World Trade Organization

Marion Panizzon and Amanda Bisong

Chapter 106 in Elgar Concise Encyclopedia of Migration and Asylum Law, 2025, pp 616-625 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The cross-border movement of natural persons (MNP) for the supply of services, Mode 4 of WTO/GATS, figures as the only international mobility being liberalized by a multilateral agreement. Several definitional issues matter in GATS Mode 4, including the categories of persons, the services sectors, and the nature of the commitments, which members pledge in their Schedules. Whereas the right of members to regulate immigration remains broad under the Annex MNP, which provides that visa, border procedures and citizenship remain outside the GATS, progress on Mode 4 is blocked by frequent multi-modal linkages. In this entry we discuss how architectural restraints in GATS put a break on the capacity to regulate the professionals’ return and how this minimizes the WTO/GATS's contribution to govern international migration. Conversely, we highlight how plurilateral trade agreements (PTAs) broadened access for Mode 4 workers beyond the status of commitments in GATS (GATS-plus). Some include the mutual recognition of foreign credentials and job experiences, while others even approximate border management (GATS-extra), thus moving the contentious delimitation of Mode 4 to labour migration an important step further towards international cooperation under the Global Compact for Migration's ‘comprehensive approach.’

Keywords: General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS); Temporary Movement of Natural Persons; Mode 4; WTO; Labour migration; Services trade; Preferential trade agreements; Bilateral migration agreements; Global Compact for Safe; Orderly and Regular Migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781802204148
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