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GATS and water services

the implications for low-income households in the South

Diana Mitlin is at International Institute for Environment and Development and the Institute for Development and Policy Management (University of Manchester) International Institute for Environment and Development, 3 Endsleigh Street, London WC1H 0DD, UK

This paper considers the implications of the General Agreement on Trade in Services for the delivery of water to low-income residential customers in the South. The specific feature of the GATS is the liberalization of water supplies. The paper argues that the GATS may, depending on national government commitments, limit the ways in which the water market can be developed and structured by the state. With a focus on the implications for access for the poorest, the discussion explores three possible ways in which the GATS may constrain the capacity of local agencies (state and civil society) to extend the supply of clean water to those most in need.

Key Words: water • GATS • community-management • water subsidies • trade liberalization • water equity.

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