The “Constitution” of Global Capitalism : GATS

Selime Güzelsarı

World Trade Organization (WTO), which can be seen as the new regulatory
institution of capitalism at the international level, has acted like an intermediary
institution for capital since 1995 by creating agreements. Among these, General
Agreements on Trade in Services (GATS) has emerged as the first constitutional
multi-lateral agreement in the area of international trade in services. In this
article, GATS will be examined by questioning three main points: the meaning of
liberalization of trade in services with special reference to public services; the
dynamics of GATS/WTO; and the reflections of GATS on the relations both
between nation-states and between capital and labor.