The seminar on Trade and Migration, held in Geneva in October 2004, was co-sponsored by IOM, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. This event was a follow up to the November 2003 Trade and Migration seminar organized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, IOM and the World Bank. The 2004 seminar brought together trade and migration officials from 89 countries and numerous international organizations in addition to representatives of business and civil society. The primary objective of the event was to continue the dialogue between trade and migration stakeholders and further explore the intersection of the trade and migration worlds though consideration of the actual, practical experiences of governments in managing the temporary movement of persons. The focus of the seminar was the examination of existing unilateral, bilateral and regional schemes for managing the movement and temporary stay of foreign workers to determine what can be learned from these schemes that is of relevance to GATS Mode 4.

This publication covers a broad range of issues within the trade and migration nexus which were discussed during the seminar, including policy, legislative and implementation challenges in managing the movement and temporary stay of labour migrants, perspectives of employer and union representatives on the issues of concern for these important constituent groups, as well as the implications for Mode 4 of what has been learned over the course of the seminar.