What are the main arguments for limiting trade in services? What is your opinion on limiting trade in services?
Answer: Countries restrict trade in services for three reasons:
a. Essentiality: Countries judge certain service industries to be essential because they serve strategic purposes or because they provide social assistance to their citizens. They sometimes prohibit private companies, foreign or domestic, in some sectors because they feel the services should not be sold for profit.
b. Standards: Governments limit foreign entry into many service professions to ensure practice by qualified personnel. The licensing standards of these personnel vary by country. At present, there is little reciprocal recognition in licensing from one country to another because occupational standards and requirements differ substantially.
c. Immigration: Satisfying the standards of a particular country does not guarantee that a foreigner can then work there. Governmental regulations often require that an organization—domestic or foreign—search extensively for qualified personnel locally before it can even apply for work permits for personnel it would like to bring in from abroad.