Maritime services refers to the transport of passengers and goods on oceans as well as related services such as the operation of ports, handling of cargo and documentation of transport. In the negotiations under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) at the World Trade Organization (WTO), several countries are pushing to open maritime services to foreign ownership and operation. Fourteen
WTO members, including Japan, the European Commission, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, have submitted a plurilateral request (negotiated among many but not all WTO members) asking 24 developing countries and the U.S. to liberalize their maritime services.