According to the WTO, over a fifth of world trade consists of transactions in services. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) was created to extend the multilateral trading system to services, in the same way the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) provides such a system for trade in goods. Given its reach, the treaty’s significance continues to grow. This academically rigorous yet highly accessible book guides the reader through an ocean of literature and interpretative possibilities embodied in GATS. In doing so, it provides a road map of the various interpretative possibilities and dilemmas posed by the treaty. The work advances a legal analysis of GATS, based on its historical and institutional roots, while at the same time taking into account its objectives and prospects, as well as the balance of interests involved. In total, this timely book presents a thorough legal analysis of GATS that will serve as a comprehensive yet highly useful guide to the agreement.
