GATS, Migration, and Labor Standards

There are an estimated 190 million international migrants in 2005, persons outside their countries of birth or citizenship, and 95 million are in the labor forces of their host countries. The World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization emphasized that more orderly south-north migration could help to reduce the deep-seated imbalances in the global economy. The General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) offers one potential mechanism for promoting such migration, especially by facilitating the cross-border movement of professional service providers. If GATS were to liberalize the movement of service providers, known as Mode 4 movements, there could be “hundreds of millions” of additional migrants. This paper urges caution in seeing GATS Mode 4 liberalization as a missing engine for development and a guide for managing labor migration. Most Mode 4 liberalization so far involves easier cross-border movements for managers and professionals employed by multinational firms. Expanding movements under Mode 4 could lead to more professional migration, settlement and fewer remittances and returns.