ABU DHABI: The World Trade Organization (WTO) on Tuesday adopted new rules aimed at facilitating trade in services among more than 70-member states, announced the European Union’s trade commissioner.
Despite initial objections from India and South Africa, the set of regulations will simplify authorization processes and alleviate procedural barriers encountered by businesses, according to a press release.
The implementation of these rules is expected to significantly reduce the costs associated with global services trade by over US$119 billion annually, as stated in the release. The integration of these rules into the WTO framework signifies unanimous approval from all 164 member nations as per the organization’s rules mandating full consensus.
EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, speaking at the WTO’s 13th ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi, acknowledged the challenges faced in achieving this milestone. He noted that despite opposition from two WTO members, a spirit of compromise ultimately cleared the hurdles, although he refrained from specifically naming the countries involved.
