History Maritime transport, financial services and basic telecommunications were the three services sectors whose market-opening negotiations continued after the Uruguay Round. Although 32 countries had made commitments on maritime transport in the round, members agreed that negotiations should continue because some major participants had made no or very limited commitments, among them the United States. The renewed maritime negotiations began immediately after the round concluded in April 1994. They were suspended two years later because the US said the 24 offers on the table were too few and the extent of market access proposed in those offers was insufficient to justify making a new offer of its own. Many other countries disagreed.
Maritime transport is difficult to negotiate for two reasons.
It involves several different kinds of services, from shipping to port facilities. And each of these services is organised in complex ways. Some are operated by state enterprises. Some are highly protected with strong domestic political lobbies and long-established labour union practices. Finding appropriate formulas for negotiated liberalisation in these circumstances is not easy.