Research On The Design Of GATS ESM System

As deepened development with international trade, trade in services becomes a large part of international trade and the legislation of safeguard measures for trade in services has triggered great interest in the world area. In the WTO, the legislation of emergency safeguard measures (ESM) leads to an intensive argument, especially between developed countries and developing countries. Due to the special merit of trade in services and, the interests and positions of the two different classes of countries as aforesaid, the negotiations on ESM walk into a stalemate..Chapter One of this dissertation introduces the overview of ESM. Firstly, the writer reviews the birth of the rule for ESM in GATS and the process of negotiation on ESM up to now. Secondly, based on the discussion on the desirability and feasibility of establishing ESM under a multilateral system, the writer expresses the supporting opinions on the desirability and feasibility of establishing ESM in the WTO.Chapter Two gives a brief introduction to the safeguard measures stipulation experience in domestic legislation and regional trade agreements. Since there is no specific legislation of safeguard measures for trade in services in domestic framework, the writer chooses the most progressive and comprehensive remedy system for trade, which is the legislation in the United States, to introduce the safeguard measures may be used in the trade in services. And then the dissertation comes into the safeguard measures included in the regional trade agreements that may be applied to the trade in services.Based on the introduction and analysis on safeguard measures for the trade in services, the writer works out a framework for ESM system in the WTO in Chapter Three, including the model for designing, the conditions and procedure for application and the other relevant elements for the ESM system. Divarication among the members and the difficulties of designing are involved in the above discussion, and the standpoints and resolutions to the problems during the designing are also put forward by the writer.In Chapter Four, the dissertation firstly summarizes the development status of world trade in services, which is as a background for the analysis on the problems of our country's trade in services. In the face of such problems, the writer emphasizes the positions that our country should hold in the ESM negotiation in the WTO. On this basis, the writer brings forward the suggestions to improve our domestic safeguard measures legislation on trade in services.