S/C/62  
 
26 October  2021 
(21-8114) Page: 1/10 
   
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES  
TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL (20 21) 
Since its Annual Report of 20 20 to the General Council1, the Council for Trade in Services held three 
formal meetings, respectively on  4 December 2020, 5 March  2021 and 1 July 2021.2 During the 
period covered by this report, the Council addressed the following matters.  
1  NOTIFICATIONS MADE TO THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO GATS ARTICLES  III:3 , V:7 AND 
VII:4  
1.1.  The Council took note, altogether, of the following notifi cations:  
a. Notifications pursuant to Article III:3 of the GATS  
Mauritius  (S/C/N/1022);  
Brazil   (S/C/N/1023);  
Australia  (S/C/N/1042);  
Switzerland  (S/C/N/1044);  
Kazakhstan  (S/C/N/1045);  
Japan   (S/C/N/1046);  
Russian Federation  (S/C/N/1048  - S/C/N/ 1049);  
Egypt   (S/C/N/1050);  
Guyana  (S/C/N/1051);  
Macao, China  (S/C/N/1057);  
Thailand  (S/C/N/1058  – S/C/N/ 1059).  
b. Notifications pursuant to Article V:7 of the GATS  
Canada, Mexico and United States  (S/C/N/4/Add.1);  
United Kingdom  (S/C/N/1024);  
Antigua and Barbuda,  Barbados, Belize, Dominica,  
 Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana,  
 Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,  
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,  
 Trinidad and Tobago, and United Kingdom  (S/C/N/1025);  
United Kingdom, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,  
 Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama  (S/C/N/1026);  
United Kingdom and Chile  (S/C/N/1027);  
United Kingdom, Ecuador and Peru  (S/C/N/1028);  
United Kingdom and Republic of Korea  (S/C/N/1029);  
United Kingdom and Singapore  (S/C/N/1030);  
United Kingdom and Ukraine  (S/C/N/1031);  
United Kingdom and Viet Nam  (S/C/N/1032);  
United Kingdom and North Macedonia  (S/C/N/1033);  
United Kingdom and Republic of Moldova  (S/C/N/1034);  
United Kingdom and Georgia  (S/C/N/1035);  
United Kingdom and Japan  (S/C/N/1036);  
China and Mauritius  (S/C/N/1037);  
 
1 Document S/C/60. 
2 Reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/C/M/ 144 to S/C/M/ 146, and should be read 
in conjunction with this repo rt. S/C/62  
 
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  Australia and Indonesia  (S/C/N/1040);  
United Kingdom and European Union  (S/C/N/1041);  
Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Hong Kong, China;  
 Indonesia; Lao People's Democratic Republic;  
 Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Singapore;  
 Thailand  and Viet Nam  (S/C/N/1043) ; 
European Union  (S/C/N/6/Add.1);  
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,  
 Nicaragua, Panama and European Union  (S/C/N/680/Add.1);  
Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga  (S/C/N/1052);  
India and Mauritius  (S/C/ N/1053);  
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua,  
 Panama, and Republic of Korea  (S/C/N/1054);  
United Kingdom and Albania  (S/C/N/1055);  
Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica,  
 Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica,  
 Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,  
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname,  
 Trinidad and Tobago and United Kingdom  (S/C/N/1025/Add.1);  
United Kingdom  (S/C/N/1056).  
 
The agreements notified in these documents were referred to the Committee on Regional 
Trade Agreement s for consideration.  
c. Notifications pursuant to Article VII:4 of the GATS  
Switzerland and United Kingdom  (S/C/N/1039);  
Russian Federation  (S/C/N/1047).  
1.2.  At the meeting held in March , the Council took note of the updated Secretariat Note containing 
a statisti cal account of the notifications made under relevant GATS provisions.3  
2  OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE LDC SERVICES WAIVER  
2.1.  Following a suggestion by the LDC  Group that the Council organize a webinar to bring together 
LDC service suppliers and consumers of LDC services, at the  meeting of the Council held in December  
Members considered an outline for the webinar circulated by the LDCs.4 Members generally found  
the LDC outline helpful in providing greater clarity about the objective and scope of the webinar, 
and expressed broad support for the LDC proposal to hold an event that would enable an exchange 
of information and experiences. The Council agreed to task t he Secretariat with the preparation of 
a draft programme for the event, to be submitted to Members for their consideration.   
2.2.  At the December meeting, the LDC  Group also shared with the Council an account of the 
webinar on the impact of COVID -19 on LDC services trade it had organised on 2 December . 
2.3.  At the Council meeting held in  March, Members deliberated the programme outline prepared 
by the Secretariat5 and agreed to organize the webinar  and decided to hold it towards the end of 
May.  
2.4.  The webinar, titled "Least Developed Country services export performance and facilitating 
implementation of preferences notified under the LDC Services Waiver",  was held on 2 and 3 June .6 
2.5.  At the March mee ting, the Council also took note of the UK's notification of preferences under 
the LDC Services Waiver.7 The notification was welcomed by the LDC Group.  
 
3 Document JOB(09)/10/Rev. 11. 
4 Document JOB/SERV/CTS/2.  
5 Document JOB/SERV/CTS/3.  
6 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/serv_e/webinar_june21_e.htm   
7 Document S/ C/N/1038. Since 2015, t he preferential treatment ex tended  by the United Kingdom to 
services and service suppliers of LDCs was contained in the European Union's notification under the Waiver S/C/62  
 
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  2.6.  At the July meeting of the Council, Members shared their reflections on an d reactions to the 
event. All delegations who intervened expressed appreciation for the webinar. Many noted that it 
had helpfully illustrated the opportunities and challenges faced by LDC suppliers in participating in 
global services trade, while also high lighting the significant gaps in LDC services trade data. The 
LDC Group put forward a number of suggestions for next steps and, following the request of several 
delegations, indicated that it would submit its ideas in writing, for Members' further reflecti on. 
3  WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
3.1.  Deliberations at the December  meeting of the Council continued to be invigorated by the 
communication by a group of Members proposing exploratory discussions on supporting digital 
capabilit y of business and consumers.8 Several delegations presented in -depth information about 
their programmes and initiatives in this area.  
3.2.  The Chairman suggested compiling the material shared by Members in a stand -alone  and 
structured  document, to facilitate a ccess to the information and enhance transparency on the various 
initiatives taken in the e -commerce sphere. Many delegations welcomed and supported the proposal. 
A few sought clarifications, including about how the information would be compiled and presen ted, 
and one expressed reservations. The Chairman indicated that, to address the issues raised by 
delegations, he would provide further details about his proposal.  
3.3.  Various delegations called for the Work Programme to focus on the relationship between e -
commerce and development , and on the challenges faced by developing countries  in the digital 
sphere. A couple of  delegations reiterated their concern with the JSI process and its rule -making 
objective , which they considered as premature , and said that the ext ension of the Moratorium would 
be harmful to developing countries. Various  Members disagreed with these assertions ; they  noted 
that the JSI was inclusive, transparent and open to participation by all Members, that new rules on 
e-commerce were long overdue,  and that evidence pointed to the Moratorium having had far -
reaching benefits for businesses and consumers.  
3.4.  A representative of UNCTAD briefed the Council about its recent work in electronic commerce, 
including studies on the impact of COVID -19 on e -comme rce. 
3.5.  The joint communication on supporting digital capabilities  continued to generate substantive 
engagement in the Council, both at its March and July meetings . Numerous Members shared 
information about some of their programmes aimed at fostering an enabl ing environment for 
electronic commerce. Some delegations also presented the latest domestic developments related to 
e-commerce. At the March meeting, Members  who intervened  appreciated the Chair man's overview 
Note on the information shared by delegations about their initiatives to enhance digital capabilities.9 
3.6.  While welcoming the exchange of information , at the March meeting  a couple of delegations 
reiterated their call for Members to focus the discussion on the issues mandated by the Work 
Programme, including the scope of the Moratorium and the challenges faced by developing countries 
in e-commerce. In their view,  the extension of the Moratorium would be detrimental to devel oping 
countries  and the parallel JSI negotiations were damaging the multilateral trading system. On the 
other hand, numerous Members noted the extensive benefits of the Moratorium for both businesses 
and consumers. They reiterated that the JSIs were inclus ive, transparent and open to participation 
by all Members, adding that new rules on e -commerce could foster renewed  momentum for the 
multilateral trading system.  
3.7.  At the July meeting, the LDC Group referred to the services elements of the communication on 
the Work Programme it had submitted to the General Council. Some  delegations noted the 
challenges that developing countries faced in reaping the opportunities provided by the digital 
economy . They  underscored the importance of strengthening multilateral dis cussions under the 
Work Programme, including through structured discussions. One delegation also called for the scope 
of the Moratorium to be clarified, stated  that the e -commerce JSI negotiations damaged  the rules -
 
(S/C/N/840).  The United Kingdom  ceased to be a Member State of the European Union  on 31 January 2020 . 
Immediately following the end of the transition period  with the European Union  on 31 December 2020 , the 
United Kingdom submitted an independent notifi cation of  preferences under the LDC Waiver (S/C/N/1038) .  
8 JOB/SERV/296/Rev.4.  
9 JOB/SERV/ CTS/4. The Note was circulated under the previous Chairman's own responsibility.   S/C/62  
 
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  based multilateral trading system and ind icated that it was working on a submission elaborating the 
treatment of electronic commerce in the GATS legal framework. A couple of Members  intervened to 
reaffirm  their commitment to the multilateral trading system and the Moratorium . One Member also 
contested the assertion that the e -commerce JSI negotiations negatively affected the WTO.  
4  UPDATE OF THE SECRETARIAT BACKGROUND NOTE ON MODE 4 
4.1.  The Council addressed this  agenda  item, upon India's request , at the December, March and 
July meetings . India reiterated its request that the Secretariat update the Background Notes on 
mode  4 and on the other  three  modes of supply.  India's suggestion was echoed by some delegations.  
India indicated that it could also support the preparation of a further Note  by the Secretariat , on 
intermodal linkages.  
4.2.  While affirming  that a Note on intermodal linkages might  be useful , one Member  stated that 
updating the Note  on mode 4  would be of no added value and thus could not support India's request.  
5  CYBERSECURITY  MEASURES OF CHINA AND VIET NAM  
5.1.  At the request of Japan and the United States, at its December, March and July meetings the 
Council addressed various cybersecurity measure s adopted and under development by China and 
Viet Nam, respectively. The two requesting delegations shared their concerns with  various aspects 
of those measures , which they alleged could be inconsistent with  China and Viet Nam's respective 
WTO obligations,  and sought additional information and clarity on the same . The ir concerns  were 
echoed by a number of other Members .  
5.2.  In reply, China said that its measures had been drafted transparently and with reference to the 
practice of other Members,  and stakeholders' comments  had been taken into consideration . China 
stated that the purpose of the measures was the protect ion of  cybersecurity , an objective that all 
Members  shared.  
5.3.  Viet Nam noted that its legislative pro cess was open and transparent, and that stakeholders' 
comments would continue to be reviewed as the process advanced.  
6  5G-RELATED MEASURES OF AUSTRALIA  
6.1  At the request of China, the Council addressed 5G -related measures of Australia at all the 
meetings covered by this Report . China expressed its concerns that the measures under discussion 
prevented Chinese companies from participating in 5G -related projects in Australia and run counter 
to Australia's WTO obligations.  
6.2  In reply, Australia stress ed that its measures on 5G networks were fully WTO-consistent and 
stated that it continued to welcome foreign business  involvement  in the market.  
7  RUSSIAN FEDERATION FOREIGN -LICENSED FIXED SATELLITE OPERATORS  MARKET 
ACCESS  
7.1  At the request of the United State s, at its December meeting the Council addressed a measure 
by the Russian Federation related to market access for foreign -licenced fixed satellite operators . The 
United States  voiced  its concern s that the measure in question provided a preference for the use of 
Russian satellite systems  over foreign ones. Two other Members shared the US concerns .  
7.2  In reply, the Russian Federation said that the measure in question was consistent with its WTO 
obligation s. 
8  SOFTWARE PRE -INSTALLATION MANDATE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION  
8.1  At the request of the United States, at all the meetings covered by this Report the Council 
addressed a measure by the Russian Federation on the pre-installation of software . The United 
States shared its concern s that the measure in question  could run counter to the Russian 
Federation's WTO obligations  and sought additional clarity on the same . The US concerns were 
echoed by  a number of  other Members.  S/C/62  
 
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  8.2  The Russian Federation stated that , in developing the measure under discussion, it had taken 
into account  the comments submitted by stakeholders and that the measure was fully consistent 
with its WTO obligations.  
9  MEASURES OF THE UNITED STATES RELATED TO CERTAIN  APPLICATIONS  
9.1  At the request of Ch ina, the Council addressed US measures  concerning Chinese mobile  
applications  at all the meetings covered by this report . At the December and March meetings, China 
expressed  its concern that the measures  in question  were trade -restrictive and inconsistent with the 
United States' WTO obligations . At the July meeting, China noted the revoking of t he measures, 
adding that it was a positive step in the right direction.  
9.2  The United States stated that its actions  served to protect its national security and  had been 
taken to mitigate specific and identified national security risks.  
10  MEASURES OF INDIA RELATED TO INVESTMENT APPROVAL AND CERTAIN  
APPLICATIONS  
10.1  At the request of China, at its December, March and July  meetings the Council addressed 
Indian measures on investment approval and banning the use of certain  applications . China voiced  
its concerns that the measures in question were trade restrictive and  inconsistent with India's  WTO 
obligations .  
10.2  India replied that its measures were fully compliant with  its obligations  at the WTO  and had 
been taken to ensure the protection of privacy, data security and national security .  
11  RUSSIAN FEDERATION TAX BENEFITS FOR DOMESTIC SUPPLIERS OF IT SERVICES 
AND DOMESTIC SOFTWARE PRODUCTS  
11.1  At the request of the United States, at the December meeting the Council addressed a measure 
by the Russian Federation providing  certain tax benefits to domestic suppliers of IT services and 
domestic software products. The United States expressed  its concerns that the measure in question 
could run counter to the Russian Federation's WTO obligations and sought additional information  on 
the same.  
11.2  The Russian Federation stated that  the measure  in question  was fully consistent with its WTO 
obligations and only applied to certain developers of specific importance for the sector . 
12  SAUDI ARABIA LOCALISATION OF CUSTOMER SERVICES  
12.1  At the req uest of the United States, at the July meeting the Council addressed a  measure by 
Saudi Arabia requiring the localisation of customer services activities . The United States shared its 
concerns that the measure , due to enter into force on 31 July, would  impose significant costs  on 
many companies in Saudi Arabia and would affect various services sectors in which Saudi Arabia 
had undertaken relevant GATS commitments.  The US concerns were echoed by another Member . 
12.2  Saudi Arabia stated  that its measure fully conform ed with its WTO commitments and would  
not change or modify existing market access conditions . 
13  WORK OF THE SUBSIDIARY BODIES  
13.1.   The activities of the subsidiary bodies in 20 21 are reflected in their respective reports, which 
are annexed to this report, as follows:  
 Annex I  Report of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services (S/FIN/ 36) 
 Annex II  Report of the Committee on Specific Commitments (S/CSC/ 27) 
 Annex III  Report of the Working Party on Domestic Regul ation (S/WPDR/ 25) 
 Annex IV  Report of the Working Party on GATS Rules (S/W PGR/32). 
 
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  ANNEX I  
  
  
S/FIN/36  
 
18 October 2021  
(21-7892) Page: 6/10 
   
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2021)  
 
 
1. This report has been prepared pursuant to the Procedures for an Annual Overview of WTO 
Activities and for Reporting Under the WTO (WT/L/105).  
2. Since its 2020 annual report to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Committee on Trade in 
Financial Services (CTFS) has held no meetings.  
 
_______________  
 
  
 
1 Annual Report of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services to the Council for Trade in Services 
(2020), contained in document S/FIN/35 dated 27 November 2020.  
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  ANNEX II  
  
  
S/CSC/27  
 
19 October 2021  
(21-7906) Page: 7/10 
   
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2021)  
 
 
1.  Since its 2020 annual report to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Committee on Specific 
Commitments (CSC) held three formal meetings, on 2 December 2020, 10 March 2021 and 
29 June 2021 respectively.2 At these meetings, the Committee considered three items: 
Implementation of Speci fic Commitments, Classification Issues and Scheduling Issues.  
1  IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS  
2.  This item was included in the agenda upon a Communication from the United States dated 
5 March 2020.3 The United States proposed that the Committee examine conditional commitments 
contained in the Schedules of Specific Commitments under the GATS with a view to improving 
transparency of commitments. The Committee agreed on a step -by-step approach whereby t he 
Secretariat would first prepare a factual compilation of conditional commitments contained in 
Members' Schedules and the Committee would then consider the next steps of the proposed 
exercise.  
3.  Accordingly, the Secretariat prepared and circulated the Compilation of Conditional Commitments 
dated 13 November 2020, which was later revised upon the request of the Committee.4 The 
Compilation encompasses those entries in the Schedules of Specific Commitments under the GATS 
which make the entry into force, i mplementation, or updating of specific commitments conditional 
upon a domestic process such as new legislation or policy review. Information related to the 
implementation of conditional commitments are also included in the Compilation, subject to the 
availability of information. Members were invited to verify and complement such information.  
4.  Engagement in the exercise on conditional commitments was on a voluntary basis. At the 
meetings during the reporting period, a number of Members provided updates on  the implementation 
of their commitments included in the Compilation. Some Members indicated that they were holding 
internal consultations and would provide updates at a later stage.  
2  CLASSIFICATION ISSUES  
5.  At the meeting on 10 March 2021, the UN Sta tistics Division (UNSD) and the WTO Secretariat 
provided a joint presentation on the new functionalities of the UN statistical classification website 
helping Members navigate between the different CPC versions as well as between the CPC and other 
classific ations. The focus of the presentation was on whether and how the correspondence could be 
established between the CPC Provisional Version of 1991 and the later versions of the CPC, given 
 
1 Annual Report of the Committee on Specific Commitments to the Council for Trade in Services (2020), 
contained in document S/CSC/26 dated 2 December 2020.  
2 The reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/CSC/M/84, S/CSC/M/85 and 
S/CSC/M/86, which should be read in conjunction with this report.  
3 The communication from the United States is contained in document S/CSC/W/69.  
4 The Compilation of Conditional Commitments is contained in document S/CSC/70 and 
S/CSC/70/Rev.1.  
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  that the Services Sectoral Classification List (MTN.GNS/W/120) created  for scheduling specific 
commitments under the GATS was based on the CPC Provisional Version.  
3  SCHEDULING ISSUES  
6.  The Committee did not engage in substantive discussions under this item.  
 
 
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  ANNEX III  
  
  
S/WPDR /25 
 
26 October 2021  
(21-8095) Page: 9/10 
   
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON DOMESTIC REGULATION  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2021)  
 
1.  Since its 2020 annual report to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Working Party on Domestic 
Regulation held one formal meeting, on 30 June 2021.2 
2.  At the meeting, the delegations of India and South Africa detailed their concerns with respect to 
the development  of disciplines on domestic regulation through a Reference Paper by a Joint Initiative. 
The opening statement was circulated to all Members.3 At the meeting, the delegations of Sri Lanka, 
Venezuela, and Zimbabwe associated themselves with the statement by  India and South Africa.  
3.  The concerns raised related to the legal status of the Joint Initiative and any possible outcome 
of its negotiations4, and the implications for the multilateral mandate under Article VI:4 of the GATS. 
Questions were also raise d as to whether certain disciplines set out in the draft Reference Paper on 
Services Domestic Regulation that was being negotiated in the Joint Initiative would amend, interpret 
or dilute existing obligations under the GATS.  
4.  Twenty -one (21) delegation s who are participants in the Joint Initiative noted that the disciplines 
developed by the Joint Initiative were GATS -plus in nature and did not affect the multilateral 
mandate. A clear legal pathway for the integration of the disciplines into participatin g Members' 
Schedules of Specific Commitments existed in the WTO, and the new additional commitments would 
apply to the benefit of service suppliers of all Members. In their responses, several of these 
delegations referred to a Note on the relationship betw een the disciplines negotiated in the Joint 
Initiative and the GATS.5 
5.  No convergence was reached among the Members.  
 
 
_______________  
 
 
 
 
1 Annual Report of the Workin g Party on Domestic Regulation (2020), S/WPDR/24 , dated 
27 November  2020.  
2 The Report of the meeting is contained in document S/WPDR/M/77 , dated 29 July 2021,  and should be 
read in conjunction with this Annual Report.  
3 RD/SERV/WP DR/1, dated 1 July 2021.  
4 As set out in document W T/GC/W/819 /Rev.1, dated 30 April 2021 . 
5 INF/SDR/W/4 , dated 11 May 2 020. 
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  ANNEX IV  
  
  
S/WPGR/32  
 
18 October 2021  
(21-7872) Page: 10/10 
   
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON GATS RULES  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES (2021)  
 
 
1. This report has been prepared pursuant to the Procedures for an Annual Overview of 
WTO Activities and for Reporting Under the WTO (WT/L/105).  
2. Since its 2020 annual report to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Working Party on GATS 
Rules (WPGR) ha s not held any meetings.  
__________  
 
 
 
1 Annual Report of the Working Party on GATS Rules to the Council for Trade in Services (2020), 
contained in document S/WPGR/31 dated 27 November 2020.