The Politicisation of Trade in Health and Education Services: Black and White Divisions Over a ‘Grey Area’

Abstract

The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) is a multilateral agreement concerning cross-border trade in services which is currently being negotiated as part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In November 2000 the Scottish branch of a UK organisation campaigning against the GATS submitted a petition to the Scottish Parliament's Public Petitions Committee . This contended that the GATS could potentially affect the ability of the Scottish Executive to regulate health services, unless these services were specifically ruled out of the negotiations. The petition was based on the concern that pro-competition GATS rules could be used by other countries to challenge the NHS monopoly in some areas of Scottish health provision.