./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/CSS/W/25
18 December 2000
(00-5553)
Council for Trade in Services
Special SessionOriginal:  English
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES
Environmental Services
The attached communication has been received from the delegation of the United States with
the request that it be circulated to Members of the Council for Trade in Services.
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. For consideration of all Members, the United States presents this proposal on environmental
services.  It is intended to stimulate discussion of this important sector in the world economy.
II. IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
2. Increasingly, WTO Members are recognizing and addressing the importance of pollution
clean-up and environmental protection.  As a result, there has been a general movement by
governments toward preventing, reducing, or correcting environmental degradation.  Simultaneously,
various industries are recognizing the benefits of pollution prevention and clean technologies for
efficiency purposes, liability avoidance, and in the interest of being good corporate citizens.  All of
these factors have contributed to an increased demand for environmental services.
3. This sector is also important due to the global nature of many  environmental issues.  Given
the trans-boundary effects of those elements which contribute to environmental degradation, there
should be genuine interest in ensuring that reliable and competent environmental services are as
widely available as possible.  Environmental problems addressed at an early stage can often be
prevented entirely, or  in most cases are  more easily and effectively  remedied from both environmental
and cost standpoints.  Degradation of the global environment illustrates the importance of this sectorin the context of ongoing services discussions and provides the opportunity for negotiating
liberalization with a strong potential for win-win scenarios, assuming appropriate domestic
environmental regulations and policies (or infrastructure) are in place.
III. PURPOSE
4. The removal of barriers in the environmental services sector can assist in increasing the
availability of these services, while lowering their cost.  The increased competition that will result
from improved market access for foreign firms can lead to innovation and the provision of improved
environmental services.  Less expensive and better quality services will serve to make health, safety,
and environmental protection more efficient.  This added efficiency is likely to be most beneficial in
developing countries where financial concerns are often a key factor in the decision making process.This reduction in the costs of environmental services may make addressing environmental concernsS/CSS/W/25
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more appealing for decision makers in developing countries.  The purpose of this proposal is to help
create conditions favorable to economic growth and environmental protection by removing and
reducing obstacles to the provision of services needed for efficient protection of health, safety, and the
environment.
IV. SECTOR COVERAGE
5. The current WTO Services Sectoral Classification List considers “environmental services” to
include:
• Sewage services
• Refuse disposal services
• Sanitation and similar services
• Other (e.g., cleaning services of exhaust gases, nature and landscape protection, etc.)
6. The current WTO classification for environmental services fails to account for how
businesses operate in this sector.  Secondly, it does not reflect advances in our understanding ofcost-effective regulations.  For example, the classification is focused on “end-of-pipe” clean up
services, as opposed to today’s focus on engineering and designing for pollution prevention.  If we
hope to enhance commitments made during the Uruguay Round, it will be important not only to gain
additional liberalization in those sectors listed above, but also to investigate enhancing access in
related sectors.  Some useful submissions have been made by Members in the Committee on Specific
Commitments (CSC).  We are especially supportive of those that incorporate a core list of
environmental services comprised primarily of the currently classified environmental services sectors,along with related services that have not historically been classified as being environmentally-related
(e.g., construction, engineering, and consulting), but that are nevertheless significant to the provision
of environmental services.  In this regard, we believe it is important to construct a framework that
would highlight the importance and need of liberalizin g in both core services along with those that are
related.
V. PROPOSAL
7. A primary goal for the environmental services negotiations should be for WTO Members to
examine liberalization opportunities in regard to market access and national treatment barriers as
those terms are understood in the GATS.  This liberalization should be sought for those sectors that
are listed as environmental in the current WTO classification.  Additional sectors that are related tothe core environmental services sectors should also be subject to these discussions.  The specific focus
of such liberalization would be most beneficial in the context of GATS modes 3 (commercial
presence) and 4 (movement of personnel).  In addition, it would be beneficial to trade in
environmental services if there were  a focus on barriers in the professional services, as well as
business services (e.g., advertising) that are not classified in the CSC work as related sectors.  Finally,the guidance described in the U.S. submission on transparency would benefit this sector as well.   It is
understood that liberalization in these sectors must not impair the ability of governments to impose
performance and quality controls on environmental services and to otherwise ensure that service
providers are fully qualified and carry out their tasks in an environmentally sound manner.
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