© International Trade Centre, International Trade Forum
- Issue 2/2006
In Kenya, ITC teams up with a non-governmental organization to
broaden the debate on trade in services.
Many developing countries are inviting NGOs to assist them in
their trade policy-making, for example when taking part in WTO
talks. NGOs have played an advisory role in some developing country
delegations in the last three Ministerial Conferences at least. The
following case shows how a government, an NGO and ITC combined
their know-how to analyse Kenya's prospects for services.
In Kenya, a Richer Debate on Services
by Linda Schmid, ITC Adviser on Trade in Services
Kenyans benefited from a broader debate about services markets and
WTO negotiations, thanks to an informal collaboration between ITC
and the NGO International Lawyers and Economists Against Poverty
(ILEAP). In July 2005, ITC commissioned a study of Kenya's service
trade capacity with a survey of the private sector. This study
found market opportunities for services in the East African
Community and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa. Most
importantly for trade negotiations, the study identified
constraints faced by Kenyan service exporters in the region.
ILEAP, which helps African countries to carry out the kind of
analysis they need to participate effectively in WTO negotiations,
approached ITC to join with them in supporting a workshop for
Kenya's National Committee on the WTO. In Nairobi, the Committee
would consider requests made to Kenya from its trading partners
with a view to revising its services offer under the General
Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS).
We came together because we were both working for the same
client: the Kenyan Ministry of Trade and Industry. ILEAP wanted to
use the study on services and leverage ITC's expertise of looking
at service negotiations from a private sector perspective. ITC
wanted to support ILEAP's initiative of financing and facilitating
national dialogue on services to improve the environment for
service exporters. Together, we worked hand-in-hand with the
Ministry to support their efforts to assess the viability of
additional commitments under the GATS.
The national workshop allowed Kenyans to look at their own
market, to consider service export opportunities and to determine
if the Kenyan legislative framework and oversight institutions
could sustain increased competition from foreign firms. It was
Kenyans who researched their services market, Kenyans who spoke
with their service providers about how they trade and Kenyans who
will ultimately determine for themselves how they develop their
economy. ITC and ILEAP simply played supporting roles.
At the workshop, our client asked for help to undertake deeper
analysis of the rules regulating their services market. ITC and
ILEAP responded by developing a survey for regulatory agencies that
oversee the Kenyan services market. ILEAP is now undertaking the
survey with the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Our collaboration was informal, but it contributed meaningfully
to helping Kenya pursue its interests in the GATS negotiations. By
working together, ITC and ILEAP were better able to serve their
client. The Government of Kenya benefited from a richer debate
about the reality of the services market in Kenya.
Contact: services@intracen.org