The gulf between African countries and the United States in the WTO negotiations is quite substantial in the area of services trade. The US is keen to see a stable and legally predictable regulatory framework for investments and cross-border supply develop in Africa, which would allow US businesses the comfort level required to infuse capital and do business in the region. While African countries recognize the value of policy and regulatory reform in services trade, in many instances their regulations and regulatory institutions are at a nascent stage. On the other hand, African countries in the WTO are also very keen to reap the huge potential benefits which could arise from facilitated access to the US labour market for African services suppliers.

Often, the conditions which would allow African and US trade negotiators to give a more positive consideration to each other's needs are not easily understood by their counterparts. The negotiating dynamics in Geneva, where African negotiators often have to devote their time and resources to other international organizations and other negotiating issues at the WTO, coupled with the understandable attention needed to be given by US negotiators to other equally important major trading partners during the cluster of services negotiations and meetings at the WTO, also do not contribute to an environment conducive to fostering such better understanding. Furthermore, the primary area of interest for African countries in the services trade negotiation, the so-called mode 4 or facilitated access for temporary workers for the purposes of supplying services, appears to have been firmly recouped from the US trade negotiators' scope of authority by the US Congress, such that African trade negotiators are often left confused as to how to move forward constructively on this trade interest.

As a contribution to bridging the gap in information and understanding between African countries and the US, the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and the German Marshall Fund (GMF) are organizing a visit to Washington DC by a select group of trade negotiators from African Members of the WTO. This will afford these African representatives the opportunity to meet and dialogue with US policymakers, legislators, businesses and negotiators in a focused, open manner, devoid of the distractions of WTO negotiations. Through this initiative, the critical role of services trade in contributing to a dynamic and stable trading relationship between Africa and the US will be emphasized. The dialogue shall highlight that, among others, (i) capacity building and US technical assistance could create an enabling environment to facilitate a mutually beneficial outcome from the Doha Round; (ii) African services suppliers' interest in doing business in the US, particularly in specific sectors such as health care and hospitality; and (iii) a balanced approach could create a win-win situation that contributes to continued economic growth in the US and the sustainable development objectives of Africa.