Overview of Lesotho’s and its Trading Partners’

Transcript:Overview of Lesotho’s and its Trading Partners’:
Overview of Lesotho’s and its Trading Partners’ Services Liberalization Commitments National Seminar on Trade in Services Negotiations under SADC and SADC EPA Maseru Sun, 2-4 July 2012 mjelitto@sadc.int SADC Member States Distribution of by services sectors *Red bars denote SADC priority sectors Lesotho’s commitments by sector* *Denotes incidence of commitments, by sub-sector, without assessment of depth/quality An even closer look (1) 1. Communication Services Full commitment on courier services M1 & 3 commitments on value-added telecom services No commitment on basic telecom services M1 commitments on audiovisual services 2. Construction Services M 2& 3 commitments on all categories, except Pre-erection work at construction sites (511) Special trade construction work Renting services of equipment with operator An even closer look (2) 3. Financial Services M2 &3 commitments on all insurance services except auxiliary services (broking and agency services) M3 commitments in banking services except Financial Leasing Participation in issues of securities Settlement and clearing services for financial assets Advisory and auxiliary services Provision and transfer of financial information 4. Tourism and travel-related services M 2&3 commitments on Tour Guide Services No commitments on Hotels and Restaurants (exc. M2), and Travel Agencies and Tour Operator Services An even closer look (3) 5. Transport Services M3 commitments in Road freight and passenger, and maintenance and repair of equipment No commitments on Maritime, Internal Waterways, Air, Space, Pipeline, auxiliary services 6. Energy-related services No distinct classification category in WTO Commitments in the following “energy-related services: Engineering and integrated engineering Management consulting and related services Technical Testing Construction for civil engineering Wholesale trade services of solid, liquid and gaseous fuels Retailing services of fuel oil, bottled gas, coal, and woods No commitments in: Services incidental to mining (883 & 5115) Engineering-related scientific and technical consulting services Overall assessment Few priority sectors in which new commitments can be made Basic Telecom Some Financial Services Tourism (Hotels, tour operators) Auxiliary transport services Services Incidental to Mining …but some potential for improving existing commitments M3 audiovisual services M1 road transport services M1 Insurance M1/2 Banking Services M4: Commitment to allow “4 expat senior executives and specialized skill personnel” Room for improvement? Economic partnership with the EU in services and investment EU likely to bring commitments in some 90% of services sectors to the table (based on Cariforum outcome) Commitments comprise 27 EU Member States Usability of commitments needs to be evaluated closely against Lesotho’s trade potential Economic partnership