One of the strongest political responses to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) has come from local governments and municipalities across the world. The fact that under the GATS, international legal agreements override local government policies triggered these responses. In India, as in many other countries few bureaucrats and trade negotiators who did not take into cognizance the views of their local governments negotiated the agreements under GATS. Many of the clauses in the GATS are exploitative of local resources of member nations. Agreements are made on many issues that come under the purview of local governments and municipalities. Local governments and municipalities worried about interests of their residents and fear of loosing their autonomy have responded by rejection of the GATS and in the declaration of ìGATS Free Zonesî. The ìGATS Free Zoneî movement today covers four hundred cities and villages in three continents. This paper covers this issue and provides us the cases of where and why GATS Free Zones have been declared. Publisher: Equitable Tourism Options (EQUATIONS) Contact: [email protected], +91.80.25457607 Visit: www.equitabletourism.org,http://www.equitabletourism.org/stage/readfull.php?AID=385