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5 December  2016 
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Council for Trade in Services  
Special Session    
 
REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 1 4 NOVEMBER 2016 
NOTE BY THE SECRETAR IAT1 
The Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services held a formal meeting on 
14 November  2016.  In the absence of the outgoing Chairman, a representative from the 
Secretariat  opened the meeting. The agenda, contained in document WTO/AIR/ TN/S/1 , was 
adopted.  
1  ITEM A: E LECTION OF THE NEW C HAIRPERSON  
1.1.  The representative from the Secretariat  recalled that, as announced at the meeting of the 
General Council of 3 October 2016, consensus ha d been reached among the membership to 
nominate  Ambassador  Marcelo Cima of Argentina as Chair of the Special Session of the Council for 
Trade in Services . The Special Session elected  Ambassador Cima by acclamation.  
1.2.  The Chairman  thanked delegation s for thei r support and trust. He expressed appreciation for 
the work of his predecessor, Ambassador Gabriel Duque of Colombia, who had navigated the 
negotiations with great skill. The Chairman said that he would strive to exercise his functions with 
the utmost fair ness and transparency, and was confident that, with the support and cooperation  of 
all delegations , the Special Session's work could advance smoothly and fruitfully.  
2  ITEM B: EXCHANGE OF VIEWS ON FUTURE WORK  
2.1.  The Chairman  noted that the state of discussions had last been captured in  his predecessor's 
informal summary contained in JOB/SERV/237, dated 27 July  2016. Members had so far expressed 
a renewed willingness to engage, and recognized the need for pragmatism, realism, and flexibility. 
They acknowledged that the GATS contained clear negotiating mandate s, and recalled the 
importance of the development dimension. Some delegations had identified certain factors as 
challenges, but such factors were mostly external to this process, either relating to linkages wi th 
other negotiations or the overall environment. The general sense  was that some headway could be 
made if leadership was exercised by proponents and negotiating demands were realistic.  
2.2.  According to his p redecessor, 3 broad possible areas of work had been highlighted  by 
delegations : 1) market access, 2) domestic regulation, and 3) e -commerce.  First, there had been 
indications of readiness to resume negotiations on market access. Several delegations had said 
that progress was long overdue, and there was a de sire to discuss procedures for bringing offers 
forward. In terms of objectives, one suggestion was to focus on eliminating or reducing "water" by 
which current regimes ha d long stopped corresponding to existing commitments. Obviously, 
applied regimes were much more open. Another suggestion was to approach the levels of 
commitments of members in their RTAs, and a third idea put forward was to look at levels of 
commitmen ts of recently acceded members. With respect to this area of work, concrete and 
pragmatic proposals on how  to move ahead would be needed, both in terms of objectives and 
process. Leadership by Members w ould be key for this to progress.  
                                                
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of M embers or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
 
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  2.3.  Second, interest in kick -starting negotiations on domestic regulations had been voiced. Since  
the last meeting  of the Special Session , new proposals ha d been tabled in the WPDR, one on 
administration of measures  and one on services trade facilitation. The Chairman considered that 
further discussions of these, as well as of any additional proposals, should continue , and hopefully 
intensi fy, in that body. Previously, services trade facilitation had also been mentioned in the 
context of the Specia l Session. Obviously, if such trade facilitation  was meant to cover issues that 
went beyond negotiations under the WPDR , it might be raised directly in the context of the Special 
Session, including if it relate d, for example, to market access.  
2.4.  Third, a number of Members ha d highlighted e -commerce as a negotiating priority, due to the 
extensive role of services in this area. Initiatives or proposals that focus ed on negotiating aspects 
in relation to services c ould be brought f orward in the Special Session.  
2.5.  Acknowledging that the thinking of delegations m ight have evolved or gained in specificity  
since his predecessor's last asse ssment, the Chairman asked delegations to exchange views on 
what should be the priorities of the Special Session over the next months, and on how to go about 
advancing such work.  
2.6.  The Chairman s uggested that the discussions take place under informal  mode.  
2.7.  The meeting proceeded accordingly.  
3  ITEM C - OTHER BUSINESS  
3.1.  Since there was no other business, the meeting was adjourned . 
 
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