WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG148/4 
8 September 2004 
 
 (04-3746) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements Original:   English 
  
FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN 
THE EFTA STATES AND SINGAPORE 
 
SERVICES ASPECTS
 
 
Communication from the Parties  
 
  The following communication, dated 2 September 2004, is being circulated at the request of the Delegations of Iceland, on beha lf of the EFTA States and Singapore. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
I. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE AGREEMENT 
1. Membership And Dates Of Signature, Ratification And Entry Into Force 
 The Parties to the Agreement (hereinafter refe rred to as “the Agreement”) are the States of the 
European Free Trade Association (Iceland, Liechte nstein, Norway and Switzerland) on the one hand, 
and the Republic of Singapore (hereinafter referr ed to as “Singapore”), on the other hand.  The 
Agreement applies to the customs territories of the Parties.   The Agreement and the bilateral agricultura l agreements concluded between each of the 
EFTA States and Singapore were signed on 26 June 2002 in Egilsstadir, Iceland, and entered into 
force on 1 January 2003.   The Agreement and the bilateral agricultural agreements, as the instruments creating the Free 
Trade Area between the EFTA States and Singapore, we re notified on 14 Janua ry 2003 to the Council 
for Trade in Goods and to the Council for Trade in Services in accordance with Article XXIV:7(a) of 
GATT 1994 and Article V:7(a) of the GATS. 
 
2. Type Of Agreement  
 The Agreement and the bilateral agricultural ag reements create a free trade area in conformity 
with the criteria set out in Article XXIV:8(b) of  GATT 1994 and in accordance with Article V of the 
GATS.  
  The objectives of the Agreement are in addition to the liberalisation of trade in goods and 
services, to achieve the further liberalisation of the government procurement markets, to mutually 
enhance investment opportunities and accord constant protection for investors and investments, to 
ensure adequate and effective protection of intell ectual property rights and to promote competition in 
their economies (Article 1 of the Agreement).  WT/REG148/4 
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 3. Scope 
 As regards the services sectors, the Agreement covers in principle all services sectors with the 
exception of air transport which is subject to a re view, and all modes of delivery (supply).  The 
Agreement contains separate Annexes on Financia l Services and Telecommunication Services.  The 
Agreement contains a positive list of specific commitments.  
 
4. Trade Data 
 According to Singapore’s trade data, in 2002, Singapore’s total services exports to the EFTA 
States was S$769.9 million while imports from the EFTA States was S$458.3 million.  Historical 
information on services trade is presently limited, al though details of the services trade by country and 
sector from 2000 to 2002 are provided in the Annex.  In addition, as the sta tistics are available only 
for the period up to 2002, they ca nnot be relied upon to paint an accurate or complete picture of 
services trade prior to and post entry into force of the Agreement.   II. PROVISIONS AFFECTING TRADE IN SERVICES 
 (a) Provisions in the Agreement which are relevant to the scope of the GATS
: 
 
- Chapter I – “General provisions”: Article 1 – Objectives 
 - Chapter III – “Services”, Annex VI  (MFN), Annex VII (Schedules of Specific 
Commitments), Annex VIII (Financial Services), Annex IX (Telecommunication 
Services), Annex X (Recognition of Qualifications for Engineering Services) 
 - Chapter VIII – “Institutional provisions” 
 
- Chapter IX – “Dispute settlement”   
 - Chapter X – “Final clauses” 
  (b) These provisions of the Agreement cons titute a liberalising of trade in services 
between the EFTA States, on the one part, and Singapore, on the other part, in the 
sense of Article V, paragraph 1, given that : 
 
- it provides for universal sectoral coverage of all service activities, subject to the 
exceptions under Article 21:2 (air services), the general exceptions under Article 33 
and security exceptions under Article 34 and the specific exceptions to Financial 
Services under Article 6 of Annex VIII. These ex clusions are fully consistent with the 
exceptions provided for under the GATS Articles II, XIV and XIVbis and more particular with the Annex on Air Trans port Services to the GATS (Article 3). 
 - it provides for the liberalisation of trade in services through all modes of supply: 
“cross-border”, “consumption abroad”, “commercial presence” as well as “presence 
of natural persons” (Article 22:o).   
 - the Parties shall liberalise trade in services between themselves, in conformity with 
Article V of the GATS. 
 
- the Parties undertake to review their Schedul es of specific commitments at least every 
two years, but earlier if so agreed, with a view to provide for the elimination of  WT/REG148/4 
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 substantially all remaining discrimination betw een the Parties with regard to trade in 
services covered in the Chapter “Services” at the end of a transitional period of ten years from the date of entry into force of this Agreement (Article 27:5).  
 
1. Provisions of the Agreement relating to the Elimination of Article XVI and Article XVII 
Inconsistent Measures 
 Articles 24 (Market Access) and 25 (National Treatment) are consistent with the 
corresponding Articles of the GATS on Market Access (Article XVI) and Nationa l Treatment (Article 
XVII).  
 1.1 Treatment of Services and Services Providers from Third Countries 
  The EFTA States, on the one part, and Singapor e, on the other part, have negotiated their 
Schedule of Specific Commitments and list of MFN exemptions during the Uruguay Round.  The entry into force of the Agreement did not imply any modification or amendment in these lists.  The 
Agreement aims at facilitating trade between the Pa rties.  No provisions of the Agreement aim at 
raising the level of restrictions of trade in services in respect of any other WTO Member.   
2. Rules Of Origin 
 The services chapter benefits the Parties’ “nat ural” or “juridical” persons that are services 
suppliers. 
 
 Article 22 of the Agreement contains definiti ons, e.g. of the terms “supply of a service”, 
“commercial presence”, “services supplier”, “person”, “n atural person of a Party”, “juridical person” 
and “juridical person of another Party”.  These definitions largely correspond to the relevant 
provisions in the GATS (Article XXVIII).  Minor ad aptations in the wording are due to the specific 
geographical scope of the Agreement. 
 
3. Standards/Recognition 
 Article 28 on domestic regulation incorporates the relevant provisions of GATS Article VI.  
In sectors where specific commitments are undertaken , each Party shall ensure that all measures of 
general application affecting trade in services ar e administered in a reasonable, objective and 
impartial manner.  In addition, Parties shall jointl y review the development of disciplines pursuant to 
GATS Article VI.4, with a view to incorporating such  disciplines into the Agreement.  Article 28 also 
adopts the GATS interim disciplines which apply pe nding the development of the above mentioned 
disciplines.  In sectors where specific commitmen ts regarding professional services are undertaken, 
each Party shall provide for adequa te procedures to verify the competence of professional of another 
Party.  
  According to Article 30, in principle no later th an three years following th e entry into force of 
this Agreement, the Joint Committee shall estab lish the necessary steps for the negotiation of 
agreements or arrangements providing for the mutual  recognition of education or experience obtained, 
requirements, qualifications, licenses and other regula tions, for the purpose of the fulfilment, in whole 
or in part, by services suppliers of the criteria app lied by each Party for the authorisation, licensing, 
operation and certification of service suppliers.  Any su ch Agreement shall be in conformity with the 
relevant provisions of the WTO and, in particular, Article VII of the GATS.  
 WT/REG148/4 
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 4. Safeguards 
 Article 35 stipulates that the Parties shall e ndeavour to avoid the imposition of restrictive 
measures for balance-of-payments purposes. Articl es XI and XII of the GATS shall apply, and 
notification is called for.   5. Subsidies And State-Aid 
 Article 29 stipulates that a Party which consider s that it is adversely affected by a subsidy of 
another Party may request consultations with that Party on such matters.  Such requests shall be 
accorded sympathetic consideration.  6. Description Of Any Treatment Provided For In The Agreement Relating To 
Government Procurement 
 Nothing in the Chapter on services shall be cons trued to impose any obligation with respect to 
government procurement (Article 21:4).   
 Chapter VI states that the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement shall govern the 
rights and obligations of the Parties to the Agreement in respect of public procurement.  If a Party grants a non-Party additional benefits with regard to the access to its public procurement market after 
the entry into force of the Agreemen t, it shall agree to enter into nego tiations with a view to extending 
these benefits to another Party on reciprocal basis.  The Parties shall also exchange contact points with 
regard to exchange of information.  
 
7. Sector-Specific Provisions 
 Financial services are covered by Annex VIII and Telecommunications services are covered 
by Annex IX.   
 
III. GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE AGREEMENT 
1. Exceptions And Reservations 
 General and security exceptions are provided for under Article 33 and Article 34 respectively, 
based on the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreement as specified in GATS Articles XIV and   XIV bis.  Exceptions specified to financial services are provided in Article 6 of Annex VIII. 
 
2. Accession 
 According to Article 70 of the Agreement, an y State may become a Party to the Agreement. 
The terms and conditions are subject to an agreem ent between the Parties and the invited State. 
 3. Dispute Settlement Procedures 
 Chapter IX of the Agreement provide for di spute settlement procedures between the Parties 
relating to the understanding and in terpretation of the Agreement. As a first step, the Agreement 
provides for consultations between the Parties. Di sputes which have not been settled within 60 days 
after consultations may be subject to arbitration by  means of written notification from one Party to the 
other.  Provisions on the constitutio n and functioning of the arbitra tion panel are provided for in the 
Agreement.  The panel is to settle the dispute in accordance with international law and the decisions 
of the arbitration panel are binding upon the Parties to the dispute.  WT/REG148/4 
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 4. Relation With Other Trade Agreements 
 Article 4 states that the provisi ons shall be without prejudice to the rights and obligations of 
the Parties under the WTO to which they are a part y and any other international agreement to which 
they are a party.   5. Institutional Framework 
 Article 55 of the Agreement establishes a Joint Committee comprising representatives of each 
Party, which is to supervise and administer the Agreement.  Information shall be exchanged and 
consultations can be held within the Joint Comm ittee.  The Joint Committee can take decisions in 
cases provided for by the Agreement or make r ecommendations.  The Joint Committee is to keep 
under review the removal of further barriers to tr ade and other restrictive measures concerning 
commerce between the EFTA States and Singapore.   
IV. OTHER 
1. Movement Of Natural Persons 
 Article 32 (Movement of Natural Persons) is  equivalent of the “Annex on Movement of 
Natural Persons Supplying Servi ces under the Agreement” in GATS. 
  
2. Transparency 
 Article 67 (Transparency) contai ns horizontal provisions on transparency (publication of laws 
and exchange of information between Parties) 
  The full text of the Agreement is available from:  
- the WTO Secretariat (WT/REG148/1) 
- the EFTA Secretariat 
(http://secretariat.efta.int/Web/ExternalRelations/PartnerCountries/Singapore
)  
- the EFTA Member States 
- the Republic of Singapore ( http://app.fta.gov.sg/asp/fta/esfta.asp ) 
  
 WT/REG148/4 
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 ANNEX 
 
Details of Singapore’s International Trade in Services 
 
Total Exports of Services by Services Categories, 2000-2002  
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Services 2000 2001 2002* 
Transportation 20,501.9 20,530.3 21,426.4 
Travel 9,014.6 8,272.0 7,992.1 
Insurance 867.5 1,189.4 1,391.1 
Government  168.4 180.4 177.2 
Construction  231.8 346.2 363.3 
Financial 2,397.0 2,122.8 2,334.6 
Computer & Information  426.1 558.1 631.8 
Royalties 150.4 309.3 361.2 
Social  25.9 37.4 35.3 
Other Business Services 16,948.1 18,632.6 20,121.8 
Total 50,731.6 52,178.5 54,835.0 
* preliminary figures Figures presented in this table are compiled from the Singapore Trade in Services survey and supplementary 
sources. 
 
Exports of Services to Norway, 2000-2002  
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Services 2000 2001 2002* 
Transportation 26.5 30.2 100.6 
Insurance - 0.1 - 
Construction  - - - 
Financial 0.4 2.4 2.5 
Computer & Information - - - 
Royalties - - - 
Social  - - - 
Other Business Services 63.8 48.1 49.4 
Total 90.7 80.8 152.5 
* preliminary figures Figures presented in this table are mainly compile d from the Singapore Trade in Services survey. 
Note: '-' denotes nil or negligible. 
 
Exports of Services to Switzerland, 2000-2002  
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Services 2000 2001 2002* 
Transportation 147.2 171.7 169.6 
Insurance 3.2 4.4 4.7 
Construction  - - - 
Financial 30.7 51.6 72.2 
Computer & Information 8.0 5.4 2.1 
Royalties - 11.9 - 
Social  - - - 
Other Business Services 329.6 276.5 366.7 
Total 518.7 521.6 615.3 
* preliminary figures 
Figures presented in this table are mainly compile d from the Singapore Trade in Services survey 
Note: '-' denotes nil or negligible.  WT/REG148/4 
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 Total Exports of Services by Country, 2000-2002  
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Country 2000 2001 2002* 
Iceland 0.1 0.1 0.1 
Liechtenstein 0.9 1.4 1.3 
Norway 90.7 80.8 152.8 
Switzerland 518.7 521.6 615.7 
EFTA states total 610.4 603.9 769.9 
Rest of the world 50,121.2 51,574.6 54,065.1 
Total Exports  
of Services 50,731.6 52,178.5 54,835.0 
* preliminary figures 
 
 
Total Imports of Services by Services Categories, 2000-2002  
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Services 2000 2001 2002*  
Transportation 22,100.6 22,179.7 19,608.1 
Travel 7,823.9 9,808.3 11,304.1 
Insurance  2,591.1 2,648.9 2,727.0 
Government  198.5 247.1 256.7 
Construction  214.1 309.2 269.6 
Financial  687.8 642.0 770.4 
Computer & Information  388.2 494.3 472.5 
Royalties 6,227.7 6,105.4 6,108.4 
Social  39.3 50.5 125.4 
Other Business Services 7,504.4 9,032.5  9,983.9 
Total 47,775.6 51,518.1 51,626.1 
* preliminary figures 
Figures presented in this table are compiled from the Singapore Trade in Services survey and supplementary 
sources . 
Import of Services from Norway, 2000-2002  
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Services  2000  2001  2002*  
Transportation 31.0 98.6 79.3 
Insurance 1.7 1.0 2.1 
Construction  - - - 
Financial 0.3 0.4 0.4 
Computer & Information 0.5 0.7 0.8 
Royalties 2.4 3.0 - 
Social  - - - 
Other Business Services 23.2 20.0 102.3 
Total 59.1 123.7 187.0  
* preliminary figures 
Figures presented in this table are mainly compile d from the Singapore Trade in Services survey 
Note: '-' denotes nil or negligible. 
 
 WT/REG148/4 
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 Import of Services from Switzerland, 2000-2002
 
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Services  2000  2001  2002*  
Transportation 113.8 116.0 132.1 
Insurance 8.0 9.3 12.2 
Construction  - - - 
Financial 13.3 12.4 10.9 
Computer & Information  4.1 4.5 9.2 
Royalties 22.5 30.4 39.2 
Social  - - - 
Other Business Services 64.6 70.9 66.9 
Total 227.0 243.9 271.1  
* preliminary figures 
Figures presented in this table are mainly compile d from the Singapore Trade in Services survey 
Note: '-' denotes nil or negligible. 
 
Imports Of Services By Country, 2000-2002  
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Country 2000 2001 2002* 
Iceland - - 0.1 
Liechtenstein 1.9 1.2 0.1 
Norway 59.1 123.7 187.0 
Switzerland 227.0 243.9 271.1 
EFTA states total 288.0 368.8 458.3 
Rest of the world 47,487.6 51,149.3 51,167.8 
Total Imports  
of Services 47,775.6 51,518.1 51,626.1 
* preliminary figures Figures presented in this table are mainly compile d from the Singapore Trade in Services survey 
Note: '-' denotes nil or negligible. 
 
Gross Domestic Product at Current Mark et Prices (Services Producing Industries)  
(Value in S$ millions) 
 
Sector 2000 2001 2002 2003 
Wholesale & Retail Trade 20,003 19,079 19,511 20,686 
Hotels & Restaurants 3,545 3,628 3,503 2,998 
Transport & 
Communications 18,236 17,403 18,223 17,571 
Financial Services 17,755 19,075 18,921 18,358 
Business Services 21,518 22,214 21,641 21,026 
Other Services 
Industries 16,307 18,164 19,280 19,427 
Total 97,364 99,563 101,079 100,066 
Source: Singapore Department of Statistics 
 
 
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