After consultation with the parties, the panel met on 7 October 2020. However, the dispute settlement system cannot be used to resolve trade disputes resulting from political disagreements. When Qatar requested the creation of a panel of measures imposed by the UAE, other GCC countries and the United States were quick to reject its request as a political issue and said national security issues were not suitable for the WTO litigation system. [87] The services sector accounts for about 40% of India`s GDP, 25% of employment and 30% of exports. Recognizing the importance of the services sector for stronger economic growth, the Government attaches additional importance to improving services such as telecommunications, maritime transport, roads, ports and air transport. The foreign direct investment system has been liberalized to attract foreign investment in the services sector. However, a path of gradual liberalization has been taken in order to ensure wider acceptance of the reform process. India actively participated in the Uruguay Round negotiations on services and committed to 33 activities, compared to an average of 23 for developing countries. India also participated in the training negotiations. In the area of basic telecommunications services, India has made commitments with regard to voice telephony services for local and long-distance (within the territory) communications, mobile telephony services and other services such as transmitted data transmission sources, fax services, private rental services, in accordance with the information contained in the engagement plan.
India has also participated in the recently concluded negotiations on financial services and improved its offer by raising the annual limit on foreign bank branches from 8 to 12 years and withdrawing India`s biggest salaries for banking services. The Agreement on trade aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) is an intercontinental agreement managed by the WTO, which establishes minimum standards for different types of intellectual property (IP). With the rapid increase in international trade and the resulting increase in cross-border trade, the link between trade and the environment has become a relevant issue for the international community. Gatt/WTO, the main trade body dealing with international trade issues, has taken note of this. Some WTO agreements, such as the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade and the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, have already addressed environmental issues to some extent. The grant agreement contains a definition of „grant”: a financial contribution from a government or public body in the territory of a member that grants a benefit. Only 4 „specific” grants fall under the disciplines of the SCM agreement. The final stage of accession includes bilateral negotiations between the candidate country and other members of the Working Party on Concessions and Commitments on Tariffs and Market Access for Goods and Services. . . .
