General Agreement on Trade inServices(GATS)Members,Recognizing the growing importance of trade in services for the growth and development of the world economy;Wishing to establish a multilateral framework of principles and rules for trade in services with a view to the expansion of such trade under conditions of transparency and progressive liberalization and as a means of promoting the economic growth of all trading partners and the development of developing countries;Desiring the early achievement of progressively higher levels of liberalization of trade in services through successive rounds of multilateral negotiations aimed at promoting the interests of all participants on a mutually advantageous basis and at securing an overall balance of rights and obligations, while giving due respect to national policy objectives;Recognizing the right of Membersto regulate, and to introduce new regulations, on the supply of services within their territories in order to meet national policy objectives and, given asymmetries existing with respect to the degree of development of services regulations in different countries, the particular need of developing countries to exercise this right;Desiring to facilitate the increasing participation of developing countries in trade in services and the expansion of their service exports including, inter alia , through the strengthening of their domestic services capacity and its efficiency and competitiveness;Taking particular account of the serious difficulty of the least-developed countries in view of their special economic situation and their development, trade and financial needs;Hereby agree as follows:Part I: Scope and DefinitionArticle I: Scope and Definition1. This Agreement applies to measures by Members affectingtrade in services.2. For the purposes of this Agreement, trade in services isdefined as the supply of a service:(a) from the territory of one Memberinto the territory of anyother Member;(b) in the territory of one Memberto the service consumer ofany other Member;(c) by a service supplier of one Member, through commercialpresence in the territory of any other Member;(d) by a service supplier of one Member, through presence ofnatural persons of a Member in the territory of any other Member.3. For the purposes of this Agreement:(a)" measures by Members" means measures taken by:(i) central, regional or local governments and authorities;and(ii) non-governmental bodies in the exercise of powersdelegated by central, regional or local governments or authorities;In fulfilling its obligations and commitments under the Agreement, each Member shall take such reasonable measures as may be available to it to ensure their observance by regional and local governments and authorities and non-governmental bodies within its territory;(b)“services " includes any service in any sector exceptservices supplied in the exercise of governmental authority;(c)“a service supplied in the exercise of governmentalauthority “ means any service which is supplied neithe r on a commercial basis, nor in competition with one or more service suppliers.Part II: General Obligations and DisciplinesArticle II: Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment1. With respect to any measure covered by this Agreement,each Membershall accord immediately and unconditionally to services and service suppliers of any other Member treatment no less favourable than that it accords to like services and service suppliers of any other country.2. A Member may maintain a measure inconsistent withparagraph 1 provided that such a measure is listed in, and meets the conditions of, the Annex on ArticleII Exemptions.3. The provisions of this Agreement shall not be soconstrued as to prevent any Memberfrom conferring or according advantages to adjacent countries in order to facilitate exchanges limited to contiguous frontier zones of services that are both locally produced and consumed.Article III: Transparency1. Each Member shall publish promptly and, except inemergency situations, at the latest by the time of their entry into force, all relevant measures of general application which pertain to or affect the operation of this Agreement. International agreements pertaining toor affecting trade in services to which a Memberis a signatory shall also be published.2. Where publication as referred to in paragraph1 is notpracticable, such information shall be madeotherwise publicly available.3. Each Member shall promptly and at least annually informthe Council for Trade in Services of the introduction of any new, or any changes to existing, laws, regulations or administrative guidelines which significantly affect trade in services covered by its specific commitments under this Agreement.4. Each Membershall respond promptly to all requests by anyother Member for specific information on any of its measures of general application or international 。