Industry News
May 2011
FEDSA Promotes Direct Selling in Global Trade Agreements
The Doha Round
The Doha Round is the current round of trade negotiations that began in November 2001 under the World Trade Organization (WTO). Its objective is to lower trade barriers around the world and promote global trade.
WTO trade negotiations are basically split into negotiations on agricultural products, industrial products, and services. Direct selling falls under the negotiations on services which are included in a specific agreement: the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
Efforts have been made by the US direct selling industry and US administration to have a reference to direct selling in the new GATS. Such reference would allow better regulation of the sector in many countries. The industry position was endorsed by FEDSA’s Companies’ Committee at its last meeting.
GATS Negotiations
In the GATS negotiations, member states make national offers per sectors. Certain members offer full commitments to open their services market, others make partial commitments on certain categories and others do not make any commitment.
One part of the GATS negotiations deals with ‘distribution services’, under which direct selling would fall. Most Asian countries in particular have made little to no offers on opening up the distribution sector.
FEDSA Advocacy to WTO in Geneva
On 29 and 30 March 2011, FEDSA met in Geneva with permanent missions to WTO of several countries to promote our position on GATS. The delegation met the representatives of the WTO’s following member states: the United States, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada Turkey and Malaysia.
The aim of FEDSA is that as many countries as possible offer free trade in direct selling. FEDSA understands that the best way of doing this would be through two steps. Firstly, countries would have to make offerings to open up the distribution sector, in particular the section on ‘Commissioned Agents’ under which direct selling would fall. Secondly, countries would preferably make clear that direct selling would indeed fall under these offerings.
“FEDSA’s advocacy has great potential for the direct selling industry, because we can mobilise one of the world’s largest trading blocs (the European Union) to promote global free trade for direct selling. I believe that further advocacy at WTO offers important opportunities for our sector,” says Maurits Bruggink, FEDSA’s Executive Director.
www.fedsa.eu
