Mon 13-06-2022 20:46 PM
Geneva, June 13, 2022 (WAM)-United Arab Emirates today announced its participation in a joint initiative on domestic regulation of services and successfully closed negotiations in December 2021.
It took place at a press conference held at the 12th World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference on June 13, during which the UAE, Georgia and East Timor took the lead.
“We are confident that being part of this outcome as the second largest economy in the Arab world will support the United Arab Emirates’ long-term trade policy strategy,” said the Assistant Secretary of Trade and Economy of the UAE. Stated. Office work, Juma Mohammed Alkate. He cited “building an environment that encourages trade and investment, strengthening the UAE’s competitiveness in the external market, and developing international trade relations” as his national priorities.
“The implementation of the discipline agreed last year by this group of WTO members will help further adjust the legal and regulatory framework towards the best regulatory practices,” he added.
A total of 70 governments, which account for more than 92.5% of the world’s trade in services, are now part of transactions related to domestic services regulations. The success of the negotiations, announced in December 2021, is to improve the transparency, predictability and efficiency of licensing and approval procedures with the aim of facilitating trade in services.
The Declaration adopted by participating countries in December last year sets new discipline to make the regulatory environment business-friendly and reduce the trade costs of service suppliers seeking access to foreign markets.
According to a study released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the WTO, the benefits of implementing new rules on domestic regulatory services will lead to significant reductions in annual trade costs of US $ 150 billion, especially in some of the most important areas. I found out. Service department. Implementations have the potential to bring a wide range of trade benefits to the economy, including increased trade in services and further participation in the global value chain.
All participating members submitted a draft schedule outlining how the new discipline on domestic regulation of services will be incorporated into their respective commitments under the WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
WAM / Hatem Mohamed / Khoder Nashar
