Trade in Services Agreement

The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is a proposed international trade treaty between 23 Parties, including the European Union and the United States. The agreement aims at liberalizing the worldwide trade of services such as banking, healthcare, and transport. Criticism about the secrecy of the agreement arose after released in June 2014 a classified draft of the proposal's financial services annex, dated the previous April. Another release took place in June 2015 and in May 2016.

The process was proposed to a group of countries meeting in Geneva called the Really Good Friends. All negotiating meetings take place in Geneva. The EU and the US are the main proponents of the agreement, and the authors of most joint changes. The participating countries started crafting the proposed agreement in February 2012 and presented initial offers at the end of 2013.

The agreement covers about 70% of the global services economy. Some claim that the aim of TISA is the privatization of worldwide trade in services in areas such as banking, healthcare and transport. Services comprise 75% of American economic output; in EU states, almost 75% of its employment and gross domestic product.

For commitments on what the European Commission calls "'national treatment' (i.e. on equal treatment for foreign and local suppliers)", excluding commitments on market access, the following applies: Once a particular trade barrier has unilaterally been removed in an area where the country has made a commitment, it cannot be reintroduced. This proposal is known as the 'ratchet clause'.

The EU claims its trade agreements do not prevent governments at any level from providing services in areas such as water, education, health and social services. The EU has stated that companies outside its borders will not be allowed to provide publicly funded healthcare or social services. The EU has made its position papers, offers and negotiation reports available online.

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