WTO members discussed tourism services in the wake of COVID-19 at a session held on 6 December under the aegis of the Council for Trade in Services. They continued addressing implementation of mandates from the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) and reviewed the participation of least developed countries in services trade among other issues at the Council meeting on 7 December. At a webinar on 5 December, participants looked at access to information on policies and regulations affecting services trade.
Implementing MC12 mandates
MC12 mandates regarding services include the Least-Developed Country (LDC) Services Waiver, the E-commerce Work Programme, WTO reform and the response to COVID-19.
Pandemic response: tourism services in the wake of COVID-19
WTO members discussed the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on tourism services at a session on 6 December. This is the third session on the impact of COVID-19 on services trade organized under the pandemic response work mandated by ministers at MC12. Under discussion were the main challenges members encountered, the trade-facilitative measures governments introduced in the wake of the pandemic, and the implications of the crisis, specifically for LDCs.
Speakers said that tourism was one of the sectors most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic because of travel restrictions and safety concerns. The WTO Secretariat said in a presentation that trade in tourism recorded a decline of 38 per cent in 2020 due to the collapse of international travel but is now on course for a full recovery and a return to its pre pandemic levels, when it accounted for almost one-quarter of services trade.
International tourism is on track to continue this recovery in the first half of 2023. The number of nights spent in tourist accommodation in the European Union was above pre-pandemic levels, for example.
The decline in tourism had the biggest impact on LDCs, which currently remain at 30 per cent below pre-COVID-19 levels in terms of international tourist arrivals. Travel accounted for LDCs’ largest share of services exports before the pandemic.
Still, the COVID-19 crisis provided an opportunity for businesses to improve their tourism services by strengthening business skills and improving their online presence.
Pandemic response
On 12 December, members adopted a report on the work undertaken by the Council on the WTO response to pandemics and preparedness for future pandemics since MC12. The report can be found here.
Participation of LDCs in services trade
The WTO LDC Group presented a paper on implementing the MC12 Outcome’s paragraph 8 related to the LDC Services Waiver, which seeks to boost the participation of LDCs in services trade.Members reiterated their continued support for putting the waiver into practice but said they needed more time to review the LDC proposal in detail.
Reference was also made to the seminar organized in October on improving data collection in LDCs. Disaggregated and bilateral services export data for LDCs is expected to help assess the impact of the preferential treatment notified by WTO members under the waiver.
Currently, preferences for LDC services and service suppliers have been notified by a total of 51 members. The waiver was formalized by a decision adopted at the 2011 Ministerial Conference.
A total of 36 WTO members are classified as LDCs. More information on the waiver can be found here.
WTO reform
In addition to upgrades already adopted, Members agreed on two improvements to the functioning of the Council on a trial basis, regarding the use of an electronic agenda and the circulation of meeting airgrams 15 days in advance. They also adopted a report to the General Council taking stock of recently introduced improvements.
Exemptions to MFN principle
Members continued discussing each other’s exemptions from the WTO’s most-favoured nation (MFN) principle, which precludes discrimination between WTO members. The Services Council examined whether the conditions creating the need for the exemptions still prevail.
The list of members’ exemptions can be found here. The date of the next review will be decided in 2028, as agreed in the Council.
Services trade concerns
Members discussed four specific trade concerns previously addressed in the Council. Japan and the United States, echoed by some other members, reiterated concerns about the cybersecurity measures of China and Viet Nam. China recalled its concerns about Australia’s 5G measures and repeated concerns with certain measures of the United States and India’s measures in relation to mobile applications.
Trade in financial services
At a meeting of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services held on 1 December, members agreed to organize a thematic seminar on cross-border remittance services, based on a proposal from India, the Philippines and South Africa.
The Committee is one of the Services Council’s subsidiary bodies.
Policies and regulations affecting services trade
A webinar organized by the WTO’s Trade in Services and Investment Division and the World Bank on 5 December looked at recent improvements to tools collating information on policies and regulations affecting trade in services. These include the Services Trade Policy Database and the Services Trade Restrictions Index (STRI) jointly developed by the WTO and the World Bank. The number of economies covered by the database has grown to 133 and the number of services subsectors totals 34 across financial services, telecommunications, distribution, transportation, professional, computer, construction, health and tourism services.
A new dashboard has also been released, enabling users to easily picture the level of services policy restrictions between and within economies, by sectors and modes of supply.
Welcoming these improvements, participants highlighted that up-to-date and comprehensive information on services trade is essential to support policymakers in designing reforms and assessing their effectiveness and in taking part in trade negotiations as well as for research.
Source: wto.org (Collected by Pham Bang Tam)