negotiate a trade in services agreement
Policy Factsheet Background The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is a services-only trade agreement currently being negotiated between the U.S. and 49 other WTO–member countries, which account for 70% of the world’s trade in services. It represents the best opportunity in two decades to improve and expand global services trade. Negotiations began in early 2013. The U.S. is the largest exporter of services in the world.1 The services sector, which includes a diversity of industries ranging from consulting and financial services to architecture, engineering and IT, has grown faster than other major sectors for decades and accounts for 69% of U.S. GDP.2 In fact, the U.S. boasts an annual services trade surplus of over $213 billion.3 As the U.S. economy becomes increasingly services-based, our international competitiveness hinges on our commitment to investing in and growing our service exports. However, the current seventeen-year-old WTO services agreement, GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services), does not effectively address many costly services trade barriers—leading to large unrealized gains from services trade. For example, while services account for over 60% of global production and employment, they only represent 20% of total trade, largely due to heavy market restrictions and barriers.1 TiSA could eliminate barriers such as restrictions on foreign investment or nationality requirements and strengthen rules for services trade, allowing U.S. businesses to more easily and affordably provide services across international borders. 1 World Trade Organization | 2 United States Trade Representative | 3 U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, 2011