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WTO / MC13 SERVICES REGULATION
STORY: WTO / MC13 SERVICES REGULATION
TRT: 04:30
SOURCE: WTO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 27 FEBRUARY 2024, ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
1. Wide shot, delegates arriving for MC13 scene-setting session at the ADNEC in Abu Dhabi
2. Wide shot, delegates entering meeting room
3. Wide shot, delegates arriving for meeting
4. Wide shot, delegates entering meeting room
5. Med shot, delegates preparing for the meeting
6. Med shot, delegates preparing for the meeting
7. Med shot, delegates preparing for the meeting
8. Med shot, Director-General Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade and MC13 chairperson, Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, talk ahead of scene-setting session
9. Med shot, Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala and Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi talk ahead of scene-setting session
10. Med shot, MC13 chair Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi leads the discussion
11. Wide shot, MC13 chair Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi speaks during scene-setting session
12. Wide shot, DG Ngozi speaks during session
13. Pan right, meeting under way
14. Pan right, meeting under way
15. Pan right, meeting under way
16. Close up, delegates during meeting
17. Med shot, delegations during meeting
18. Pan right, meeting under way
19. Pan left, delegates during meeting
20. Pan left, delegates during meeting
21. Med shot, document about services domestic regulation
22. Med shot, delegates and journalists getting documentation
23. Med shot, delegates and journalists getting documentation
24. Med shot, MC13 chair Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi before press conference
25. Wide shot, zoom in, DG Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala and MC13 chair Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, talk ahead of scene-setting session
26. Wide shot, pan left, officials prepare for press conference
27. Wide shot, zoom in, DG Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala and MC13 chair Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, ahead of scene-setting session
28. Med shot, officials at the podium during press conference
29. SOUNDBITE (English) Manuel Tovar, Foreign Trade Minister, Costa Rica:
"We're here today to announce the entry into force of the disciplines on services domestic regulation. This agreement is about enhancing the transparency, predictability and efficiency of licensing and authorisation procedures with a view to facilitating and fostering trade in services. This is a significant milestone for all of us as members and for the WTO as a multilateral organisation."
30. Wide shot, press conference under way
31. SOUNDBITE (English) Manuel Tovar, Foreign Trade Minister, Costa Rica:
"This agreement marks the first joint initiative to be concluded and take legal effect out of those launched at the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in 2017. It is also the first WTO result in the field of services in more than 25 years."
32. Wide shot, press conference under way
33. SOUNDBITE (English) Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President, European Commission (EC):
"The cost of trade in services is twice as high as that of goods, and regulation-related factors account for more than 40 percent of these costs."
34. Wide shot, press conference under way
35. SOUNDBITE (English) Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President, European Commission (EC):
“Cutting red tape helps create new opportunities for service suppliers of all sizes. It benefits particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as women entrepreneurs. They also typically face limited resources to navigate complex and costly requirements and procedures.”
36. Wide shot, press conference under way
37. SOUNDBITE (English) Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and MC13 Chairperson, United Arab Emirates (UAE):
"While goods and manufacturing, as well as commodities, will always play a role in our economy, much of our future prosperity will rely on exports of services, and robust and internationally competitive services sector will itself be a multiplier, strengthening our performance in all aspects of our economy."
38. Med shot, press conference under way
39. SOUNDBITE (English) Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and MC13 Chairperson, United Arab Emirates (UAE):
"The entry into force of this outcome as an important step toward a successful conclusion of MC13."
40. Close up, participant consulting documentation
41. SOUNDBITE (English) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO):
"I always say that services is the future of trade. They are the biggest source of output and employment, particularly for women and youth. And technology is making more and more services tradeable so that they have, in most recent years, being the biggest driver of commercial growth."
42. Med shot, press conference under way
43. SOUNDBITE (English) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO):
"This agreement is an example of how members are delivering results on important issues for the 21st century commerce here at WTO."
44. Wide shot, press conference under way
45. Wide shot, press conference under way
46. Wide shot, applause after press conference
47. Wide shot, officials at the podium pose for a picture
48. Med shot, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala after press conference
49. Med shot, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala after press conference
The entry into force of new disciplines on services domestic regulation, announced today (27 Feb) at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi, is expected to lower trade costs by over USD 125 billion worldwide.
SOUNDBITE (English) Manuel Tovar, Foreign Trade Minister, Costa Rica:
"We're here today to announce the entry into force of the disciplines on services domestic regulation. This agreement is about enhancing the transparency, predictability and efficiency of licensing and authorisation procedures with a view to facilitating and fostering trade in services. This is a significant milestone for all of us as members and for the WTO as a multilateral organisation."
SOUNDBITE (English) Manuel Tovar, Foreign Trade Minister, Costa Rica:
"This agreement marks the first joint initiative to be concluded and take legal effect out of those launched at the 11th Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires in 2017. It is also the first WTO result in the field of services in more than 25 years."
The announcement was made at an event attended by Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, MC13 Chair Thani bin Ahmed Al Zayoudi and participating members in the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, represented by Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister, Manuel Tovar, and the European Commission's Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis.
SOUNDBITE (English) Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President, European Commission (EC):
"The cost of trade in services is twice as high as that of goods, and regulation-related factors account for more than 40 percent of these costs."
SOUNDBITE (English) Valdis Dombrovskis, Vice-President, European Commission (EC):
“Cutting red tape helps create new opportunities for service suppliers of all sizes. It benefits particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as women entrepreneurs. They also typically face limited resources to navigate complex and costly requirements and procedures.”
WTO members participating in the initiative began incorporating the new disciplines on good regulatory practice into their existing services commitments once the disciplines were successfully concluded in December 2021. The certification process for these disciplines has now been completed for 52 WTO members, with more expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.
SOUNDBITE (English) Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and MC13 Chairperson, United Arab Emirates (UAE):
"While goods and manufacturing, as well as commodities, will always play a role in our economy, much of our future prosperity will rely on exports of services, and robust and internationally competitive services sector will itself be a multiplier, strengthening our performance in all aspects of our economy."
SOUNDBITE (English) Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade and MC13 Chairperson, United Arab Emirates (UAE):
"The entry into force of this outcome as an important step toward a successful conclusion of MC13."
The disciplines seek to mitigate unintended trade-restrictive effects of measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and procedures and technical standards. They seek to make the regulatory environment more conducive to business and can help particularly micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as women entrepreneurs.
SOUNDBITE (English) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO):
"I always say that services is the future of trade. They are the biggest source of output and employment, particularly for women and youth. And technology is making more and more services tradeable so that they have, in most recent years, being the biggest driver of commercial growth."
SOUNDBITE (English) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization (WTO):
"This agreement is an example of how members are delivering results on important issues for the 21st century commerce here at WTO."
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