The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is the first multilateral agreement on trade in services. It was negotiated in the last round of multilateral trade negotiations, the Uruguay Round, and entered into force in 1995. The GATS provides a framework of rules for trade in services, establishes a mechanism for countries to make commitments to liberalize trade in services, and provides a mechanism for the settlement of disputes between countries. The GATS agreement has been criticized for tending to replace the authority of national law and justice with that of a GATS dispute settlement body that conducts concluded hearings. Spokesmen for WTO member states and the government have an obligation to reject such criticism because they have committed themselves in advance to the perceived benefits of the dominant trade principles of competition and „liberalization.“ One of the main provisions of the GATS relating to national provisions is Article VI:4, which deals with qualification requirements and procedures, technical standards and approval requirements. In order to ensure that measures taken in these three areas do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade in services, the GATS requires that these requirements be based on objective and transparent criteria and not be „more onerous than necessary to ensure the quality of service“. The GATS provides that signatory governments are not allowed to apply licensing or technical standards requirements in a manner that nulliliates or affects their commitments under the agreement. It also encourages Member State governments to negotiate the mutual recognition of the educational qualifications of service providers. While a free trade agreement can reduce or eliminate many tariffs, it would not eliminate other potential barriers to trade flow, such as import and export declarations, VAT returns, regulatory divergence and hence non-customs controls. Many of the issues facing trade readiness in the context of a hard Brexit will also apply to trade under a free trade agreement. Will a free trade agreement remove tariffs on all goods moved from Ireland to Britain (and vice versa)? The provision of many services often involves the simultaneous physical presence of the producer and the consumer. .
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