Interpreting GATS Services Schedules: Sectoral and Horizontal Commitments, Modes of Supply, Market Access, National Treatment and MFN Exemptions
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Practice notes
This Practice Note offers practical guidance on how to read a General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) schedule of commitments. It explains how to interpret a Member State’s specific schedule of commitments on trade in services.
Introduction
When Member States undertake commitments on trade in goods—whether at the World Trade Organization (WTO) through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT), or within a free trade agreement—their meaning is relatively clear. To interpret goods commitments fully, readers should still consider the relevant treaty text, yet the obligation is largely straightforward: a defined tariff is levied on a product entering that Member State’s market.
Commitments on trade in services are more involved. For their proper interpretation, one must look not only at the governing treaty text, such as the WTO’s GATS or a free trade agreement, but also at the detailed schedule of commitments, which is itself more complex. In addition, Member States set out not only commitments but also exemptions. These exemptions invariably relate to the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) principle. For guidance on the MFN principle in trade in services, see Practice Note: An introduction to...
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Web page updated on 27/05/2026
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