The commitments undertaken by Argentina in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) appear generous when compared with those of other Latin American countries. Based on this finding this case study tries to identify the main factors that shaped Argentina's services offer under GATS. Although the complexity, extension and coverage of GATS lists makes it very unlikely that one single factor can account for the content of a national offer, our research suggests that the government's desire to ‘lock in’ domestic policy reforms at a time of profound economic change was a major factor shaping the offer's content. We found the case study interesting because it underlines the domestic roots of international trade policy-making and illustrates the way in which the international trade regime can be used instrumentally by national authorities willing to consolidate their policy preferences.

The case study is based on a comparative examination of Argentina's GATS schedules and open interviews with many of those who participated in the policy-making process. The report is organized into four sections. Section 1 briefly summarizes the factors that can shape trade policy formation. Section 2 makes a comparative assessment of the coverage and depth of the Argentine list of offers. Section 3 reports our main qualitative findings about the major factors that shaped its content. Section 4 draws some conclusions from the case study.