We must dump GATS before it dumps us!
Recommendations
Trade agreements (which are treaties, that typically operate in perpetuity) are stealing our rights to regulate more and more of everything that has any economic value to corporations. Silently, each deregulation locks in behind our backs, giving corporations certainty in perpetuity that nullifies our rights to regulate, ratcheting in, in many cases. Voting for change is rendered so costly for governments by treaties written by powerful lobbies of corporate entities. Its made so difficult and costly to escape trade agreements by design. They even survive revolutions and dissolution of nations, when they are transformed into other nations, and are still binding on a land's future inhabitants. The only ways out are made intentionally so costly they might be rendered in all practical terms impossible. Creating fake consent to a global grab against the world's people is clearly a goal of the neoliberal programme. The only way we have to get out of these deals is by leaving them via the official method. In the case of GATS, that's its Article XXI.
The hiding of futureproofing agreements like GATS has created a simulacrum of non-fact.
Right now practically NOTHING IN THE US is sustainable as a public service under the official WTO definition of same unless it predates GATS and the WTO's creation in 1994! That means almost everything, with few exceptions, created or possibly even modified in most ways, after Jan 1, 1995 has to eventually become FOR PROFIT and SELF SUPPORTING, and subject to globalization by privatization by stealth of its jobs. Public services predating the GATS are also in very grave danger, especially financial services like retiirement plans, health insurance and veterans services, especially if those services are sold commercially..
Both agreements are horrible and are killing a lot of people.
Americans need to get broad carve outs in existing FTAs as well as future ones written into laws so legislators and executives cannot use trade agreements to do an end run around the voters wishes. Or they will. Making elections meaningless. This "carve-outs" category broadly defines alterations to trade agreements to modify their terms, so that countries can gain needed policy space back from trade agreements that attempt to hijack it forever. Note many FTAS also have an explicit procedure for modifying existing commitments. Like GATS Article XXI that must also be followed.
The future of the US middle class is endangered by the 1995 GATS trade agreement. Our participation in this agreement and others that are related to it could throw the US in to a much greater pandemonium than COVID-19. This could happen any day. They are poised to offshore a great many jobs because its so much more profitable. Many of those jobs are thought to be stable but they cant be as long as the governments of the world are working behind peoples backs to trade away decent jobs. (For what, kickbacks?). People are currently entering these professions precisely because they pay well.
(Other big companies that provide "free email" or "social networks" are Non-private and inherently problematic). Journalists in particular should provide better addresses (NOT Gmail or Twitter, or companies that use gmail as their provider) than ones that data mine email and delete messages arbitrarily. If you dont have one, supply a phone number that does not use voicemail and say so. Otherwise well connected MITM attacks can be mounted which result in people never getting left messages.
The Annex applies to all financial services, such as banking, health insurance, etc. It provides an alternative definition of public services for use under some conditions.
Getting out of the GATS (and we must avoid any new treaties, such as India-US and UK-US that capture policy space on issues like healthcare insurance permanently, and outsource and offshore more jobs.)