A Service to the Economy: The Importance of Free Trade in Services February 10, 2009

Hosted by: The Cato Institute

Featuring Bob Vastine, President of the U.S. Coalition of Services Industries; Christine Bliss, former Assistant USTR for Services and Investment; and Aaditya Mattoo, World Bank. Moderated by Sallie James, Policy Analyst, Cato Institute.

Although a large and growing segment of world trade, services are frequently relegated to second-tier status in trade negotiations behind high profile sectors such as agriculture and manufactured goods. That is a pity, because studies from several international economic institutions-and a new Cato paper-show that liberalizing services will bring huge benefits to consumers and taxpayers from lower prices and increased choice, and will deliver indirect benefits to the many industries that use services as an input to their own production. What opportunities exist for capturing the benefits of freer services markets with the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations in a deep funk?

Aaditya Mattoo of the World Bank to discuss these important issues.

Official Website: http://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=5722