The Trade in Services Agreement: Plurilateral Progress or Game-Changing Gamble?

CIGI Paper No. 53

January 13, 2015

Trade analysis in the current moment is understandably focused on mega-regional negotiations, but plurilateral talks also deserve our attention. Plurilateral negotiations leading to a Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is the focus of this paper. Barriers to trade in services are distinct and their removal consequential; thus inviting careful consideration and, ideally, public debate. This paper seeks to illuminate developments in negotiations toward the plurilateral TiSA. Just as it has become commonplace to ask whether regional agreements advance economic and political agendas, so is it useful to explore the promise and peril of plurilateral agreements such as TiSA.

About the Author

Patricia Goff is a CIGI senior fellow. She is also a professor of political science at Wilfrid Laurier University and the Balsillie School of International Affairs.