To address this challenge, the World Bank and the WTO, in collaboration with regional partners, are enhancing their assistance to help interested developing economies identify their core services trade measures (market access and national treatment) across all sectors and modes of supply and to provide more transparency about these measures. Participating economies would make available their lists and continue to update them.

This involves working with interested members in helping them produce non-binding lists of core applied services trade policies, building on the comprehensive information contained in the WTO-World Bank Services Trade Policy Database (STPD), which already covers the majority of services sectors. The objective is for the relevant economies to take ownership of their non-binding list. This information can also be used by governments as a key tool in national policy dialogues with the World Bank, allowing the possibility to explore specific domestic regulatory reforms that could facilitate trade in services.

This initiative is seen as providing a key input for competitiveness diagnostics. The initiative would also improve transparency about the prevailing trade and investment conditions in services markets. This would improve the business climate and facilitate trade and investment.