WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/C/11
21 September 2000
(00-3789)
Council for Trade in Services
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
AND THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
On 26 May 2000, the Council for Trade in Services adopted the attached text of the
cooperation agreement between the International Telecommunication Union and the World Trade
Organization (S/C/9/Rev.1).  Subsequently, the ITU C ouncil also adopted the text at its annual session
held on 19-28 July.  The attached Agreement is now submitted to the General Council for approval.Annex I contains the provisions of the Agreem ent.  Annex II contains the Agreed Commentary
regarding the provisions.
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ANNEX I
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
AND THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
PREAMBLE
CONSIDERING the growing interactions between trade and telecommunications policies
pursued by individual countries arising from the globalization of markets and the growing awareness
of telecommunications as a traded service;
RECOGNIZING the increasing linkages between the various aspects of telecommunications
and trade policy-making that fall within the respective mandates of the International
Telecommunication Union ("ITU") and the World Trade Organization ("WTO");
CONSIDERING that the purposes of the ITU are:  to maintain and extend international
cooperation between its Member States for the improvement and rational use of telecommunicationsof all kinds, as well as to promote and offer technical assistance to developing countries in the field of
telecommunications; to promote the development of technical facilities and their most efficient
operation with a view to improving the efficiency of telecommunications services, increasing their
usefulness and making them, so far as possible, generally available to the public; to facilitate the
worldwide standardization of telecommunications, with a satisfactory quality of service, and toharmonize the actions of Members States in the attainment of those ends;
CONSIDERING FURTHER  that the purpose of the ITU is, in particular, to promote at the
international level, the adoption of a broader appr oach to the issues of telecommunications in the
global information economy and society, by cooperating with other world and regional organizations;
RECALLING Resolution 71 of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference (Minneapolis, 1998)
relating to the Strategic Plan for the Union 1999-2003, which lays down, among other strategic
orientations for the Union, the establishment of partnerships through the conclusion of cooperation
agreements with other intergovernmental organizations in cases where such cooperation would further
the purposes of the Union;
HAVING REGARD to the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) preamble which
expresses the wish to establish a multilateral framework of principles and rules for trade in services
with a view to the expansion of such trade under conditions of transparency and progressive
liberalization and as a means of promoting the ec onomic growth of all trading partners and the
development of developing countries;
HAVING FURTHER REGARD to the WTO Annex on Telecommunications in which WTO
Members recognize that an efficient, advanced telecommunications infrastructure in countries,
particularly developing counties, is essential to th e expansion of their trade in services and, to this
end, endorse and encourage the participation, to the fullest extent practicable, of developed anddeveloping countries and their suppliers of public telecommunications transport networks and services
and other entities in the development programmes of international and regional organizations,
including the International Telecommunication Union and which provides that in cooperation with
relevant international organizations, Members shall make available, where practicable, to developing
countries information with respect to telecommunication services and developments intelecommunications and information technology to assist in strengthening their domestic
telecommunications services sector and which recognizes the importance of international standards
for global compatibility and inter-operability of telecommunications networks and services andS/C/11
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undertakes to promote such standards through the work of relevant international bodies, including the
International Telecommunication Union;
RECOGNIZING the close collaborative relationship existing over the past several decades
between the ITU and the CONTRACTING PARTIES to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,and the importance of continuing and strengthening such a relationship between the ITU and the
WTO;
HAVING REGARD to ARTICLES 8 and 50 of th e Constitution of the ITU (Geneva, 1992)
which provide for the entering into agreements be tween the ITU and other international organizations
and for cooperation between the ITU and other international organizations;
HAVING REGARD to ARTICLE V of the Agreement Establishing the World Trade
Organization, ARTICLE XXVI of the GATS concerning consultations and cooperation between the
WTO and specialized agencies of the United Nations and Section 7 of its Annex on
Telecommunications recognizing “the role played by intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and agreements in ensuring the efficient operation of domestic and globaltelecommunications services, in particular the International Telecommunication Union” and directing
that "Members shall make appropriate arrangements, where relevant, for consultation with such
organizations on matters arising from the implementation of this Annex.";
The ITU and the WTO agree as follows:
PARAGRAPH 1
The ITU and the WTO shall cooperate in the discharge of their respective mandates in
accordance with the provisions of this Agreement
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PARAGRAPH 2
The ITU and the WTO shall identify areas of common interest within their respective
mandates, with particular emphasis on technical, regulatory and development matters concerningtrade in telecommunications, in which cooperation may foster the purposes of both organizations. The
WTO Secretariat and the ITU Secretariat shall endeavour to cooperate on matters relating to trade in
telecommunications in areas of common interest identified pursuant to this paragraph.
PARAGRAPH 3
The WTO shall invite the ITU Secretariat as an Observer to meetings of the Ministerial
Conference and the Council for Trade in Services.  The ITU Secretariat shall also be invited as an
Observer to meetings of other relevant WTO bodies (excluding the Committee on Budget, Financeand Administration, the Dispute Settlement Body, the Appellate Body and dispute settlement panels)
                                                     
1 For the purposes of this Agreement, any reference to the ITU or the WTO as such (and not explicitly
to the ITU Secretariat or the WTO Secretariat) or to the institution or the organization, is understood to refer tothe decision-making bodies of the ITU (e.g. the Plenipotentiary Conference, the Council, and the WorldRadiocommunication Conference) and the WTO (e.g. the Ministerial Conference, the General Council, the
Council for Trade in Services), respectively.S/C/11
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where that body considers that matters of common interest to both organizations will be under
discussion.
PARAGRAPH 4
The ITU shall invite the WTO Secretariat as an Observer to treaty-making Conferences of the
Union (subject to the relevant provisions of its C onstitution, Convention and procedural Rules).   The
ITU shall also invite the WTO Secretariat as an Ob server to other conferences and meetings of the
ITU when it determines that matters of common interest to both organizations will be under
discussion.
PARAGRAPH 5
The WTO Secretariat shall make available to the ITU Secretariat the agenda of any WTO
meeting to which it is an observer at the time of its circulation in the WTO, and for other meetings(other than those of the Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration, the Dispute Settlement
Body, the Appellate Body and dispute settlement panels) if the agenda includes a telecommunications
matter that may be of interest to the ITU.  Th e ITU Secretariat shall make available to the WTO
Secretariat the agenda of any Conferences or Meetings of the Union, subject to paragraph 4, at the
time of its circulation in the ITU, if the agenda includes a telecommunications matter that may be ofinterest to the WTO.  The ITU and the WTO Secretariats shall make available to each other in
advance the relevant documents for the meetings to which they are invited pursuant to the terms of
this Agreement.  The ITU and WTO secretariats shall further make available to each other in advance
information about any symposia, conferences, forums, seminars and workshops they are called upon
to organize on matters which are of common interest to both organizations.
PARAGRAPH 6
The ITU Secretariat and the WTO Secretariat shall endeavour to cooperate in technical
assistance and technical cooperation activities, within their respective mandates, for developing
countries and shall provide information on regulatory matters relevant to trade in telecommunications,so as to maximize the usefulness of those activities to their respective Member States and Members
and ensure their mutually supportive nature.  For this purpose, the ITU Secretariat and the WTO
Secretariat shall keep in regular contact and shall inform each other of relevant technical cooperation
that each of the Parties is called upon to provide.  Any project that either the ITU or WTO is called
upon to undertake within its field of competence a nd which has specific elements coming with the
scope of the other Party, will be brought to the atte ntion of the other for consideration of possible joint
implementation or partial participation.
PARAGRAPH 7
For the purpose of this Agreement, the Secretary-General of the ITU and the Director-General
of the WTO shall ensure cooperation between the staffs of the two institutions on their respective
activities and, to that end, shall agree on appropriate procedures for collaboration, and regular
exchanges of  information on technical, regulatory and policy issues related to trade intelecommunications.S/C/11
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PARAGRAPH 8
The ITU and the WTO recognize the importance of incurring no additional budgetary costs
for the implementation of such cooperation activities as referred to in paragraphs 6 and 7 that they
may identify and agree to undertake jointly.  If necessary, other appropriate sources of funding shallbe determined by the Secretariats.
PARAGRAPH 9
Subject to such limitations as may be necessary for safeguarding confidential material and in
accordance with the rules of each institution, respectively, regarding restriction of circulation ofdocuments, the ITU and the WTO shall arrange for the timely exchange of information, reports and
other documents of mutual interest, including access to databases.  The reports of WTO dispute
settlement panels and the Appellate Body shall be made available to the ITU at the time of their
circulation to all WTO Members. The ITU and the WTO shall ensure that any information
communicated under this Agreement shall be used only within the limits specified by the other.
PARAGRAPH 10
The Secretary-General of the ITU and the Director-General of the WTO shall be responsible
for the implementation of this Agreement and, to that effect, shall make such  practical arrangements
as they deem appropriate.
PARAGRAPH 11
This Agreement shall be reviewed upon the request of either the ITU or the WTO and may be
amended by mutual written agreement.  Any dispute which may arise between ITU and WTO
concerning the interpretation or application of the Agreement shall be settled by negotiation between
the Parties.
PARAGRAPH 12
This Agreement may be terminated by either the ITU or the WTO by written notice to the
other and, unless otherwise agreed, shall terminate six  months after receipt of such notice .
Notwithstanding its termination, the provisions of th is Agreement shall survive to ensure that ongoing
projects are completed.
PARAGRAPH 13
This Agreement shall enter into force on the day following the exchange between the Parties
of the instruments relating to the acts of formal confirmation by the ITU and WTO and in accordance
with the terms stipulated in those instruments.  It shall remain in force until it is terminated by one of
the Parties in accordance with Paragraph 12 above,S/C/11
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IN WITNESS THEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorized, have signed the present
Agreement, in duplicate, in English, on the dates and at the places indicated below.
For the International Telecommunication Union For the World Trade Organization
Y. UTSUMI
Secretary-GeneralM.  Moore
Director-General
Place: _________________________ Place: ______________________________
Date:  _________________________ Date:  ________________________S/C/11
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ANNEX II
Agreed Commentary
on the
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE INTERNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATION UNION
AND THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(No Commentary on the Preamble)
PARAGRAPH 1
Comment:  This paragraph provides the basis for cooperation between the ITU and the WTO.
PARAGRAPH 2
Comment: This paragraph provides for the ITU and the WTO jointly to identify areas of common
interest with a view to ensuring that their activities are mutually supportive and serve to maximize the
benefits of trade in telecommunications within the context of their respective mandates. This
paragraph would not authorize either the ITU or the WTO to undertake activities outside the scope oftheir respective mandates.
PARAGRAPH 3
Comment:  This paragraph deals with attendance by a representative of the ITU Secretariat, as an
observer, at meetings of the specified bodies of the WTO.  It also provides for the possibility of
observer status for the ITU in other WTO bodies, where the body concerned agrees that matters of
common interest to both organizations will be under discussion.
PARAGRAPH 4
Comment:  This paragraph deals with attendance by a representative of the WTO Secretariat, as an
observer, at conferences and meetings of ITU, whic h includes its Study Groups.  Under the present
ITU Convention and Rules of Procedure of the Council, only specialized agencies of the United
Nations are listed among the organizations that are or may be invited to such meetings, but thepractice followed at the ITU has been to informal ly consider the WTO as part of this category and to
invite the WTO to the Plenipotentiary Conference and to other treaty-making conferences, as well as
to other conferences and meetings where matters of common interest are discussed.
PARAGRAPH 5
Comment:  For meetings to which representatives of either institution are invited, each institution will
make available the agenda and relevant documents in advance of the meeting and when they are
formally circulated in each institution. These measures should permit each institution to be
adequately informed of the activities of the other in a timely manner.  They will invite each other to
participate in symposia, conferences, forums seminars and workshops under conditions to be agreed
in advance.S/C/11
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PARAGRAPH 6
Comment:  This paragraph provides for cooperation among the ITU and WTO Secretariats on
technical assistance and cooperation with respect to developing countries.  This paragraph does not
commit the WTO to provide technical assistance to Member States of the ITU that are neither
Members of the WTO nor negotiating accession thereto.
The cooperation envisaged may include continuing and expanding information programmes and
seminars for developing countries on the GATS as it relates to and impacts on telecommunications,
collaboration on technical studies, fostering the exchange of information on methods to promote
competitive markets and other work to fulfill the objectives set forth in Opinions A and B adopted bythe second World Telecommunication Policy Forum (March 1998).
PARAGRAPH 7
Comment: This general provision affirms the practi ce of cooperation between the staffs of the two
institutions.  The details of staff contacts can be determined by the Secretary General of the ITU and
the Director-General of the WTO pursuant to their authority to implement the Agreement (see
paragraph 10   below). It provides for a regular exchange of documentation between the two
institutions and also provides for consultations as appropriate at the staff level and for the possibilityto develop joint research, seminars and workshops, and technical assistance projects in areas of
mutual interest.
The ITU Secretariat will continue to provide th e WTO Secretariat access to the Telecommunications
Indicators Database, as well as complimentary copi es in appropriate form (print, diskette or CD-
ROM) of  ITU publications of common interest.  The ITU staff will give sympathetic consideration to
requests by the WTO Secretariat for other information and statistics.  Any material provided to the
WTO will be on the understanding that it is the copyrighted work of the ITU and redistribution
beyond the WTO Secretariat is prohibited.
The WTO Secretariat will provide the ITU staff access to the Services Database of the WTO and to
final schedules of commitments of WTO Members, as  well as complementary copies in appropriate
form (print, diskette or CD-ROM)  of WTO publicat ions of common interest on the understanding that
the material provided is the copyrighted work of the WTO and that its redistribution beyond the ITU
staff is prohibited. The WTO staff will give sympathetic consideration to requests by the ITU
Secretariat for access to other information, statistics or databases.
It is understood that any information provided under this paragraph may be subject to a
confidentiality constraint under paragraph 9.
PARAGRAPH 8
Comment: The two institutions are conscious of budgetary constraints and the importance of avoiding
increases in overall costs to Members.  Both organizations have, in the past, cooperated with other
international and non-governmental organizations to obtain funding of technical studies and
technical assistance projects for developing countries and would anticipate continuing to do so in thefuture to ensure, where necessary, adequate funding for worthwhile joint activities of this nature.S/C/11
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PARAGRAPH 9
Comment: This paragraph commits each institution to preserve t he confidentiality of material
received from the other organization.  The general wording of the paragraph entails the possibility
that restrictions may be placed on the use of the information either inside or outside the institution.
PARAGRAPH 10
Comment:  The Secretary General of the ITU and th e Director-General of the WTO are charged with
implementing the Agreement.  They are authorized to make supplementary arrangements within the
terms of the Agreement.
PARAGRAPH 11
Comment:   This provision requires the two institutions to review the Agreement if either one requests
reconsideration of any matter in the Agreement; while there is no obligation to agree to amendments,
any request for review would have to be examined  in good faith.  An amendment would require the
consent of both parties. It also requires the institutions to resolve differences, if any, on its
interpretation or application by means of negotiation.
PARAGRAPH 12
Comment:  It is standard practice to include a paragraph on termination and its consequences in
international agreements.
PARAGRAPH 13
Comment:   Following approval by the Council of the ITU and the General Council of the WTO, this
Agreement shall be provisionally applied from  the date of its signature.  Its entry into force shall take
effect from the day following the date on which the WTO receives the instrument of formalconfirmation from the ITU following  approval of  this Agreement by the ITU Plenipotentiary
Conference.
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