Although the November-December 1999 WTO Ministerial Conference in Seattle failed to launch a new round, services and agriculture negotiations are now underway. The GATS mandates regular rounds of services negotiations, the first of which began on 1 January 2000.
Services play an important and growing role in Australia s economy.
The output of our services industries accounts for around two thirds of our Gross Domestic Product and four out of five workers in Australia are employed in the services industries. Exports from the services sector have grown more rapidly over the last decade than exports from any other sector. The current services negotiations provide an opportunity for greater market access for Australia s services exporters, and efficiency gains for the economy overall. The WTO services negotiations are an opportunity to address many of the market access barriers facing Australian services exporters. If you are an Australian services provider and have come across any market barriers when trading in another country we would like to hear from you.