Countries agree to ease trade in services

The WTO Ministerial began on Tuesday with a good outcome, with some help from India. On the first day of talks, an agreement was reached to ease trade in services between WTO countries. At 5 pm local time, WTO issued a statement that it had resolved the thorny issue of making trade in services easier. A new era of new rules is now beginning in the services business. Seventy-one members of the world will be part of this new agreement.

The biggest benefit of this treaty will be to those professionals who work around the world. There will be doctors and engineers among them. The countries implementing this agreement will not impose any kind of restrictions and conditions on these professionals. This agreement will save about $119 billion every year in the cost of services export and business in the world.

India has raised hopes of consensus in the WTO meeting by paving the way for this treaty. South Africa and India had several objections to the threaty. WTO members agreed to consider India’s viewpoint. WTO chief Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala especially thanked India and South Africa for reaching consensus.

This agreement is being considered as a new kind of beginning for WTO in which a group of member countries are agreeing to an agreement. India’s objection was to this process because it is different from the multilateral system. India had placed a condition that such an agreement should be approved by the multilateral committee of WTO. Also, its benefits should be available to everyone who wants to join it. The Indian side indicated that it withdrew its objections only after these conditions were accepted. However, sources said that India has not signed this agreement. America, Europe and China are part of this treaty

The agenda of difficult and controversial WTO talks opens today, but despite tremendous conflicts of business interests, war fronts and many elections, this agreement has brought relief to WTO managers.