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UK notification under the least-developed countries (LDC) services waiver: explanatory note

Updated 18 February 2026

Introduction

The UK’s notification under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) least-developed countries (LDCs) services waiver (the waiver) sets out the commitments made by the UK to LDCs.

In several service sectors, this goes beyond the UK’s existing commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). Read the full legal text for the notification, including sectors covered, on the WTO website.

This guidance helps explain the notification and provides an overview of the sectors for which the notification offers commitments beyond those in the UK’s GATS schedule. 

Understanding the notification

Schedule: trade in services

The ‘schedule: trade in services’ section explains the UK’s position regarding its notification under the LDC services waiver. It begins with an overview, which outlines:

• the key rights that the UK maintains with regards to its notification under the waiver
• which service sectors fall outside the scope of the notification

Then, there is a ‘lists of commitments’ section. This explains that the UK’s notification is set out in 4 annexes, each dealing with a specific set of commitments or reservations.

Annex A: commercial presence

These are commitments relating to commercial presence. Commercial presence refers to mode 3 services supply – through any type of business or professional establishment which is set up for the purpose of supplying a service.

An example of this would be where a foreign-owned and controlled company, such as a bank, establishes itself (or a branch) within the UK.

Annex B: cross border services supply

These are commitments relating to the cross border supply of services. This annex covers services supply via modes 1 and 2 only.

Mode 1 refers to the cross border supply of services. For example, if a lawyer in Country A provides legal advice remotely to a client in the UK.

Mode 2 refers to consumption abroad. For example, if a client from the UK travels to Country A to receive legal advice from a lawyer in Country A.

Annexes C and D: presence of natural persons

These annexes cover mode 4 services supply. This refers to the supply of a service through the presence of natural persons in the territory of another country. For example, where a services supplier travels from one country to another to deliver a service.

The annexes set out the sectors and sub-sectors in which the UK extends mode 4 market access and lists any relevant limitations on the commitments made. For example, economic needs tests are required in some sectors, such as computer services.

Annex C covers commitments and limitations concerning the following mode 4 categories:

• business visitors for establishment purposes: these are senior employees responsible for setting up an establishment of their employer within the UK (see headnotes 3.2 and 3.3 of the notification for detailed criteria for this category)
• intra-corporate transferees: these are managers, specialists or graduate trainees who are temporarily transferred to the UK to assist with the provision of services through their employer’s commercial presence in the UK (see headnotes 3.4 and 3.5 for detailed criteria for this category)
• service sellers: these are representatives of a services supplier seeking entry and temporary stay in the UK to negotiate or enter into agreements for the sale of services (see headnotes 3.6 and 3.7 for detailed criteria for this category)

Annex D covers commitments and limitations concerning the supply of services that require the temporary presence of natural persons within the UK for the purpose of fulfilling a contract to provide services.

The natural persons are either:

• contractual services suppliers who are employed by entities of another country
• independent professionals who are self-employed in the territory of another country

See headnotes 3.8 and 3.9 of the notification for detailed criteria for these categories.

What the notification offers

The UK’s notification offers better commitments to LDCs, as compared with its GATS commitments, in the sectors and sub-sectors listed.

These are non-exhaustive lists. Refer to the legal text of the notification for specific exclusions or conditions affecting individual sectors and sub-sectors.

Commercial presence (as covered in annex A)

For the purposes of commercial presence, the UK’s notification offers LDCs better commitments compared with its GATS commitments in the following sectors and sub-sectors:

• legal services
• veterinary services
• research and development (R&D) in natural sciences and interdisciplinary R&D
• retail sales of medical and orthopaedical goods and other services supplied by pharmacists
• rental or leasing services (without operators) relating to personal and household goods, not including leasing or rental services concerning video tape
• telecommunications equipment rental
• services incidental to mining
• advisory and consulting services incidental to manufacturing
• consultancy services incidental to energy distribution
• maintenance and repair of vessels
• maintenance and repair of motorcycles and snowmobiles
• maintenance and repair services of communications equipment, and of radio, television and communication equipment and apparatus
• maintenance and repairs services of industrial machinery, equipment and apparatus (non-office and non-transport)
• model agency services
• investigating services
• photographic services
• other specialty design services
• collection agency services
• credit reporting services
• duplicating services
• postal services
• courier services
• satellite broadcast transmission services
• wholesale trade services of telecommunication terminal equipment
• telecommunications connection services
• telecommunications consulting services
• telephone answer services
• retailing services of telecommunication terminal equipment
• wholesale trade services of motor vehicles
• banking and other financial services (excluding insurance)
• catering for transport services
• noise abatement services
• maritime international passenger transportation
• maritime international freight transportation
• internal waterways passenger transport
• internal waterways freight transport
• rail passenger transport
• rail freight transport
• pipeline transport for non-fuels
• storage and warehousing in ports
• customs clearance services (maritime)
• container station and depot services (maritime)
• maritime agency services
• supporting services for maritime transport
• pushing and towing services for maritime transport and rail transport
• cargo-handling services for maritime, internal waterways, rail transport and road transport
• supporting services for rail transport services
• supporting services for road transport
• ground-handling services for air transport
• rental of aircraft with crew
• airport management services
• washing, cleaning and dyeing services
• hairdressing services
• cosmetic treatment, manicuring and pedicuring services
• other beauty treatment services
• spa services and non-therapeutical massages, to the extent that they are provided as relaxation physical wellbeing services, and not for medical or rehabilitation purposes

This means that business or professional establishments from LDCs can supply a service in the UK through a commercial presence, such as, establishing a branch or subsidiary.

The UK has made commitments under the waiver that give them better treatment in the sectors and sub‑sectors listed.

This treatment goes beyond what the UK has committed to in GATS.

Cross border services supply (as covered in annex B)

For the purposes of cross border supply of services (modes 1 and 2 only), the UK’s notification offers LDCs better commitments compared with its GATS commitments in the following sectors and sub-sectors:

• legal services
• veterinary services
• research and development (R&D) in natural sciences and interdisciplinary R&D
• services incidental to mining
• advisory and consulting services incidental to manufacturing
• consultancy services incidental to energy distribution
• maintenance and repair of motorcycles and snowmobiles
• maintenance and repair services of communications equipment, and of radio, television and communication equipment and apparatus
• other specialty design services
• photographic services
• packaging services
• postal services
• courier services
• satellite broadcast transmission services
• telecommunications equipment rental
• wholesale trade services of telecommunication terminal equipment
• retailing services of telecommunication terminal equipment
• telecommunications connection services
• telecommunications consulting services
• telephone answer services
• construction and related engineering services (except for site investigation work and excavating and earthmoving work)
• waste water services
• refuse disposal services
• sanitation and similar services
• protection of ambient air and climate
• nature and landscape protection services
• other environmental and ancillary services
• wholesale trade services of motor vehicles
• maritime international passenger transportation
• maritime international freight transport
• maritime agency services
• supporting services for maritime transport
• internal waterways passenger transport
• internal waterways freight transport
• supporting services for internal waterways transport
• rental of aircraft with crew
• supporting services for rail transport
• supporting services for road transport
• cargo handling services (except for maritime transport)
• storage and warehousing services (except for maritime transport)

This means that LDCs receive commitments from the UK that give them better treatment under the waiver than under GATS, in the sectors and sub-sectors listed. This applies:

• to services supplied from an LDC into the UK
• when an LDC supplies a service in its own territory to a consumer from the UK

Presence of natural persons (as covered in annexes C and D)

For the purposes of supply of services through the presence of natural persons, the UK’s notification offers LDCs better commitments compared with its GATS commitments in 4 areas:

• business visitors for establishment purposes
• intra-corporate transferees
• contractual services suppliers
• independent professionals

Business visitors for establishment purposes

For the purposes of business visitors for establishment purposes, the UK’s notification offers LDCs better commitments compared with its GATS commitments in the following sectors and sub-sectors:

• rental or leasing services related to household or personal goods
• rental or leasing services related to telecommunications equipment
• maintenance and repair of motor vehicles, motorcycles, snowmobiles and road transport equipment
• maintenance and repair services of metal products, of non-office machinery, of non-transport and non-office equipment and of personal and household goods
• duplicating services
• international passenger transportation (maritime)
• international freight transportation (maritime)
• services auxiliary to maritime transport
• pushing and towing services (internal waterways transport)
• supporting services for internal waterways transport
• washing, cleaning and dyeing services
• hairdressing services
• cosmetic treatment, manicuring and pedicuring services
• other beauty treatment services
• spa services and non-therapeutical massages

Intra-corporate transferees

Commitments in the UK’s GATS schedule do not include commitments in respect of intra-corporate transferees working for a non-profit organisation. This does not apply to the UK’s notification under the LDC services waiver.

This means that the sectoral coverage for the intra-corporate transferees category is widened under the UK’s notification, as compared with the UK’s GATS schedule, to allow for non-profit organisations.

The LDC services waiver also extends the intra-corporate transferee category to include graduate trainees (subject to certain restrictions set out in the notification). This coverage is not available in the UK’s GATS schedule.

Contractual services suppliers

The UK’s notification allows for contractual services suppliers to be temporarily present in the UK for the purposes of fulfilling a contract to provide services for no more than 6 months in any 12 month period.

This compares with the allowance of no more than 3 months in any 12 month period provided for contractual services suppliers in the GATS schedule.

The UK’s notification under the waiver also expands commitments relating to contractual services suppliers in the sectors listed that were not included in the GATS schedule.

This offers LDCs better commitments as access to sectors covered under this entry route are only available to certain countries the UK has concluded an FTA with.

The following categories of services suppliers are covered by this extension under the LDC services waiver:

• bookkeeping
• computer and related services
• research and development services
• market research and opinion polling
• scientific and technical consulting services
• maintenance and repair of equipment, including transportation equipment, notably in the context of an after-sales or after-lease
• interpretation services
• environmental services

Independent professionals

The UK’s notification under the LDC services waiver provides commitments in respect of independent professionals. This category is not covered by the UK’s GATS schedule.

This offers LDCs better commitments as access to sectors under this category are only available to certain countries the UK has concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) with.

The following categories of services suppliers are covered by this extension under the LDC services waiver:

• legal services (for foreign and international law)
• accounting and bookkeeping services
• taxation advisory services
• architectural services, urban planning and landscape architectural services
• engineering and integrated engineering services
• computer and related services
• research and development services
• advertising services
• market research and opinion polling services
• management consulting services
• services related to management consulting services
• technical testing and analysis services
• scientific and technical consulting services
• maintenance and repair of equipment, including transportation equipment, notably in the context of an after-sales or after-lease
• translation and interpretation services
• site investigation work
• environmental services