The so-called Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation will simplify unnecessarily complicated regulations and ease procedural hurdles faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) in particular. Thus, this agreement will help reduce the costs of global services trade by more than USD 150 billion every year.

The clear rules on transparency and authorisation in the area of services agreed as part of this initiative will facilitate trade in services significantly. Especially for SMEs who do not have the same resources and experience to cope with complex processes as do their larger competitors.

EU in anticipation that this agreement will help the EU with regard to the digital agenda since sectors such as telecommunications, computer services, engineering, and commercial banking stand to benefit from it.

You can find the full text here.

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys at Law

info@zumbul.av.tr