RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/WPGR/M/10
1May1997
ORGANIZATION(97-1896)
Working Party onGATS Rules
REPORT OFTHE MEETING OF13MARCH 1997
Note bytheSecretariat
1. Thetenth meeting oftheWorking Party onGATS Rules waschaired byMs.JillCourtney
ofAustralia. Theagenda consisted offiveitems: negotiations onsafeguards under Article Xofthe
GATS; negotiations onGovernment procurement under Article XIIIoftheGATS; negotiations on
subsidies under Article XVoftheGATS; dateofthenextmeeting oftheWorking Party; andOther
business.
Negotiations onSafeguards under Article XofGATS
2. TheChairperson recalled thattheWorking Party hadagreed atitseighth meeting lastOctober
thatdelegations would trytoprovide answers onavoluntary basistoaseries ofwritten questions which
hadbeencirculated inaworking document S/WPGR/W/15. Shealsorecalled thatattheprevious
meeting several delegations hadindicated theirintention tosubmit written answers tothequestionnaire.
Sheindicated thatwritten answers hadbeen submitted only bythedelegation ofThailand
(S/WPGR/W/15/Add.1). Shestressed theneedformore written submissions andmore general views
onsafeguards fromMembers iftheWorking Party wastomeetthedeadline oftheendof1997. Several
delegations indicated thatanswers tothequestionnaire wereunder preparation incapitals andwould
besubmitted shortly.
3. Inpresenting theresponse tothequestionnaire, thedelegate ofThailand emphasized the
preliminary nature ofthesubmission. Notallthequestions wereanswered, andThailand would continue
toexplore theremaining aspects andwould submit comments induecourse. Healsoproposed an
informal meeting oftheWorking Party todiscuss theissueofsafeguards. Several delegations expressed
theirsupport forthisproposal.
4. Onedelegation noted thatofthethree areas being considered bytheWorking Party, the
negotiations onsafeguards under Article XofGATS weretheonlyonesthathadaprecise deadline.
Without disregarding thegovernment procurement andsubsidies negotiations, safeguards should be
given anappropriate degree ofpriority. Healsorecalled thatagroup ofdelegations hadsubmitted
on29July1996 whatcould bepoints ofdiscussions onthisissue.
5. Other delegations reiterated theview thatoneoftheobjectives ofanemergency safeguard
mechanism inGATS would betoaddress anunforeseen situation affecting aMember 'sschedule of
commitments. Suchamechanism would beavailable tothehostcountry asanemergency measure,
which bydefinition would beofatransitional nature. Another representative expressed reservations
about thedesirability ofhaving ageneral safeguards mechanism, given thepractical difficulties involved.
Heindicated thatsafeguards might beappropriate inthecontext ofscheduling, where onewould be
tailoring asafeguard measure totheparticular sector involved. Certain actions ofatemporary nature
could thusbetaken inanappropriate specific sectoral context. Following thisapproach, some criteria
would needtobedeveloped, including withrespect todifferent modes ofsupply. Perhaps thehardestS/WPGR/M/10
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obstacle toovercome wasthedetermination ofinjury, which should besubject toobjective criteria.
Henoted thattheabsence ofdatawasaproblem inservices andtherefore thenotion ofasafeguard
hadtobeformulated insomewhat different terms thanthose applied inthecontext ofGATT. The
representative stated thathewould circulate these ideas among theMembers.
6. Some delegations supported theviewthateventhough thequestionnaire hadbeentailored to
address thedesirability andfeasibility ofsafeguards inservices, further analytical work wasneeded
ontheconceptual problems identified inthepapers thathadbeensubmitted. Oneofthese delegations
suggested thattheWorking Party should discuss eachmode ofsupply atatime, starting withthemost
complex one,which inhisview wasthecommercial presence mode. Healsoproposed thatthe
Secretariatprepareapaper,identifyingpossiblesafeguardmeasuresapplicabletothecommercialpresence
mode, particularly inthepostestablishment phase. Such apaper should alsoidentify thepossible
impact onother modes ofsafeguard measures adopted inthecommercial presence mode. Finally,
consideration should begiven tothequestion oftheapplicability ofsafeguard measures tojointventures
andthepractical difficulties inherent intheirapplication.
7. Onerepresentative observed thatavitalstarting point forthediscussion wasthefirstquestion
ofthequestionnaire relating tothejustification andpurpose ofasafeguard measure. Another key
question was1(d),concerning theeconomic objectives ofasafeguard, andshewondered whether the
objectives listed inthequestion wereinfactbroad enough. Shesuggested thattheprotection ofthe
interests ofconsumers andusers under thegeneral principles ofcompetition lawandpolicy should
feature inanyanalysis ofthese issues intheservices context. Shesuggested apostponement inthe
preparation ofanypaper identifying safeguards forthedifferent modes ofsupply untiltheWorking
Party hadconducted amore in-depth informal discussion oftheanswers totheQuestionnaire and
identified common issues thatneeded tobecarried forward onanitembyitembasis.
8. Insumming upthediscussion, theChairperson observed thatthere wasgeneral agreement on
having informal consultations onthisagenda itemsoonandindicated thatshewould beconsulting on
asuitable dateforthatpurpose. Astotheissue ofhowtostructure thediscussion inaninformal
meeting, shenoted thatthere hadbeenproposals forananalytical input inrespect ofthejustification
andpurpose ofsafeguards inamode bymode analysis. Asaresponse tothose proposals, shesaid
thatsheintended tocirculate anon-paper under herownresponsibility which would dealwithsome
oftheissues referred to,andwhich would bedesigned tofocus thediscussion onissues thatneeded
tobeaddressed inorder tomake progress inthesubject. Delegations were agreeable tothe
Chairperson 'ssuggestion.
Negotiations onGovernment Procurement under Article XIIIoftheGATS
9. TheChairperson noted thatsince theprevious meeting Singapore (S/WPGR/W/11/Add.16)
andHungary (S/WPGR/W/11/Add.17) hadsubmitted answers totheProcurement Questionnaire. She
alsodrewtheattention oftheWorking Party tothenotecirculated bytheformer Chairman suggesting
howsome oftheprinciples requiring discussion intheGovernment Procurement fieldmight belinked
toparticular partsoftheprocurement questionnaire. Sheinvited delegations tocomment onthisnote
andalsotoexpress views onwhattodowithinformation thattheWorking Party hadfromthereplies
totheprocurement questionnaire.
10. Therepresentative ofNewZealand stated thatherdelegation hadexamined some ofthekey
principles pertaining togovernment procurement inservices together withthequestionnaire responses
received. Theexamination hadbeenconfined sofartothefirsttwoareas identified intheChairman 's
note. Herdelegation hadsought todraw outareas where common threads appeared toemerge from
thequestionnaire responses, tohighlight major questions requiring examination andtosuggest some
approaches tothefurther work oftheWorking Party inthisarea. Sheindicated herobservations andS/WPGR/M/10
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saidthatshewasconsidering tocirculate them among theMembers. Several delegations supported
theview thattheWorking Party should notgothrough aprocess ofexamining Members 'answers
onebyone,butinstead should attempt toidentify patterns intheinformation submitted. Onedelegation
observed thatinother regional groupings, specifically APEC andFTAA, questionnaires hadbeen
circulated andresponses hadbeengiven byalarge number ofparticipants. Hesuggested expanding
thescope oftheexercise through inclusion ofinformation gathered inthose questionnaires.
11. Onedelegation expressed theconcern thatthere maybeduplication ofwork intheareaof
transparency. Hetherefore suggested thattheWorking Party should inthefirstinstance focus on
thebasic disciplines ofnational treatment andMFN, andthattransparency could thenbetaken upat
alaterstage. Inhisview, Members could consider howtoincorporate national treatment andMFN
inthepresent context, since theapproach inGATS wasdifferent from theapproach followed inthe
plurilateral agreement ongovernment procurement. Another representative wasoftheviewthatthe
Working Party should cover allaspects ofprocurement. Inhisopinion, without adiscussion of
transparency, anyprovisions relating tonational treatment andMFN would havelimited meaning.
TheWorking Party hadtoexamine allrelevant principles, andinthelightofprogress, determine how
besttoavoid overlap. Another delegation suggested thatthere should becoordination withtheGPA
Committee andtransparency body. Where possible, back-to-back meetings should beorganized with
theother twobodies dealing withprocurement.
12. Inregard totheChairman 'snotedated 21February 1997, therepresentative ofHong Kong
suggested thatforthesakeofcompleteness, threemore elements ofmultilateral disciplines beincluded
inthediscussion: first, exceptions which would gounder item2ofthebasic principles; second,
challenge procedures which could gounder item4onenforcement mechanisms; andthird, reporting
requirements, which could beanewitemorgounder item3.a.ondisciplines onprocurement
procedures. Similarly, therepresentative ofIndia requested theinclusion ofquestion 2onthe
administrative structure under item3.a.ondisciplines onprocurement procedures sothatthequestion
would becovered bythesubstantive discussion.
13. Insummarizing thediscussion, thechairperson noted thattheWorking Party hadexpressed
some concern about duplication ofwork inthisarea. Nevertheless, shestressed thatthese concerns
should notprevent theWorking Party fromcontinuing toworkonitsmandate. Inresponse toaproposal
forcoordination ofmeetings, shestated thatconsultations withtheother bodies would beconducted
tothateffect. Inlightofthepreceding discussion, theChairperson suggested thattheSecretariat be
requested tocompile theinformation gathered byATEC andFTAA intheareaofgovernment
procurement. TheWorking Party wasagreeable tothissuggestion. Also, theChairperson noted that
certain delegations hadindicated theirinterest inincluding some issues notcovered bytheChairman 's
noteonlinkages between various principles relevant toprocurement andthequestionnaire. Sheassured
delegationsthatthediscussionwouldcoverthesepoints.Shealsoindicatedherintentiontoholdinformal
consultations ontheissue ofprocurement atanappropriate time.
Negotiations onSubsidies under Article XVofGATS
14. TheChairperson recalled thatatitsprevious meeting theWorking Party hadestablished 15
May1997asthedeadline forsubmissions ofresponses tothesubsidy questionnaire (S/WPGR/W/16).
Sheobserved thatoncetheinformation hadbeenreceived, theWorking Party would beinabetter
positiontoproceedwithsubstantivediscussions.Sheemphasizedtheimportanceofmeetingthedeadline
andurged delegations tomake every possible effort tothateffect.S/WPGR/M/10
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Dateofthenextmeeting oftheWorking Party
15. TheChairperson stated thatshewould consult further onthedateofthenextmeeting.
Other business
16. Nomatters were raised under other business.