What are the general obligations under the GATS?
Obligations contained in the GATS may be categorized into two groups: (i) General obligations which apply directly and automatically to all Member countries of the WTO, regardless of the existence of commitments made for each sector; (ii) Conditional obligations which apply to sectors where the Member country has assumed market access and national treatment obligations. The general obligations include: (a) Most Favoured Nation (MFN) Treatment: Favour one, favour all. MFN means treating one’s trading partners equally. Under GATS, if a country allows foreign competition in a sector, equal opportunities in that sector should be given to service providers from all other WTO members. (This applies even if the country has made no specific commitment to provide foreign companies access to its markets under the WTO). MFN applies to all services, but some special temporary exemptions have been allowed. The only possible derogation/exclusion from the MFN principle exists in the form of a so-call
