The International Services Trade in Light of the Principles of WTO

Recent years clearly indicate that the process of globalisation is inevitable and will soon encompass all areas of economic activity. Enormous technological progress and especially increasing computerisation only intensify these trends. The countries that have previously initiated integration measures and are now forming the European Union have also defined quite precisely the rules liberalising the flow of services within the common market. However, the specifics of such activities often require operations even on an intercontinental scale. For this reason, highly developed countries, especially the USA, took steps towards the end of the 20th century to establish an organisation aimed at removing barriers to trade, including in services. This initiative culminated in the creation of the following on 1 January 1995. World Trade Organisation (WTO). This followed the signing of the Final Act of the GATT Uruguay Round on 15 April 1994 in Marrakesh 1 . The WTO is thus one of the youngest international organisations with a global reach. The very fact that the WTO was established as a result of the agreement reached in the GATT unambiguously links these two institutions of international economic relations. However, the GATT was not an international organisation in the normal sense. It was merely a consultative forum, without an institutional case, and the primary manifestations of its activities became the negotiating rounds (8 such rounds were eventually held). They aimed at agreeing on the progressive reduction of tariffs and barriers to trade in goods between the members of the Agreement, i.e. the contracting parties. The last negotiating meeting started on 20 September 1986 in Punta del Este, Uruguay. This time, more ambitious goals were set than just another tariff reduction. The idea was to create global rules for trade in goods, but also -intellectual property and services.