GATS and Offshoring: Is the Regulatory Framework Ready for the Trade Revolution?

Abstract

This article examines the relevance of GATS in light of the rise of trade in ICT-enabled services and, in particular, the rapid expansion of the offshore industry. It provides considerable evidence about the difficulties to adjust trade rules and specific commitments negotiated in the late 1980s and early 1990s to a significantly different commercial environment led by technological innovations and the emergence of global supply chains. It reviews various alternatives that could be considered for upgrading rules on trade in services and argues that inaction could result in GATS early obsolescence.