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Global Services Coalition Statement on Plurilateral Services Agreement
Washington. Referring to talks in Geneva toward a plurilateral agreement on services, eleven business organizations comprising the Global Services Coalition (GSC) today applauded Governments for their concerted efforts in responding to business calls to reignite global interest in the growth and development of the services sector.
The agreement includes 19 countries comprising more than 70% of global services trade. Among the eleven members in the Global Services Coalition are some of the world’s largest and most dynamic economies. They are listed below.
The Coalition calls on those WTO members which have not yet participated in these meetings to delay no longer and to join in as soon as possible to launch formal negotiations by the end of this year, to achieve early practical outcomes in support of global economic growth.
The complete text of the Coalition’s Communique follows:
Global Services Coalition Communique
Washington, DC, 19 September 2012
Services – The New Agenda!
Meeting at the 4th Global Services Summit in Washington DC on 19 September 2012, business organizations comprising the Global Services Coalition (GSC) applauded Governments for their concerted efforts in responding to business calls to reignite global interest in the growth and development of the services sector.
Over recent months, a group of WTO members have been meeting regularly in Geneva as the “Really Good Friends of Services” to consider what could be done, and how, to allay business frustration over stalled Doha Round outcomes on services. Discussions have focused on developing a coherent, new agenda towards an international plurilateral services agreement that would be ambitious, flexible, and inclusive with the goal of attracting maximum support and providing a means for extending its outcomes to all WTO members.
The Global Services Coalition calls on those WTO members which have not yet participated in these meetings to delay no longer and to join in as soon as possible. The Global Services Coalition urges all the participating Governments to move rapidly to capture the existing hard-won momentum towards launching formal negotiations by the end of this year – to achieve early practical outcomes in support of global economic growth.
The services sector accounts for the bulk of GDP and new job-creation in most of the world’s economies. Services industries are everywhere providing the key value-added which is enabling more and more economies to find an entry into global supply chains, enhancing growth, development, and job opportunities. But international business in services is severely hampered by long-standing trade, investment, and regulatory barriers of all kinds, and it is threatened by new protectionist restrictions.
In the current global environment, marked by low growth in many economies, Governments need to take concerted action to reverse recessionary drift. Opening up to international business is the most efficient spur to economic growth. By operating both the demand and supply levers at the same time, reform of trade and investment regimes is the most effective means of bolstering commercial expansion, facilitating business innovation, and creating jobs. New market access abroad means new export opportunities, while acting as a catalyst for inward flows to bring the benefits of cheaper inputs and more efficient businesses at home.
The fourth Global Services Summit, entitled, “Services – The New Agenda!” was oriented to shed new light on key challenges facing services trade and investment in the current global economic climate, emphasizing the urgent need to tackle them through a coherent new negotiating agenda in the interests of growth and wealth-creation worldwide. Insightful discussions included cross-border trade and the digital economy; the problems for business of local preferences and other localization requirements; the impact of state-owned and state-assisted enterprises; the role of trade facilitation and enhanced logistics in global value chains and the role of services in generating momentum in the Asia Pacific economies.
The Global Services Coalition brings together businesses that lie at the heart of the functioning of modern, competitive economies. The Coalition’s members are committed to working together with all Governments to help reap the productivity gains and development dividends that services sector reform can deliver.
The Global Services Coalition includes:
Australian Services Roundtable
Canadian Services Coalition
Coalition of Service Industries Malaysia
Coalition of Services Industries (USA)
European Services Forum
Hong Kong Coalition of Service Industries
Japan Services Network
Mexican Services Network
NASSCOM (India)
Taiwan Coalition of Services Industries
TheCityUK (United Kingdom)
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