在WTOGATS框架下关于教育服务贸易的协商外文翻译.docVIP

外文翻译 原文 Negotiating Trade in Educational Services within the WTO/GATS Context Material Source: Aussenwirtschaft, 59. Jahrgang (2003), Heft II, Zürich: Rüegger, S. 275-308 Author: Raymond Saner and Sylvie Fasel 1 Importance of Trade in Educational Services Trade in educational services (ES) has received growing attention and has elicited increasingly heated reactions by various stakeholders ranging from governments, private sector investors, teachers’ unions to student as sociations and parent organizations in OECD and developing countries. This article will describe some of the issues, give a summary of the negotiation process so far within the WTO context, and outline possible avenues to resolve the conflicting interests of trade in educational services. The following points depict the growing importance of trade in ES: (1) The value of annual trade in 1999 in higher education services has been estimated at 30 billion US$,reaching 50% of trade in financial services estimated at 59.3 billion US$ .The estimates of trade in ES would be higher if estimates were available for the total trade in ES.Higher education is only one of five subsectors of ES. (2) High quality education can positively influence labour factor conditions of a country’s economic development. The availability of highly skilled labour force is a factor contributing substantially to national economic development. Most countries consider investment in education as being of strategic importance to enhance national competitiveness and to increase opportunities to attract foreign direct investment. (3) Trade in ES is inherently cross-sectoral affecting trade, economics, education and culture. This built-in multi-functionality of trade in ES requires cooperation between institutions mandated to deal with the different aspects of trade in ES (WTO) and ways to establish crossnational recognition of educational products (UNESCO). (4) While most stakeholders can agree that private sector providers can be equa