What is the name of the first comprehensive multilateral framework for trade in services?

The first comprehensive multilateral framework for trade in services is the General Agreement on Trade in Services, or GATS.

GATS was created during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations and entered into force in January 1995 with the establishment of the World Trade Organization. Before it, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade primarily addressed trade in merchandise rather than services.

The agreement supplies common principles and obligations for international services trade, including transparency and most-favoured-nation treatment. It also recognizes four ways a service can be supplied: across a border, consumed abroad, through a commercial presence, or through the temporary presence of a person.

The common mix-up is GATT, whose focus is goods and tariffs. TRIMs addresses certain investment measures affecting trade in goods, while TRIPS concerns intellectual-property protection. GATS is broader than a single sectoral pact because it provides the multilateral framework covering services such as finance, telecommunications, transport, tourism, education, and professional services.