RESTRICTED  
  
S/CSC/M/ 82 
 
11 August  2020 
(20-5517) Page: 1/5 
Committee on Specific Commitments    
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 1 JULY  2020 
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
The Committee on Specific Commitments (CSC) held a meeting on 1 July 2020 chaired by 
Mr. Tamás  Vattai  from Hungary . The agenda for the meeting, contained in document 
WTO/AIR/CSC/1 1, was adopted . 
 
1  ITEM A – IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS  
1.1.  The Chair person  stated that this item was included in the agenda upon the submission of the 
United States, contained in document S/CSC/W/69, which propose d an exercise of updating GATS 
Schedules with conditional commitments . Conditional commitments refer red to those entries in 
Members' schedules which condition ed their entry into force, implementation or new commitments 
on the adoption of new legislation or the review of the pre -existing regime. Dating back to the 1990s , 
most of these commitments affect ed the transparency and legal certainty of sc hedules . Noting that 
the Committee was mandated to oversee the implementation of specific commitments and to 
improve their technical accuracy and coherency in the future , the Chairperson  believed that the US 
proposal for updating schedules with conditional  commitments was a good and timely contribution 
to the Committee's efforts to fulfil its mandate. Furthermore, the exercise would improve the 
transparency and legal certainty of specific commitments .  
1.2.  The representative of the United States  stated that the proposed exercise was indeed designed 
to improve the transparency and legal certainty of the schedules of specific commitments . Some 
schedules were conditional on the review or  passing  of legislation and a promis e to update specific 
commit ments upon the completion of legislati ve action or policy reviews. The proposal requested 
that the Secretariat catalogue those schedules containing such conditional language. A couple of 
examples were outlined in the Annotated Agenda  for this meeting . The first example  was that 
commitments related to certain aspects of the Telecom Reference Paper would be conditional upon 
the passage of new legislation. Since this was part of that Member's Schedule of Specific 
Commitments, the Schedule needed to be updated accordingly. The second and third example s were 
about commitments conditional upon  the outcome of a review of policy , and the Member s concerned 
were not required to update their schedule s. It would be helpful for the Committee to hear from 
those Members ab out any outcome of the ir policy review s. The fourth example  mentioned that an 
improved commitment would be submitted if the government review was favourable. It would also 
be helpful for the Member concerned to  update the Committee on the outcome of the go vernment 
review. These examples showed gradation s in this type of scheduling. It would be helpful to 
catalogue the conditional commitments, seek policy updates from Members who referenced policy 
reviews and new commitments to reflect those conditional entries . The exercise was not finger -
pointing; as mentioned earlier, it was design ed to improve the transparency and legal certainty of 
specific commitments.    
1.3.  The representative of Chinese Taipei  stated  that in order to improve transparency, it would  be 
useful to have Members ' indicat ion about the revision of their schedules . Therefor e, his delegation  
support ed the proposal raised by the US . 
1.4.  The representative of Barbados , speaking on behalf of the ACP Group, stated that they were 
still consulting their capitals on the US proposal (S/CSC/W/69) and some aspects of the Annotated 
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  S/CSC/M/8 2 
 
- 2 - 
 
  Agenda ( JOB/SERV/295) . They were not in a position to support a consensus on the proposal at this 
time. She took this opportunity to note with appreciation the role of  the Secretariat in assisti ng 
developing  countries  and LDC s, bilaterally and on request , with the  examination of their services 
schedules, assistance of notification s, as well as any other requests for the purpose of transparency 
and in a manner that did not put the Secretariat in a position of interpreting schedules of specific 
commitments.  
1.5.  The representative of China  stated that his delegation recognized the significance of updating 
Members' GATS schedules . Nevertheless, China believed that it was more important for Members to 
fulfil their existing commitments. China noted that certain Members had taken trade restrictive and 
protectionist measures in the name of national security and thus violated their GATS commitments 
and WTO rules. China urged those Members to respect WTO rules and faithfully implement their 
commitments.   
1.6.  The representative of Canada  thanked the US for submitting this proposal . Canada would 
support a step -by-step approach. As a first step, Canada would see value in the Secretariat 
producing a compendium of conditional commitments, for Member s' information . Once the document 
was available, Members could share theirs views and discuss next steps .  
1.7.  The representative of the European Union  echoed the intervention of Canada and endorsed the 
step-by-step approach . Recognizing the importance of ensuring the transparen cy and legal certainty 
of Members' schedules of specific commitments, the European Union could support the Secretariat 
to prepare a catalogue of conditional commitments in Members' schedules. Members could then 
provide updates  if they so wished.   
1.8.  Further to the statements made by Canada and the European Union, the representative of 
Australia  also thanked the U nited States for their proposal. Recognizing the importance of  
transparency of Members ' commitments , Australia was  open to the idea of the Secretariat compiling 
a list of conditional commitments. It would also be helpful to hear updates from Members on their 
measures and consider next steps . 
1.9.  The representative of India understood that the proposal by the United States  include d the 
identification of conditional commitments by the Secretariat, provision by the Members concerned 
of updates on the outcome and current status of the measures that condition ed the commitments, 
and any plan to update the relevant schedules. App arently, this exercise would  improve the 
transparency of commitments. Therefore, India ha d no objections to the proposal. With the same 
objective, India urged the United States to improve its  level of compliance with existing notification 
requirements, not ably under GATS Article III :3, especially those affect ing their mode 4 
commitments, including entry -related measures, as mode 4 was the key mode of export interest to 
most developing counties and LDCs . 
1.10.   The representative of Brazil  thanked the United States for the proposal. Brazil shared the 
objective of ensuring transparency and implementation of GATS commitments, and therefore could 
support the suggestion that the Secretariat prepare a  compilation of conditional commitments . With 
respect to the next steps proposed by the United States, namely "Members with such conditional 
commitments would be requested to provide an update on the outcome and current status of the 
measure, review, or reform in question and their plans to revise the ir schedules ", he sought 
clarification from the United States  on whether there were two pr opositions . Referring to the 
intervention by Barbados, h e thought that there might be a need to have a clearer picture of those 
conditional commitments including how they should be interpreted. It would be useful to engage 
with the Secretariat to have a common understanding of those conditional commitments .   
1.11.   The representative of the United States  responded favourably to the suggestion for a step -
by-step approach. He thought that this might address some of Brazil's concerns. The United States 
sought those schedules that  specifically condition ed the provision of  update d commitments on the 
passage of legislation. In terms of other schedules with conditional language such  as references to 
policy reviews, the Committee would benefit by having explanations on the outcome of such policy 
reviews. The United States did not seek any interpretation of Members' schedules by the Secretariat . 
The exercise was designed to catalogue t he entries in Members' schedules which referenced policy 
reviews or put certain  conditions in their schedules that they would provide  updated commitments 
on a future date. Therefore, the first step would be to catalogue those entries without any sort of S/CSC/M/8 2 
 
- 3 - 
 
  interpretation which was not the Secretariat's role. Then Members could consider the next steps. 
Taking  note of India's statement in terms of greater  transparency in notifications , he said that  his 
delegation  remained  open to discuss ing ways of improving transparency  with Members. In 
conclusion, h is delegation would continue to work with delegate s clarifying the objectives of the 
proposal  so as to achieve a useful  outcome in the Committee's discussion.  
1.12.   The Chairperson  noted the useful considerati ons by delegations on the US proposal and their 
shared view on the importance of having transparency in specific commitments. Referring to the 
step-by-step approach proposed by  Canada , which he understood as a compromise, he made the 
following suggest ions. As a first step,  the Secretariat would prepare a factual compilation of 
conditional commitments  which should serve  transparency purposes only and not involve any 
interpretation . Based on the compilation, the Committee would then consider and decide the fu rther 
steps.  
1.13.   The representative of Barbados  reiterated the position of the ACP Group that they were 
reviewing the US proposal in their capitals and not in a position at this stage to support the consensus 
to take the proposal forward.  
1.14.   The Chairperson  asked the representative of Barbados whether it was possible to allow the 
Secretariat to prepare a factual compilation of conditional commitments simply for transparency 
purposes so that the ACP Group could have a clearer picture of the matter.  
1.15.   The repres entative of Barbados  responded that they could not go along with the Chairperson's 
suggestion at this stage and were interested in consultations with the Chairperson at a later date to 
have more clarity on the matter.  
1.16.   The representative of Senegal  endorse d the statement made by Barbados on behalf of the 
ACP Group. He suggested that the Committee postpone the matter to another meeting so that 
delegations would have more time to consult their capitals.  
1.17.   The representative of South Africa  supported the statem ent made by Barbados on behalf of 
the ACP Group to postpone the agenda item. Noting some aspects of the US proposal to be clarified  
as well as the constraints delegations were facing during the pandemic , he believed that it was 
reasonable to accommodate th e ACP Group's request for further consultations  and reserve the 
discussion for a later time .   
1.18.   The representative of Brazil  stated that his delegation wished to have a better understanding 
of the issues raised by the US proposal . It would be useful for the  Chairperson and the Secretariat 
to hold consultations with interested Members on this matter.  
1.19.   The Chairperson  suggested that the incoming Chairperson hold consultations with interested 
Members on the US proposal and that the Committee revert to this item  at its next meeting.  
1.20.   It was so agreed .  
2  ITEM B - SCHEDULING  ISSUES  
2.1.  The Chairperson  recalled the Committee 's continued discussion on scheduling issues under 
mode 4  at the last meeting , which had been initiated by a Communication from the Kyrgyz Republic 
(contained in JOB/SERV/287). In particular, the Kyrgyz Republic shared its thoughts on how to 
improve transparency and clarity of mode 4 commitments as well as its domestic experience in 
relation to the work permit regime. Some other delegations a lso shared their domestic experience 
on labour market tests at previous meetings . As noted in the Annotated Agenda for this meeting, he 
encouraged more Members to share their domestic experience in the administration of labour market 
tests, which would imp rove transparency of mode 4 commitments . Some interventions made at the 
last meeting noted that the discussion under this agenda item should cover other modes of supply 
as well. He took  this point and invite d Members to consider other scheduling issues . Some issues 
had been mentioned in a previous Chair's  report, which ar ose in digital trade and concern ed modes 
1, 2 and 3, such as the meaning of "Unbound" with an asterisk  (i.e. "Unbound*") , the distinction 
between modes 1 and 2 for online transactions, as w ell as the line between market access and 
national treatment for some measures such as data localization requirements. As digitalization was S/CSC/M/8 2 
 
- 4 - 
 
  transforming services trade, t hese issues might be  more relevant than ever. He reiterated that 
Members m ight raise any scheduling issues of particular interest to them .  
2.2.  The representative of Switzerland  stated that his delegation supported discussions aiming at 
enhancing clarity and predictability in all modes and sectors. In this respect,  Switzerland welcomed 
discussions on the meaning of "Unbound *" entries  under mode 1. Such exchange of view s could 
provide more transparency both on the initial intentions behind the listing  of "Unbound*" and on 
where these entries stood  today . Due to the t echnical developments in the last years , many services 
where Members had inscribed "Unbound*" were expected to be tradeable, notably through mode 1. 
Thus, one could argue that in such cases,  "Unbound*" was equivalent to "None". In its recent FTAs , 
Switzerl and had undertaken full market access and national treatment commitments  in several 
sectors where  "None" were inscribed instead of "Unbound*"  under mode 1. This approach had been 
followed, for instance, in environmental services or in services of maintenan ce and repair of aircraft, 
as technology made cross-border supply possible. Switzerland would be interested in other Members' 
views and practices in this regard and open to other discussions that would enhance clarity and 
predictability of Members' schedul es.  
2.3.  The representative of India thanked  the delegation of the Kyrgyz Republic again for having 
tabled a useful proposal on "Scheduling issues under mode 4 ", as contained  in document 
JOB/SERV/287.  She reiterated her delegation's advoc acy for  Members to jointly work in the identified 
areas . The criteria for administering economic needs tests ( ENTs) should be transparent and 
objective and not on a discretionary basis. It would be desirable to jointly develop a list of specific 
elements such as c riteria and details of ENT/LMT requirements, and procedures and guidelines for 
administration of such tests. India welcomed the suggestion by the European Union  that all Member s 
should agree to remove ENTs for the category of Intra-Corporate Transferees ( ICTs).  With respect 
to developing agreed definitions for the commonly scheduled mode 4 categories, India agree d that 
this would  be difficult at the multilateral level , given differ ent domestic legislations . However, it 
might be workable  to develop key definitional elements or some common criteria  for committed 
categories of mode 4. As suggested by the Kyrgyz Republic, it w ould be useful to specify the degree 
of education or specialisation. S ervice suppliers from India ha d faced difficulties due  to subjective 
and arbitrary assessment of an applicant’s qualifications , especially in the case of the "specialist " 
sub-category of ICTs . India noted that many Members had agreed at one previous  meeting that it 
would  be helpful to clarify the relationship  between horizontal and sector -specific commitments in 
the case of mode 4. On this point, referring to  the current proposal by the US, she noted that  the 
Secretariat  could similarly help identify relevant  instances in Members’ schedules and  that the 
concerned Members could then consider providing necessary updates. This exercise would also 
improve the transparency of commitments. India looked forward to constructive engagement with 
Members on these issues .   
2.4.  The Chairperson  sought other Members' views on the Indian proposal  for possible work by the 
Secretariat.  
2.5.  The representative of the United States  stated  that his delegation would have  to see the 
proposal in writing in order to  have clarity on the scope a nd nature of what was being requested and 
then consult with the capital.    
2.6.  The Chairperson  proposed  that the Committee take note of the statements made and revert to 
this agenda item at the next meeting .  
2.7.  It was so agreed .  
3  ITEM C – CLASSIFICATION ISSUES  
3.1.  The Chairperson  recalled a well -received presentation by the Secretariat at the last meeting  
with respect to  recent developments in the measurement of digital trade.  The presentation covered 
the conceptual framework developed by the international statistical community on digital trade and 
related services classification issues.  The presentation highlighted, among other points, that the 
digitalization of services trade might  pose some challenges for services classification. How to classify 
digital platforms was a case in point. Members were invited to give further thought in this regard 
and raise any issue of particular interest to them.  S/CSC/M/8 2 
 
- 5 - 
 
  3.2.  The representative of Japan  stated that his delegation  was interested in the measurement of 
digital trade, and thus appreciate d the useful presentation by the Secretariat at the last meeting. 
Discussing classification would  provide more clarity and, as actual services trade evolve d over time, 
it was necessary to keep updating classifications. Japan  hoped to continue to join the discussion on 
this matter . 
3.3.  The Chairperson  suggested that the Committee take note of the statement s made and revert 
to this agenda item  at its next meeting.  
3.4.  It was so agreed . 
4  ITEM D – OTHER BUSINESS  
4.1.  No issue was raised under this item.  
5  ITEM E – APPOINTMENT OF THE CHAIR PERSON FOR THE COMMITTEE  
5.1.  Noting that the Chairperson of the Council for Trade in Services ha d recently concluded his 
consultations on the slate of names for the Chairpersons of the subsidiary  bodies , the outgoing 
Chairperson , Mr. Tamás Vattai , thanked Members for their trust and support in the past year and 
propose d that the Committee elect Mr. Toshihide Aotake from Japan as its new Chairperson by 
acclamation .  
5.2.  It was so agreed . 
5.3.  The meeting was adjourned . 
__________