Glossary:General agreement on trade in services (GATS)
The General Agreement on Trade in Services, abbreviated as GATS, is a treaty of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that entered into force in 1995 following the Uruguay Round negotiations. It was created to include services in the multilateral trading system. Ranging from architecture to voice-mail telecommunications, services today form the largest and most dynamic component of developed and developing countries' economies (accounting for more than 60 % of global production and employment, although no more than 20 % of total trade).
The GATS applies in principle to all service sectors, with two exceptions:
- services supplied in the exercise of governmental authority (examples include social security schemes and any other public service, such as health or education, provided at non-market conditions);
- services related to air traffic rights.