The fourth session of the Multi-year Expert Meeting on Trade, Services and Development will be held from 18 to 20 May 2016 in Room XXVI of the Palais des Nations, Geneva. It will commence at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 18 May.
Background and purpose of the meeting
The Doha Mandate, adopted at UNCTAD XIII, stresses that development of services and access to them, supported by adequate regulatory and institutional frameworks, is important for sound socioeconomic development. The objective of the expert meeting is to identify best-fit practices at the levels of policymaking, regulations, institutions and trade negotiations that link services, development and trade in a balanced manner, including strengthening national services regulation.
The fourth session of the expert meeting will examine practices and experiences in building coordination and coherence between trade negotiators, policymakers and regulators, and making regulatory and trade agendas mutually supportive in services sectors.
Services sectors are essential to the efficient functioning of all economies and strengthened productive capabilities and competitiveness. The quality of policies, regulations and institutional frameworks is the key determinant of services performance. At the same time, increased trade in services negotiations have also raised concerns over the relationship between the liberalization and regulation of services, as certain trade rules could affect the degree of national regulatory autonomy and policy space to pursue development objectives.
Within this context, coherence between regulatory and trade agendas, and effective coordination between regulatory authorities, sectoral ministries and trade ministries, are crucial for trade liberalization to become pro-developmental. The session will examine lessons that can be learned from various country and regional practices and experiences, including UNCTAD Services Policy Reviews, in building mutually supportive regulatory and trade strategies.
