A comparative perspective on ‘temporary movement’ and ‘skill’ in trade services: Learning from European mishaps and mistakes

This chapter analyses the way in which regulation of temporary movement of natural persons has evolved in relation to trade in services, the injustices perpetrated by that regulation, and the potential for change in the African context. The chapter begins by tracing the invention by the European Union (EU) of ‘posting of workers’ by service providers and examines its translation into a global context in the World Trade Organisation and free trade agreements (FTAs). The next part outlines two failings of the current regulatory framework: the first is the requirement that movement is so temporary that these migrants do not even enter the labour market of the host state; and the second is associated with the demand under GATS schedules and FTAs that such workers be highly skilled. The failings of such policy prescriptions, as exposed in the EU and UK, could be addressed through ‘social regionalism’, namely modification of EU, UK and even global norms on a regional free trade basis. In this respect, the final part of the chapter explores the potential for the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Protocol on Trade and Services to be supplemented by pan-African or more localised free movement regimes, which would enable avoidance of European mishaps and mistakes.