This article deals with a challenge in drafting regional trade agreements (RTAs) in services that has been widely ignored to date: the need to comply with, and ensure consistent use of, GATS-based framework provisions. This includes in particular the requirement for the RTA parties to eliminate substantially all discrimination between their services and service suppliers. Yet the criteria that are used in individual agreements to identify the benchmark services and service suppliers quite often depart from relevant GATS provisions (Article V on economic integration in combination with Article XVII on national treatment). These departures may not only affect the WTO/GATS-compatibility of the RTAs concerned, but contribute to further fragmenting international market conditions. This is particularly unfortunate at a time when regional agreements are the only realistic options to overcome the negotiating stalemate at multilateral level. Hence, given the stakes involved, there is an urgent need for participants to (re-)consider the framework provisions underpinning their RTAs.

中文翻译：

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区域贸易协定中的 WTO/GATS-Alien 框架条款——仔细观察

本文讨论了在起草服务领域的区域贸易协定 (RTA) 方面迄今为止被广泛忽视的挑战：需要遵守并确保一致地使用基于 GATS 的框架规定。这尤其包括要求 RTA 各方基本上消除其服务和服务供应商之间的所有歧视。然而，个别协议中用于确定基准服务和服务供应商的标准往往背离相关的 GATS 规定（关于经济一体化的第五条与关于国民待遇的第十七条）。这些偏离可能不仅会影响相关区域贸易协定与 WTO/GATS 的兼容性，还会导致国际市场条件进一步分化。在区域协议是克服多边层面谈判僵局的唯一现实选择之际，这尤其令人遗憾。因此，鉴于所涉及的利害关系，参与者迫切需要（重新）考虑支持其区域贸易协定的框架条款。