View a larger version of this map
About the TiSA negotiations
The Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) is a services-only trade agreement jointly led by Australia, the European Union and the United States.
Australia has a strong interest in progressing services trade reform, both in terms of improved services market access commitments and as a way to generate momentum in multilateral negotiations more broadly. The services sector now accounts for almost three quarters of Australia’s GDP and generated more than AU$100 billion in value-added export earnings in 2013. Using a value-add methodology [PDF 262 KB], services contribute 40 per cent of our value-added export earnings.
The TiSA is an opportunity to address barriers to international trade in services that are impeding the expansion of Australia’s services exports.
Our objective in the negotiations is to deliver improved access and tangible commercial benefits for Australia’s services sector, including:
- addressing discriminatory barriers to cross-border services trade
- improving investment conditions for Australian business seeking to establish an offshore commercial presence, and
- improving business mobility so Australian services professionals can more easily work in TiSA countries.
The TiSA will set a new standard in services trade commitments in a multilateral setting. It aims to capture the progress that has been made through unilateral liberalisation and in free trade agreements outside the multilateral system.
The TiSA negotiations also provide an opportunity to develop new disciplines (or trade rules) in areas where there have been significant developments since the WTO Uruguay Round negotiations.
The negotiations cover key services sectors, including financial services, telecommunications and e-commerce, professional services, transport services, delivery services, energy services, temporary entry of business persons, government procurement and new rules on domestic regulation to ensure regulatory settings do not operate as a barrier to trade.
The 23 TiSA parties currently comprise: Australia, Canada, Chile, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Costa Rica, European Union (representing its 28 Member States), Hong Kong, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Mauritius, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Turkey and the United States.
At an informal meeting of TiSA party ministers in Davos, Switzerland on 23 January 2016, ministers agreed to aim to conclude negotiations by the end of 2016.
Key interests and benefits
- TiSA parties collectively account for around 70 per cent of global trade in services.
- Six of the TiSA Parties were in Australia’s top ten destinations for services exports in 2014-15 – the United States, United Kingdom (as part of EU), New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong and Republic of Korea.
- The services sector is a key part of the Australian economy – it represents 70 per cent of Australia’s economic activity, employs four out of five Australians and accounts for 20.9 per cent of Australia’s total exports.
- The TiSA will benefit Australian service suppliers by guaranteeing current levels of market openness, providing greater certainty for operators in foreign markets and addressing behind the border barriers.
- As participation expands, the TiSA could offer significant additional benefits for Australian business if countries from our region join and liberalise to meet the level of ambition.
Consultations
As part of the Australian Government’s ongoing public consultation process, consultations on the TiSA were held in: Sydney in April 2016; Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in March 2015; Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide in March and May 2014; and, Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne in June and July 2013. Other locations will be scheduled as the negotiations progress.
ICTSD: TiSA Public Information Session and Discussion
The International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) hosted a public information session on the TiSA in Geneva on 30 April 2014.
The session featured presentations by Australian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, Hamish McCormick, United States Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the WTO, Michael Punke, and EU Chief TiSA Negotiator, Ignacio Iruarrizaga Diez.
A video of the event can be viewed on the ICTSD website.
Contact us
- Email: TiSA@dfat.gov.au
- Fax: +61 2 6261 2927
- Mail:
Services Trade and Negotiations Section
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
R.G. Casey Building
John McEwen Crescent
Barton ACT 0221
For media enquiries, please call DFAT's Media Liaison Section: (02) 6261 1555.