THE MAIN FEATURES OF MODERN INSTITUTIONAL ENVIRONMENT IN INTERNATIONAL SERVICES TRADE

Abstract

During last years, we can mention the increasing role of the services sector in the global economy. The share of services in gross domestic product (GDP) for most countries exceeds 50%, which demonstrates the importance of this sector in economic development and competitiveness of national economies. Interaction on liberalization of trade in services and domestic markets protection plays an important role in international trade negotiations, particularly within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the same time, there are a growing number of regional trade agreements (RTAs), which reduces barriers to trade in services between the participating countries.The goal of article is to determine the characteristics of institutional frameworks of international services trade in world economy.The special dynamics of international trade in services and its growing importance for economic development of countries makes more actual the additional research questions about institutional support international services trade. Today not enough attention is paid to the complex investigation to international trade in services regulation at two levels – global (based on mechanisms of WTO) and regional – throughh the use of regional trade agreements instruments.Today, the service sector in terms of development far exceeds the sphere of material production, which, in turn, is a powerful incentive to gain new competitive advantages in the global market. In the last two decades in the international services market clearly revealed the following trends in its development. Thus, it should be noted the growth of information and computer services sector in the structure of international trade in services resulting from innovation in this field. There is the tendency to dominance of developed countries in international trade in services, which are leading both in terms of exports and imports of services; however, their share of yearly decreases against the background of strengthening the position of developing countries in the international services market through their active involvement in international trade.The importance of regional integration processes is one of the features of trade policy in a globalizing world economy. Currently, most of all RTAs include provisions concerning international trade in services, although most universal mechanism for regulating international exchange services is still GATS rules. However, in practice, the mechanism used GATS relatively low, and the reason why may be that part of the trade in services liberalization carried out autonomously countries. As part of the trade preferential agreements much easier to reach agreements on the liberalization of trade in services for individual conditions will be more beneficial for these countries than in the conditions specified under the GATS.For the current competitive environment, regional trade agreements are an additional tool for liberalization, which is the basis of ideology WTO system. The processes of regional integration in international trade in services today are one of the signs of the global community. Strategy of most developing countries’ growth is the services sector providing as one of the main activities of the gradual liberalization.