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Education and Trade. Multilateral and Bilateral Approaches To Trade in Education Services. Trade in Education. When education services are offered on a commercial or fee-paying basis to foreign consumers. What roles do governments have in trade in education?.
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Education and Trade Multilateral and Bilateral Approaches To Trade in Education Services
Trade in Education • When education services are offered on a commercial or fee-paying basis to foreign consumers.
What roles do governments have in trade in education? • As exporters themselves; through public sector education institutions; • As regulators of the environments in which institutions operate; • As parties to international agreements which establish standards for education; • As parties to international agreements which establish rules for trade in education.
Trade Agreements covering Education • Trade agreements cover trade in education through their frameworks of rules for trade in services. • Multilateral : World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements; • Regional : Asia Free Trade Agreement (AFTA); • Bilateral : ANZCERTA
New Zealand belongs to several trade agreements and groups: • WTO GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) • ANZCERTA, ANZSCEP; • APEC; • OECD.
What do these agreements achieve for New Zealand education exporters? • Through them the government can work to remove barriers to our education exports so that New Zealand institutions have improved opportunities in key markets.
Some examples of barriers: • Non-recognition of New Zealand qualifications and registration; • Restrictions on the import or export of educational materials; • Foreign equity caps; • Legal restrictions which impede establishment of offshore campuses by institutions; • Requirements for joint-venture campuses.
Barriers are removed or reduced • When parties to agreements make commitments to give foreign suppliers the same access and treatment in their market as their own suppliers; • This gives equality of opportunity – not preferences to foreign suppliers; • Based on domestic regulatory frameworks.
Current Negotiations: • WTO Services negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services part of comprehensive trade round launched in Doha last year; • Two deadlines : • Requests 30June 2002, Offers 31 March 2003; • New Zealand made requests to 24 countries; • Work on GATS rules will also continue; • CER, CEP : periodic reviews ongoing.
More information: www.wto.org www.mfat.govt.nz