Given
the crucial role of regulation in determining market entry and market
participation in many services sectors, there are various provisions in
the Agreement to improve the transparency of Members’ regulatory regimes.
Apart from various notification and information requirements, these include
the obligation on all Members to maintain one or more enquiry points.
At such points, other Members can request and receive specific information
on measures of general application or international agreements affecting
services trade (Article III:4).
A list of these enquiry points is available
on the WTO Website (www.wto.org).
Enquiry points
are intended only for government access. Queries from the business community
may be channelled through the home-country government to the enquiry point
of the Member concerned. In order for these points to be effective, they
must have at their disposal an inventory or a database of relevant measures
and international agreements within the meaning of Article III:1
and 3.
Increasingly, such information is being made more generally available
through searchable websites.
