WORLD TRADE S/C/5
28November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5310)
Council forTrade inServices
COUNCIL FOR TRADE INSERVICES
Report totheGeneral Council onActivities During 1997
1. TheCouncil forTrade inServices hasheldfivemeetings during 1997. Reports onthemeetings
arecontainedindocumentsS/C/M/17-21andshouldbereadinconjunctionwiththisreport.TheCouncil
addressed thefollowing matters:
I. THE IMPLEMENTATION OFTHE WORK PROGRAMME APPROVED ATTHE
SINGAPORE MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
2. AttheMinisterial conference inSingapore, Ministers endorsed therecommendations ofthe
Council forTrade inServices concerning itsfuture work. Therecommendations contained threeitems:
(i)exchange ofinformation programme; (ii)Article VI:4work programme; and(iii)guidelines for
thefuture negotiations mandated byArticle XIXoftheGATS.
(i) Exchange ofInformation Programme
3. Ministers agreed thattheCouncil forTrade inServices should develop aninformation exchange
programme, aspartoftherequisite work tofacilitate thenegotiation ofprogressive liberalization of
trade inservices asmandated inArticle XIXoftheGATS. Indiscussing thisitemitwasnoted that
theexchange ofinformation might takeplace atthreelevels. Thefirstlevelwould involve anexchange
ofthesources ofinformation onservices regulations available atthenational level, which might include
thedesignation ofagencies, regulatory authorities orother sources capable ofproviding thistypeof
information. Atthesecond level, Members might wishtoexchange information bilaterally, possibly
intheform ofquestions andanswers which could thenbecirculated bytheSecretariat ifsoagreed.
Thethirdlevelwould involve amore comprehensive exchange ofinformation atthemultilateral level
which could bebased onastandardized format.
4. TheCouncil agreed tomake useofinformation already gathered bytheSecretariat aswell
asinformation available inother international organizations, inorder toavoid duplication ofefforts.
Regarding thecoverage oftheexchange ofinformation programme, some delegations suggested that
itshould becomprehensive withnoexclusion ofservices sectors. Other delegations, while theyagreed
thatinprinciple nosector should beexcluded, noted thatitmight bedesirable toconcentrate onthose
sectors which were more likely candidates forliberalization inthenextround ofnegotiations.
5. Atitsmeeting of25July1997 theCouncil requested theSecretariat toprepare twopapers
on"Economic Effects ofServices Liberalization" andon"AReview ofStatistics onTrade Flows in
Services", which would constitute thebasis forfurther work ontheexchange ofinformation.S/C/5
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(ii) Article VI:4Work Programme
6. TheCouncil iscalled upon toexamine, asappropriate, under paragraph 4ofArticle VIof
theGATS, measures relating toqualification requirements andprocedures, technical standards, and
licensing requirements. Discussions intheCouncil revealed aclear preference onthepartofmost
delegations tostartwork onthisitemaftertheconclusion ofthedevelopment ofmultilateral disciplines
intheaccountancy sector intheWorking Party inProfessional Services. Several delegations took
theview thattheresults ofthatwork would provide valuable guidance forfuture work under
Article VI:4.
(iii) Guidelines andProcedures forFuture Negotiations
7. TheCouncil iscalled upon tobegin, atanappropriate time, theconsideration ofguidelines
andprocedures forfuture negotiations mandated under Article XIXoftheGATS. Most delegations
agreed that,although itwould benecessary toundertake work inthisarea, itwasstillpremature to
startsuchwork atthisstage. Itwasnoted thatthere wasarelationship between theexchange of
information programme andtheguidelines andprocedures fornegotiations. Several delegations took
theviewthatwork ontheguidelines should follow theexchange ofinformation exercise which would
provide thenecessary background.
II. CONCLUSION OFTHE NEGOTIATIONS ONBASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS
8. Atitsmeeting of5March 1997 theCouncil tooknoteoftheReport oftheGroup onBasic
Telecommunications, contained indocument S/GBT/4 andofitsattachments: aNotebytheChairman
concerning thescheduling ofbasic telecommunications services commitments, another Note bythe
Chairman concerning market access limitations onspectrum availability andaListoftheSchedules
ofCommitments andLists ofMFN Exemptions which would beannexed totheFourth Protocol to
theGATS. Atitsmeeting of15April, following anexercise oftechnical verification, theCouncil
tooknoteoftheSchedules contained intheCompilation dated 11April 1997, theSchedules ofthe
European Communities (inthethreelanguages), theSchedule ofColombia, theSchedule ofDominica
andtheSchedule andMFN Exemption ListofAntigua andBarbuda, asthefinal results ofthe
negotiations onbasic telecommunications.
III. NOTIFICATIONS MADE TOTHE COUNCIL PURSUANT TOGATS PROVISIONS
9. Atitsmeeting of5March 1997, theCouncil tooknoteofthefollowing Notifications:
(i) Notifications pursuant toArticle III:3oftheGATS concerning modifications toservices
regulations insectors where specific commitments hadbeenundertaken:
Czech Republic S/C/N/39
Liechtenstein S/C/N/40
Liechtenstein S/C/N/41
Liechtenstein S/C/N/42
Federal Republic ofGermany S/C/N/48
Federal Republic ofGermany S/C/N/49
Federal Republic ofGermany S/C/N/50S/C/5
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(ii) Notifications pursuant toArticle V(bis)oftheGATS concerning labour market
integration agreements:
Denmark S/C/N/34
Iceland S/C/N/35
Norway S/C/N/36
Sweden S/C/N/37
Finland S/C/N/38
(iii) Notifications pursuant toArticle VII:4 oftheGATS concerning recognition measures
andagreements orarrangements:
Switzerland S/C/N/31
Switzerland S/C/N/32
Switzerland S/C/N/33
United States ofAmerica S/C/N/51
United States ofAmerica S/C/N/52
United States ofAmerica S/C/N/53
10. Atitsmeeting of26November 1997, theCouncil tooknoteofthefollowing Notifications
pursuant toArticle V(7)concerning Economic Integration Agreements:
European Communities andtheir
Member States andBulgaria S/C/N/55
Canada andChile S/C/N/65
Australia andNewZealand S/C/N/66
IV. DEADLINE FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS ONFINANCIAL SERVICES
11. Atitsmeeting of29April 1997theCommittee onTrade inFinancial Services recommended
thattheCouncil adopt aDecision toconclude thefinancial services negotiations on12December 1997
instead of30December 1997. Atitsmeeting of29MaytheCouncil adopted theDecision, which
iscontained indocument S/L/39.
V. GUIDELINES FOR MUTUAL RECOGNITION AGREEMENTS INACCOUNTANCY
12. Atitsmeeting of15May1997, theWorking Party onProfessional Services recommended
thattheCouncil approve Guidelines fortheRecognition ofQualifications intheaccountancy sector
ascontained indocument S/WPPS/W/12/Rev.1. Atitsmeeting of29MaytheCouncil approved the
Guidelines asrecommended bytheWorking Party inaDecision contained indocument S/L/38.
VI. EXTENSION OFTHE DEADLINE FOR THE NEGOTIATIONS ONEMERGENCY
SAFEGUARD MEASURES
13. Upon recommendation fromtheChairperson oftheWorking Party onGATS Rules, theCouncil
adopted on26November 1997 aDecision toextend thenegotiations onthequestion ofemergency
safeguard measures until30June1999. TheDecision iscontained indocument S/L/43.S/C/5
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VII. WORK OFSUBSIDIARY BODIES
14. TheCouncil tooknoteoftheReports ofthesubsidiary bodies. They areannexed tothisreport
asfollows:
Annex I Report oftheCommittee onFinancial Services (S/FIN/3)
Annex II Report oftheCommittee onSpecific Commitments (S/CSC/2)
Annex III Report oftheWorking Party onGATS Rules (S/WPGR/2)
Annex IV Report oftheWorking Party onProfessional Services (S/WPPS/2)S/C/5
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ANNEX I
WORLD TRADE S/FIN/3
17November 1997
ORGANIZATION
(97-5083)
Committee onTrade inFinancial Services
REPORT OFTHE COMMITTEE ONTRADE INFINANCIAL SERVICES
TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INSERVICES
I. Activities oftheCommittee in1997
1. TheCommittee onTrade inFinancial Services heldseven formal meetings intheperiod from
April toNovember 1997, including onemeeting atsenior levelon12November, based onanindicative
timetable agreed atitsmeeting on10April 1997. More meetings areexpected totakeplace towards
thedeadline forthenegotiations which is12December 1997. Theactivities oftheCommittee in1997
focused ontheresumed financial services negotiations withtheaimofachieving asuccessful conclusion.
TherewerealsoreportsfromMembersofrecentdevelopmentsinfinancialservicestrade,anddiscussions
ontechnical issues regarding thescheduling ofcommitments infinancial services.
2. Indiscussion oftheprogress ofthenegotiations onfinancial services, Members confirmed
theircommitment toachieve asuccessful conclusion ofthenegotiations intheagreed timeframe, in
pursuit oftheobjectives andprinciples laiddown intheMinisterial Declaration inSingapore of
13December 1996. Ateachmeeting views wereexchanged onprogress inbilateral meetings. Atotal
of32offers representing 46Members hadbeensubmitted asof14November 1997.
3. TheCommittee alsodiscussed procedural issues regarding themodification andentryintoforce
oftheschedules onthebasis ofanotebytheSecretariat (S/FIN/W/11 of1May1997), andadopted
thetextsofaprotocol andanaccompanying decision. TheCommittee alsorecommended totheCouncil
forTrade inServices thatitadopt arelated procedural decision.
4. Concerning theexchange ofinformation onrecent developments infinancial services trade,
many Members reported ontheirrecent liberalization measures. These developments werewelcomed,
andMembers wereencouraged toreport anyrelated developments totheCommittee fortransparency
purposes.
5. With regard totheconsideration oftechnical issues inthescheduling offinancial services
commitments, theCommittee undertook informal consultations onthedistinction between Modes 1
and2infinancial services. TheCommittee tooknoteoftheresult oftheconsultations, asreported
inaninformal notebytheSecretariat dated 3July1997 (JobNumber 3706).S/C/5
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ANNEX II
WORLD TRADE S/CSC/2
26November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5206)
Committee onSpecific Commitments
REPORT OFTHE COMMITTEE ONSPECIFIC COMMITMENTS
TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INSERVICES
1. TheCommittee onSpecific Commitments hasheldtwoformal meetings in1997. Informal
consultations onthefinalization oftheprocedures fortheimplementation ofGATS Article XXI
(Modification ofSchedules) havealsobeenconducted bytheChairman oftheCommittee, withaview
totheircompletion before theendof1997. Theformal discussions oftheCommittee focused onthree
items: classification issues, theinstitution ofasystem ofelectronically consolidated andupdated
schedules andthepossible revision ofthescheduling guidelines.
2. Asfarasclassification issues areconcerned theactivities oftheCommittee were threefold.
FirsttheCommittee began examining thestructure oftheongoing revision oftheCentral Products
Classification, which isthenomenclature established bytheUNStatistical Commission, nomenclature
inorder toappreciate itspossible relevance foritsfuture work. TheSecretariat produced detailed
structural andqualitative studies ofthechanges brought about bytherevised CPCinanumber ofservice
sectors, andtheCommittee hasbegun toexamine these studies. Secondly theCommittee considered
examples ofsectors inwhich adhocsystems ofclassification created specially bytheMembers ofthe
GATS havebeenused, suchasmaritime services andbasictelecommunications. Thirdly theCommittee
began discussion ofthequestion ofthedefinition andtreatment ofnewservices.
3. TheCommitteeapprovedinprincipletheestablishmentofasystemofelectronicallyconsolidated
andupdated schedules ofcommitments. Itwasagreed thatthese electronic schedules would nothave
legalstatus, since theirformat would differ from thetreaty copies, though theirsubstantive content
would bethesame. TheCommittee alsoconsidered thecalendar, budget, format, circulation, prices
andverification procedure applicable tothisproject .
4. TheCommittee alsoconsidered thepossible needtoreview thescheduling guidelines. The
Chairman invited delegations tocome forward withissues andquestions theymight wishtoraisein
thisregard.S/C/5
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ANNEX III
WORLD TRADE S/WPGR/2
26November 1997
ORGANIZATION (97-5218)
Working Party onGATS Rules
ACTIVITIES OFTHE WORKING PARTY ONGATS RULES
Report totheCouncil forTrade inServices
TheWorking Party onGATS Rules heldsixformal meetings in1997. Ineachmeeting, the
Working Party considered allthree negotiating mandates: emergency safeguard measures under
Article X,government procurement under Article XIIIandsubsidies under Article XV.
Negotiations onemergency safeguard measures under Article XoftheGATS
Differing views havebeenexpressed byMembers withregard tothedesirability ofdeveloping
anemergency safeguard mechanism under theGATS. Substantive discussions arecontinuing onthe
subject without prejudging theposition ofanydelegation inrespect ofthedesirability, feasibility or
form ofanypossible emergency safeguard mechanism. Several Members responded onavoluntary
basistoaseries ofwritten questions onemergency safeguard measures (contained inS/WPGR/W/15).
OthersubmissionsonthesubjectofsafeguardswerealsoreceivedfromMembersduring1997(circulated
asdocuments S/WPGR/W/17, 18,19,22and23).
Inthelastthree meetings, theWorking Party hasfocused onfourkeyquestions identified by
theChairperson inaninformal note(dated 3June1997): (i)Onwhose behalf would emergency
safeguard action betaken? (ii)Inwhatcircumstances would emergency safeguard action betaken and
what would bethepurpose ofsuchaction? (iii)What approach should beadopted inrespect of
injury/adverse effects, andtherelevant causal linkbetween injury/adverse effects andcommitments
under theGATS? (iv)What measures would betaken under theemergency safeguard mechanism?
Aresome measures deemed more suitable thanothers? Attherequest ofMembers, theSecretariat
prepared anotewhich focused onthesecond question, containing hypothetical examples ofsituations
inwhich emergency safeguard action maybetaken (circulated asS/WPGR/W/24).
Since Members recognized thatthere stillremained many points tobeconsidered inorder to
conclude thisnegotiation, theydecided topropose totheCouncil forTrade inServices toextend the
application ofthefirstsentence ofparagraph 1andparagraph 2ofArticle XuntiltheendofJune1999,
notwithstanding thesecond sentence ofparagraph 1andparagraph 3ofArticle X.
Negotiations ongovernment procurement under Article XIIIofGATS
Progress wasmade intheinformation gathering exercise onnational procurement regimes.
Thetwenty-one responses received sofartothequestionnaire onnational procurement regimes were
circulated asaddenda todocument S/WPGR/W/11. TheSecretariat prepared asynthesis ofthefirst
nineteenresponsestothequestionnaire(issuedasdocumentS/WPGR/W/20).Theinformationgathering
exercise hasprovided abasis fornegotiations ondisciplines. Anindicative tabulation relating
questionnaire responses topossible elements ofmultilateral disciplines waspresented inaChair'snote
./.S/C/5
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(dated 21February 1997) andhasformed thebasisforthecommencement ofastructured consideration
ofthese elements. Theneed tocoordinate work withtheWorking Group onTransparency in
Government Procurement wasemphasized byseveral delegations.
Negotiations onsubsidies under Article XVofGATS
Atitsmeeting of23January 1997, theWorking Party approved aquestionnaire tofacilitate
theinformation exchange, mandated byArticle XV,onsubsidies related totrade inservices. Two
responses tothequestionnaire havebeenreceived sofar(circulated asdocuments S/WPGR/W/16/Add.1
andAdd.2). Some delegations alsoexpressed theneedtocontinue thetechnical analysis ofsubsidies
related totrade inservices.S/C/5
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ANNEX IV
WORLD TRADE S/WPPS/2
26November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5186)
Original: English Working Party onProfessional Services
REPORT OFTHE WORKING PARTY ONPROFESSIONAL SERVICES
TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INSERVICES
1. TheWPPS heldsixformal, andseveral informal, meetings intheperiod March toend-October
1997. Another formal meeting isscheduled for15and16December. Discussions focused ontwo
mainitems: establishment oftheGuidelines forMutual Recognition Arrangements intheAccountancy
Sector ;andthedevelopment ofmultilateral disciplines ondomestic regulation intheaccountancy sector.
(a) Establishment ofnon-binding guidelines formutual recognition agreements orarrangements
intheaccountancy sector
2. TheWorking Party completed thedevelopment ofnon-binding guidelines forthenegotiation
ofmutual recognition agreements orarrangements, pursuant totheDecision onProfessional Services.
TheGuidelines forMutual Recognition Agreements orArrangements intheAccountancy Sector were
transmitted totheCouncil forTrade inServices forapproval asdocument S/WPPS/W/12/Rev.1.
(b) Development ofmultilateral disciplines ondomestic regulation intheaccountancy sector
3. Asrequested bytheWorking Party, theSecretariat prepared asynthesis ofresponses tothe
questionnaire onregulatory measures intheaccountancy sector (S/WPPS/W/11). Thiswasfollowed
bythesubmissionofproposeddisciplinesbyseveralMembers(S/WPPS/W/15-19),aswellascomments.
Member 'sproposals wereconsolidated bytheSecretariat inaninformal note, entitled Disciplines on
Domestic Regulation intheAccountancy Sector .Following discussions andcomments byMembers,
theSecretariat wasasked toprepare several further revisions oftheinformal note. Work iswell
advanced, inaccordance withparagraph 17oftheSingapore Ministerial Declaration.
4. AttheWPPS meeting of24March, arepresentative oftheOECD presented theresults ofthe
Third Workshop onProfessional Services ,heldinFebruary 1997. Twoletters ondisciplines ondomestic
regulation intheaccountancy sector werereceived from theInternational Federation ofAccountants
(IFAC) andcirculated toMembers.