TN/S/38  
 
21 March 2014  
(14-1776)  Page: 1/2  
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session    
 
 REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE  
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES IN SPECIAL SESSION1 
FRIDAY, 14 MARCH 2014 
_______________ 
 
 1.1.  Pursuant to the instructions provided by  the Chairman of the TNC on 6 February, I have 
conducted informal consultations with Members to  exchange views on the Services component of 
the post-Bali Work Programme, which the TNC must finalize by the end of 2014. These 
consultations took place in an informal meeting of the "Enchilada Group" on 24 February, and an 
informal meeting of the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services held on 12 March 
2014. In both meetings, I asked Members to focus on the following three questions: 
 First, can it be assumed that the three market access negotiations on Agriculture, 
NAMA and Services should be taken up simultaneously as a package? 
 Second, if that is the case, how do Members see the services component of that 
package? 
 Third, at this early stage, how do Member s see the potential level of ambition in 
services, in both market access and rule-making areas? 
1.2.  Members recognised that this discussion was still at a very early stage. The need for further 
deliberations on the optimal way ahead was emphasized. There was overall willingness to engage in a positive way, reflecting the post-Bali spirit . There was agreement that the three market access 
pillars should be addressed simultaneously. There also seemed to be broad convergence on aiming 
for an outcome that would be realistic, doable, and balanced across the three market access pillars, as well as within the services agenda itself. Such an approach would require a certain 
degree of creativity and readiness to explore new approaches. 
1.3.  The centrality of the development objective of the Round, and the importance of seeing this 
reflected in the negotiating outcome on services was emphasized. Reference was frequently made to the need to learn from previous DDA experience, to avoid repeating earlier mistakes in 
determining the way forward. Some Members sp ecifically referred to the need to avoid a 
sequencing order in the DDA. At the same time, ot hers stressed the centrality of the agriculture 
negotiations among the three market access pillars.  
1.4.  While recognising that further deliberations were needed to arrive at an appropriate level of 
ambition in services, it seemed to be widely accepted that this would have to be considered commensurate with the corresponding levels in agriculture and NAMA. Most Members mentioned 
that there should also be a balanced outcome within  the services pillar. Many insisted that such a 
balance should also include the rule-making side of the negotiations.  
1.5.  References were made to plurilateral negoti ations on services taking place outside the WTO. 
Some recognised the importance of such plurilateral initiatives as a complement to the WTO 
                                               
1 This is the formal version of JOB/GC/63/Rev.1 wh ich was issued following the meeting of the General 
Council of 14 March 2014. TN/S/38 
 
- 2 - 
 
  negotiations, highlighting the potential for cross-fertilization between the two tracks. At the same 
time, others took the view that such initiati ves could undermine the multilateral process. 
1.6.  The importance of operationalizing the LD C waiver was also stressed. It was generally the 
view that the implementation of Bali outcomes should take utmost priority. It was also noted that 
the regular session of the Services Council has been mandated by Ministers to address this matter. 
1.7.  My conclusion is that Members are engage d and ready to include Services in the Post-Bali 
Work Programme and that an agreement in this area is doable. However, Services negotiations do 
not take place in a vacuum.  
 
__________