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S/C/M/135  
 
11 July 2018 
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Council for Trade in Services    
 
REPORT OF THE MEETIN G HELD ON 30 MAY 2018 
NOTE BY THE SECRETAR IAT1 
The Council for Trade in Services held a meeting on 30 May 2018, opened by 
Ambassador  Braithwaite (United Kingdom)  and chaired by Am bassador Suescum (Panama). The 
agenda was contained in document WTO/AIR/CTS/1 5. 
 
The representative s of New Zealand  said that her delegation  wished to add an item of Other 
Business, to draw Members' attention to the availability of the CPC Provisional classification on the 
website of the United Nations Statist ical Division.  
 
The representatives of Japan  said that h is delegation  wished to add an item of Other Business, to 
raise Japan's concern on the cybersecurity measures of China and Viet Nam.  
 
The representatives of Brazil  said that his delegation  also wished  to add an item of Other Business, 
related to the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation.  
 
The agenda was adopted as modified . 
1  ITEM A:  APPOINTMENT OF THE N EW CHAIRPERSON  
1.1.  Based on the consensus reached in the General  Council, the Chairman  said that he  was very 
pleased to pass on the Chairmanship of the Council for Trade in Servic es to 
Ambassador  Alfredo  Suescum of Panama. He  was confident that, with his experience, knowledge 
and energy, Ambassador Suescum would  guide the work of the Council over  the next year capably 
and efficiently. Delegations were well aware of Ambassador Suescum's commitment to many of 
the issues on the Council's agenda and the role that he had played tirelessly to advance relevant 
work.  
1.2.  As the outgoing C hairperson of the Cou ncil, he said that, over the previous year, he had 
enjoyed working with delegations and had  appreciated their cooperative  spirit in fulfilling the 
mandate of the Council , particularly  the collegial way in which they had participated  in the 
discussion , including in  the context of his informal consultations  between formal sessions. He had 
witnessed a spirit of engagement, expertise, a  willingness to work together  constructively,  often 
when positions differed, and to find common ways forward, which was the ess ence of getting 
business done in the multilateral system. He wished to paid tribute to all Members for the spirit 
they had shown , but also wished to thank and pay tribute to the Secretariat ; WTO Members were 
very well -served by an excellent, experienced an d technically competent Secretariat, made up of 
individuals dedicated to supporting the WTO its work. He wished to thank in particular the services 
team of the Secretariat for the support provided to him over the previous year.  
1.3.  He then proposed that Ambas sador Suescum be elected by acclamation.  
1.4.  It was so agreed . 
1.5.  The new Chairman , Ambassador Suescum , thank ed Ambassador Braithwaite for his kind 
words and his dedication,  efforts and hard work during the previous year , which had contributed to 
                                                
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/C/M/135  
 
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  his efficient ru nning of the Council . He also thank ed Members for their trust and support. He was 
committed to advancing the work of the Council in the most efficient and constructive way possible 
and he knew that he could count on the cooperation, knowledge and experience of Members and 
the Secretariat.  
1.6.  All delegations which intervened  at the meeting congratulated the new Chairman on his 
appointment, welcoming him to his new position, and thank ed the outgoing Chairman for his  hard 
work.  
2  ITEM B:  NOTIFICATIONS PURSUA NT TO ARTICLES III:3 , V:7 AND VII:4 OF THE GATS  
2.1.  With regard to the notifications made pursuant to GATS Article III:3 (transparency), the 
Chairman  drew the Council's attention to the communic ations received from  Tunisia (contained in 
document S/C/N/899) and Thailand (in documents S/C/N/905 to 910) .  
2.2.  The representative of Canada  wished to ask a few questions on Thailand's notification  
regarding education services , contained  in document S/C/N /909. First, h e asked Thailand to 
confirm  whether the O rder pertained  to private or pub lic education service providers . Second, he 
asked Thailand  to indicate which measures set out Thailand’s education  standards and how a 
programme wa s determined to be " highly recognized at the international level" . Third, he asked if 
Thailand could give examples of courses which we re not currentl y provided by Thai institutions. 
Fourth, he enquired if the measure at issue was providing opportunities for high -quality educa tion 
institutions from overseas to offer educational services in areas of science and tech nology in 
Thailand through mode  4 as well as mode 3. Finally, a ccording to the new measure notified , he 
asked Thailand to confirm whether a foreign h igher education i nstitution could open 100% foreign -
owned branches in Th ailand’s special economic zones.  
2.3.  The representative of Thailand  thanked Canada for the questions posed, which testified to 
Canada's interest in the education sector. She would appreciate receiving the questions in writing 
and would revert to them.  
2.4.  The Chairman  exhorted Canada to present its questions in writing and Thailand to provide 
answers expeditiously. He then suggested that the Council take note of the  notifications and the  
statements made.  
2.5.  It was so agreed . 
2.6.  Concerning the notifications made pursuant to GATS Article V:7 (Economic Integration), the 
Chairman  drew the Council's attention to the communication s received , respectively, from China 
and Georgia (in document S/C/N/900) and by Liechtenstein and Switzerland (in document 
S/C/N/891/Add.1).  He suggested that the Council take note of the notification s made, and that the 
agreement s notified be referred to the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements for 
consideration.  
2.7.  It was so agreed .  
2.8.  While on the  subject of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA), the Chairman  
drew delegations' attention to the fact that, at its meeting scheduled for 19 and 20 June , the CRTA 
would be considering two regional trade agreements that covered trade in services. The 
agreements in question were the 'Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between Canada 
and the European Union'; and the 'Free Trade Agreement between Cost a Rica and Colombia'.   
2.9.  Concerning the notifications made pursuant to GATS Article VII:4 (Recognition), the 
Chairman  drew the Council's attention to the communications received , respectively, from the 
Republic of Korea (in document s S/C/N/901 and 902), Aust ralia (S/C/N/903) and Thailand 
(S/C/N/904). He suggested that the Council take note of th ose notification s.  
2.10.   It was so agreed .  S/C/M/135  
 
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  3  ITEM C: OPERATIONALIZATION  OF THE LDC SERVICES WAIVER  
3.1.  The Chairman  recalled that, at the March  meeting of the Council, the LDC G roup had 
applauded the preferential treatment notified under the Waiver, but had also stressed the need for 
capacity -building measures to enable LDC suppliers to take advantage of those preferences. The 
Group had called on notifying Members to provide tech nical assistance and to build supply capacity 
in LDCs, and  to increase awarene ss of the Waiver domestically. Recalling paragraph 1.6 of the 
Nairobi Waiver Decision, LDCs  had advocated that Members explore what recommendations the 
Council might make "on ste ps that could be taken towards enhancing the operationalisation of the 
Waiver", and Bangladesh had also called on Members to take action in line with paragraph 1.5 of 
the Nairobi Decision.  
3.2.  The representative of Chad, speaking on behalf of the LDC Group, re called the Group's  and 
other the LDC Members'  intervention s at the previous CTS meeting  and the achievement in 
Nairobi , where Ministers had agreed to the Decision on Implementation of Preferential Treatment 
in Favour of Services and Service Suppliers of LDCs.  
3.3.  The LDC Group again thanked  those Members, both developed and developing ones, who had 
submitted notifications under the LDC s ervices Waiver ag reed in 2011.  The Waiver authorised a 
departure from the MFN obligation to allow preferential treatment to be granted to LDC service  
suppliers.  As clearly stipulated in the Nairobi D ecision , it was  imperative that steps be taken to 
ensure that LDC supplier s actually benefit ted from such preferential treatment. The initiative 
behind the Waiver did not stop at notifications.   
3.4.  LDCs had expressed their concern s in Nairobi about  the very few notifications that addressed 
Sections B and C  of the LDC Collective Re quest. Preferen tial treatment to remove behind -the-
border obstacles was  key to any offer of market access. The Group had also  provided an example 
of an actual situation in which a residency permit had been the  barrier that had prevented a 
qualified profess ional from completing the application process.   
3.5.  The LDC Group then drew Members ' attention to paragra ph 1.4 of the Nairobi  Ministerial 
Decision. In that regard, they request ed that notifying Members  inform the CTS of any "specific 
technical assistance and  capacity building measures to orient LDC service suppliers to preference 
benefits available so that such suppliers can u tilize the preferences granted."  For example, had  
any notifying Member  posted clearly on its websites informa tion about the preferences  that we re 
on offer , so that consumers in its own market and LDC suppliers we re aware of those  preferences?  
Had any Member , as part of its technical assistance packages to LDCs, held workshops in LDCs 
with the LDC private sector to orient it to the benefi ts available from the notified prefe rences and 
how they could  be utilize d? 
3.6.  The Group also  referred to the fourth bullet point of paragraph  1.5 of the Nairobi Decision, 
which provide d that the Council  initiate a process to review the operation of notified p references, 
on the basis of information provided by Members. In supp ort of that process, Members might  
request inputs from the Secretariat. In th at context, LDCs  request ed the notifying Members to 
provide an assessment of the use of the prefer ences by LDC services suppliers, for instance by  
sharing information on the supply of services by LDC s uppliers in notified sectors. LDCs  also 
request ed the Secretariat to support the  Council review , by making a presentation on currently 
available data on LDC services exports in notified sectors and existing gaps in data collection and 
reporting by Members. Such reports would give LDCs  a basis for discussion s at the following 
meeting  of the Council .  
3.7.  The representative of Bangladesh  recalled his delegation's demand at the previous meeting 
that the Council take action in line with paragraph 1.5 of the Nairobi Ministerial Decision . In that 
spirit, he also echoed the statement delivered by Chad on behalf of the LDC Group.  
3.8.  Referring to paragraph 1.5 of the Nairobi Decis ion, he noted that the mandate in the first 
bullet  point had been fulfilled , as had, for the time being, the one in the second bullet, although 
the latter might need to be reactivated with  the submission of  any new Waiver notifications. 
Turning to the thir d bullet point  of paragraph 1.5 , he suggested that a sub -item be added to the 
Council's agenda, under the LDC Waiver item, for Members to report on their technical assistance 
measures.  He considered the mandate under the fourth bullet point to be the most important one, S/C/M/135  
 
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  as the Council was instructed to review the operation of notified preferences on the basis of 
information provided by Members. For this purpose, he requested, as the LDC coordinator had also 
done, that notifying Members provide information  regarding the use of preferences by LDC service 
suppliers, which would lay down  the basis for  future discussions, before the following meeting of 
the Council . With regard to the fifth and last bullet point of paragraph 1.5, h e said that, once the 
relevant information had been  received , the Council could reflect on how to facilitate the benefits  
provided  under the notified preferences . 
3.9.  The representative of India said that her delegation attache d the  utmost importance to the 
meaningful implementation of preferences granted under the LDC Waiver by all preference -
granting Members , with the ultimate objective of increasing the LDCs ' share in global export s of 
services.  India was the only Member that had committed the waiving  of visa fees for all LDC 
applicants applying for Indian Business and Employment visas during the full duration of the 
Waiver. Amongst other things, India had  also committed that at least 25% of all technical 
assistance and capacity bu ilding opportunities offered by India's Ministry of External Affairs would 
be solely earmarked for LDCs. At the following  meeting of the C ouncil , her delegation would 
provide further detailed updates regarding the  specifi c programmes and measures that we re being 
undertaken by  the Government of India in that  regard.  
3.10.   The representative of Nigeria  exhorted Members to give due attention to two issues in order 
to fulfil the Waiver as per the Nairobi Decision.  One related to transparency and the other to 
technica l assistance and capacity building to enable LDCs to benefit from the notified preferences.  
3.11.   The representative of the United States  noted that the oral statements delivered by the LDC 
Group and Bangladesh contained many suggestions. Some suggestions seemed  to have merit but 
others covered areas that went beyond the competence of Trade Ministries and involved assistance 
agencies , which had their own rules and procedures . It was  therefore essential to carefully assess  
those suggestions. It was also unclear to  his delegation to what extent the statement by 
Bangladesh was complementing rather than echoing the statement delivered by the LDC Group. 
He suggested that LDCs submit their suggestions in writing, to get a clearer understanding of what 
was being asked of  Members and the Secretariat . For instance, the Secretariat would not be in a 
position to provide information on technical assistance measures and their implement ation at the 
national level  that was a challenge for many other WTO bodies and Members worked carefully to 
ensure that the boundaries of other agencies were respected as well.  
3.12.   It would be helpful to start the discussion by having the LDCs present their insights about 
how the services component had been integrated in their national development plan s, as well the 
discussions they had had with assistance providers, bother  bilaterally as well as with multi-donor s 
or International Organizations , and how this related to their trade development aspirations  from a 
services perspective . This would help get a better picture of what was being demanded .  The 
United States delivered a lot of assistance and responded to many requests that were services -
related but tended to be d omestic ally-oriented , such as in the tourism, financial and teleco m 
sectors. The connection of technical assistance  specifically to very isolated elements of the Waiver 
preferences presented  some  challenges. The United States had very liberal services GATS 
commitments and it had provided additional access for LDCs at the  margin  where it had been 
possible , but it made little sense to create technical assistance  programmes that responded  at the 
margins  and not at areas where the bulk of the opportunities lay.  
3.13.   It was difficult  to respond to the request that notifying Member s provide information on how 
the preferences had been used , and that associated statistical information  be presented , 
particularly given the dearth of statistical information on trade in services. As such,  it might be  
helpful to consider what the desired o utcome of the Council's discussions would be and, in that 
sense,  the representative reiteration the call to LDCs to submit their suggestions in writing, to 
enable delegations to engage,  both from the  trade Ministry  perspective and that of  assistance -
providing  agencies.  
3.14.   After thanking India for the information it had provided, t he representative of Bangladesh  
said that his delegation's intervention was very much in line with the one delivered by the LDC 
Group. LDCs were calling for actions that Member s were familiar with, as they were part of what 
Ministers had agreed  to in Nairobi, and as LDCs had repeatedly referred to  them. Paragraph 1.4 of 
the Nairobi Decision addressed technical assistance and the third bullet point of paragraph 1.5 
mandated the C ouncil to facilitate an exchange of information on such technical assistance. The S/C/M/135  
 
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  fourth bullet of paragraph 1.5 instructed the Council t o review the operation of notified preferences 
on the basis of information provided by Members. Over the previous two y ears, LDCs had shared 
with the Council their assessment of the preferences; it was now time for notifying Members to 
inform the Council of how those preferences had been utilised. In that sense, LDCs were asking 
Members to provide relevant information, as clearly mandated by the Nairobi Decision, and, in that 
sense, it was unclear why a formal submission by LDCs would be necessary.  
3.15.   The Chairman suggested that the LDC Group submit a short communication laying out their 
suggest ions, for Members' consideratio n, and that dele gations discuss with each other. He added 
that it did not seem possible to arrive at a decision at that meeting , but underscore that h e would 
be available for consultations or meetings to enable Members to arrive at an agreement as soon as 
possible.  
3.16.   The representative of Bangladesh  noted that the Nairobi Decision contained a clear mandate 
and was therefore unsure what else Members needed.  
3.17.   The representative of Nigeria  said that there was no conflict between the mandate 
emanating from the Nai robi Decision and that of the Council. To that extent, even a written 
submission from the LDCs would not necessarily lead to any breakthrough in terms of the concerns 
raised by the United States. He suggested that consultations be organised amongst interes ted 
parties to find a way forward for the Council that would be in accordance with the mandate in the 
Nairobi Decision . 
3.18.   The representative of Turkey  wished to try to offer a response to the LDC Group to explain 
how LDC service suppliers benefitted from the notified  preferences.  Her delegation had notified 
preference s under the Waiver. S ome of Turkey's preferences could be measured statistically, such 
as the e-visas provided to LDCs . However , other preferences were not easy to measure and she 
concurred with the United States that it was at times impossible  to separate o ut clearly the 
benefits for LDC service suppliers who entered Turkey in the sectors covered by the preferences . 
3.19.   The representative of the European Union  said that many ideas had been put forwar d by 
LDCs that took Members a little away from the  core of the Nairobi Decision . If he had understood 
correctly, suggestions included  conducting an assessment, setting up a website, and instructing 
the Secretariat to carry out work, and in this respect he echoed the statement by the United 
States that there were a lot of issues on the table for Members to consider. He suggested that the 
Council move more incrementally in carrying out the  mandate of the Nairobi Decision, and start 
with the instructions in th e third bullet of paragraph 1.5  to facilitate an exchange of information on 
technical assistance . That was an issue that his delegation was ready to work on and one that 
might provide a good and defined entry point to the discussion as it was up to Members  to present 
their technical assistance measures to the benefit of LDCs. Such an exercise would contribute to 
starting constructive discussions while Members  considered some of the other suggestions put 
forward by  LDCs.  
3.20.   The representative of Australia  said that her delegation was  committed to supporting 
operationalisation of the LDC services Waiver and to  implementing the Nairobi  Decision;  Australia  
recognise d the importance of increasing LDC parti cipation in trade in services. Her delegation 
would see value in Members sharing information on technical assistance that support ed LDC 
participation in trade in  services  complemented the W aiver b oth in terms of Members that had  
notified preferences and also hearing from LDCs about how services trade ha d been i ncorporated 
in the ir national development plans. Australia would be  ready to participate fully in such an  
exchange of information. She had  heard a number of other ideas from the LDC Group, which she 
had tried to note in full  to be able to relay them to cap ital but was not sure  that she had recorded 
everything that had been suggested. Some of the ideas raised seem ed to go beyond what had 
been set out in the MC10 Decision.  
3.21.   Her delegation was interested in considering how to take that work forward, and  it wou ld be 
useful to have some further information from the LDC Group to clarify what was being requested. 
However, t o avoid delays, she could support the  EU suggestion that the Council start with the 
exchange of information on technical assistance and then con sider next steps with some further 
information from the LDC Group.  S/C/M/135  
 
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  3.22.   The representative of Chad thanked India and Turkey for the information they had shared, 
the European Union for the suggestion to start work with the exchange of information of technical 
assistance  and Australia for supporting that suggestion , and the United States for its positive  
engagement . He said that there were elements amongst those suggested by LDC that delegations 
could support; he wished to know which those were and how the remaini ng ones could be 
improved to garner support. He also noted the Chairman's offer of assistance; LDCs would 
organise a meeting amongst themselves to decide what kind of assistance they might request of 
the Chairman in order to move the Council's work in acco rdance with the mandate in the Nairobi 
Decision.  
3.23.   The representative of Bangladesh  had noted the suggestion that the Council start with the 
exchange of information on technical assistance, but he observed that two -and-a-half years had 
passed since the adoption of the Nairobi Decision and that only one of the elements in that 
Decision was  being suggested for Members' work. With regard to the fourth bullet under paragraph 
1.5 of the MC10 Decision, Turkey's point had bee n well understood and testified to the need for 
information on LDC suppliers' exports in the sectors covered by the prefere nce; such information 
would provide an impression of the situation even in the absence of precise data. This was why the 
suggestion had been made that the Secretariat present any available data on LDC services exports 
in notified sectors, and also identify  any gaps with such data. He said that Members should be able 
to engage in a process to review the operation of notified preferences, as mandated by the fourth 
bullet of paragraph 1.5; there was no reason to delay that process, and he urged Members to 
engage along those lines.  
3.24.   The representative of Nigeria  said that he had taken note of the challenges posed by some 
of the suggestions formulated by the LDC Group and Bangladesh. The requests  from LDCs  were 
addressed both to the notifying Members and to the Se cretariat ; in that regard,  he asked the 
Secretariat to provide any information on the specific difficulties posed by the requests put forward 
by LDCs . As for the proposal by the European Union and supported by Australia to start work with 
the third bullet of paragraph 1.5, while this did not seem to raise particular difficulties, he had 
taken note of the need for internal LDC coordination expressed by Chad.  
3.25.   A representative of the Secretariat  responded that the Secretariat would need to look in 
more detail at how best to respond to the request for information from LDCs . The Secretariat could 
compile information about LDC exports in the broad sectors covered by the preferences; however, 
given that, in spite of on -going work  in that sense, data on bilateral  services  trade flows was not 
sufficiently developed  at that juncture, the data would not permit to identify  which LDCs exports 
were directed at  preference -granting Members.  
3.26.   The representative of Nigeria  thanked the Secretariat for its reply and said that the  
Secretariat could build on available information as a starting point. He called for the Nairobi 
Decision and, more generally, for all Ministerial Decisions, to be faithfully implemented  as matter 
of systemic importance . 
3.27.   The representative of Bangladesh  said that , while the Council could engage in an exchange 
of information on technical assistance activities, in line with the third bullet of paragraph 1.5 of the 
Nairobi Decision, he called on Members, pursuant to the fourth bullet of the same, to task the  
Secretariat with the compilation of relevant statistical information and the identification of any 
information gaps, and on delegations which were ready to do so to provide information on the 
operation of the preferences.  
3.28.   The representative of Chad echoed  the statement by Bangladesh  and stressed the 
importance of respecting the Nairobi mandate to uphold the multilateral trading system. He 
supported Bangladesh's request that the Secretariat compile relevant statistical information and 
that Members share inf ormation on the operation of the preferences as mandated by the MC10 
Decision.  
3.29.   The Chairman said that no Member disagreed with the mandate in the Nairobi Decision but 
that the question under consideration was how to fulfil that mandate. He felt that more d iscussion 
was needed before Members could decide on how to proceed and that it would not be possible to 
arrive at an agreement on that occasion. He suggested that LDCs consult internally as quickly as 
practicable and encouraged them to submit their suggest ions in writing or meet with relevant S/C/M/135  
 
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  delegations to see how best to advance. He felt that it was necessary to clarify what the 
Secretariat could contribute and what Members could do, and how, to fulfil the Nairobi mandate. 
He proposed to consult with any interested delegation to see how he could be of best assist ance.  
3.30.   The representative of Bangladesh  said that he had not heard any delegation object to the 
suggestion that the Council embark on an exchange of information on technical assistance 
measures, an d therefore proposed that such an exchange start at the following meeting of the 
Council. Second, he reiterated his request that the Secretariat compile relevant trade data while 
also identifying any gaps. Third, he noted that Members who were ready to do so should share any 
available information on the operation of the preferences. He proposed that, unless there were 
objections, the Council proceed along those lines.  
3.31.   To respond briefly to Chad, t he representative of the United States  said that his delegati on 
was sincerely trying to find a positive way forward and that that remained the United States' 
intention; he therefore appreciated Chad's acknowledgment. As he had indicated, his delegation 
was still quite confused  about what was being asked and what wou ld be discussed and therefore 
he was seeking additional clarity . He would be happy to identify elements of interest , as Chad had 
requested , as well as areas where additional clarification  would be necessary. While it was not fully 
clear what was being soug ht by LDCs, he said that it would not be productive to enter in a debate 
about differing interpretations of the mandate . 
3.32.   While a discussion of  technical assistance activities would be sensible , he was not in a 
position to commit  to start such a discussion at the following meeting, precisely because the issue 
was not handled by his own agency. Additionally, his delegation would not have expected the 
exercise to be one -sided. At the TFA Committee meeting the previous week, Members had had a 
very robust techni cal assistance exchanges, most of which had been done in partnership between 
donors and recipients jointly presenting their assessment. That would be his delegation's desired 
approach, for LDCs to come forward with projects that were on -going and to presen t how they 
were interacting with assistance providers on the ground, rather than donors presenting lists of 
funds and projects. If the exercise was Member -driven, discussions would  capture the vast amount 
of technical assistance being provided by agencies such as the World Bank, UNCTAD and  the ITC 
and the LDCs themselves would have a picture of what was being supplied. While he could not 
speak to what the EIF did, an EIF -recipient would be in a position to do so.  His delegation would 
participate and engage in an information -sharing exercise on technical assistance but he would 
welcome the opportunity to articulate how that exercise could be put together in the most useful 
manner, and to that effect some additional time was needed .  
3.33.   His delegation was trying to be constructive and could not understand a certain layer of 
antagonism. The Council should recognise that , in terms of  WTO timeframes, the Waiver process 
had moved very fast from its conception , to its articulation , to the manifestation  of preferences.  
The United Sates had been waiting for twenty  years for m arket access  while the LDCs had 
harvested significant new market access under the Waiver process. There was no need for any 
hostility  in moving forward, and his delegation was engaging constructively.  He asked that 
delegations reflect on how the Aid for Trade discussions had played out, cautioning  Members not to 
railroad someone's vision of a mandate , he wished for the Council's discussions to be cooperative 
and informative.  
3.34.   The representative of Benin  said that LDCs were grateful to notifying Members for the 
preferences granted and underscored the importance of working to increase LDCs' share in world 
services trade  and to promote the ir inclusion in th e multilateral trading system. Against that 
backgro und, the LDC proposals were not intended to be hostile  towards trading partners , but were 
only aimed at improving the operation of the  Waiver  preferences. LDCs simply wished to give full 
implementation to the mandate of the Nairobi Decision in order to ena ble their suppliers to take 
advantage of notified preferences. LDCs had tried to assess the benefits of the preferences 
granted, and it had appeared that preferences had not had a great impact as administrative and 
other barriers had prevented LDC supplier s from fully benefitting from them. Therefore, assessing 
the benefits of the preferences and of the technical assistance provided to LDCs to orient them to 
the notified preferences was important. That was the spirit behind the suggestions put forward by 
LDCs. He believed  that the Secretariat could do useful work  on the utilisation of the Waiver 
preferences  and their impact. LDCs were not asking for miracles but just for Members to help them 
better integrate  into the multilateral trading system . S/C/M/135  
 
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  3.35.   The represen tative of  Nigeria  said that there was n o hostility from his delegation and wished 
to reassure the United States in that regard. His delegation was neither a beneficiary nor a 
preference grantor under the Waiver, but considered itself a friend of LDCs and w ished to uphold 
the implementation of the Waiver from a systemic perspective. While he agreed with the United 
States'  observation that the TFA approach was familiar  to Members, he  said that not all  
experience s could be replicate d without difficulties in di fferent contexts and noted that LDCs faced 
capacity constraints.  He called on  all Members to engage in a friendly discussion.  
3.36.   The representative of the Republic of Korea  said that her delegation was respectful of the 
mandate of  the Nairobi D ecision . Korea had notified  preferences under the W aiver and was 
supportive of the full implement ation of the N airobi Decision. Given the conversation, she did not 
think that the Council was in  a position to  take a  decision at that point and was of the view that 
further deliberations were necessary . She support ed the Chairman's suggestion for further 
dialogue and looked forward to engaging in the  process . 
3.37.   The representative of Chad welcomed the flexible, open and constructive approach of the 
United States; the Uni ted States had raised interesting elements and he  hoped  that they could 
submit a written contribution that would clarify the areas where a  bilateral  compromise might be 
found  with LDCs . For their part, LDCs would organise a coord ination meeting as quickly as possible  
to put forward their own position on the matter .  
3.38.   By way of more general  comment, he quoted what an LDC author had written, namely  that 
one should not be liable to the perception of others , but become the protagonist  of one's own 
story. That wa s the situation  that needed to be taken into account in that discussion. LDCs were 
LDCs because of their vulnerability and because of the challenging situations they faced, including 
of extreme poverty. Against that background, the Waiver preferences  notified were very important 
and had to be looked at within the wider objective of increasing LDCs' participation in services 
trade and the multilateral trading system. He called u pon all Members to show constructive spirit 
in trying to  help LDCs  use the trade tools available to them to foster development. This would 
enable them to expand trade , move along the path of development, reduce poverty and try to 
graduate from LDC status.  
3.39.   The representative of Bangladesh  underscored that there was no hos tility. He could agree to 
small group consultations, as suggested by the Chairman. He also stressed that there was a 
common position in the LDC Group, as reflected in the statement delivered by Chad on behalf of 
the Group.  
3.40.   The Chairman  called for further d ialogue within the LDC Group and amongst delegations, as 
well as for the Secretariat's assistance. He said that he would be quickly in contact with 
delegations to see how to proceed in order to fulfil the mandate of the Council.  He then suggested 
that the  Council take note of the statements made , and said that the Council would revert to the  
item at its next meeting.  
3.41.   It was so agreed . 
4  ITEM D: CERTAIN WTO -INCONSISTENT MEASURE S APPLIED BY UKRAINE  − 
STATEMENT BY THE RUS SIAN FEDERATION  
4.1.  The Chairman  indicated t hat the item had been added to the agenda of the Council at the 
request of the delegation of the Russian Federation.  
4.2.  The representative of the Russian Federation  regretted  that her delegation had  to raise once 
again its repeatedly expresse d concerns as reg arded  the measures related to the reform of the 
Unified Gas T ransportation system of  Ukraine.  
4.3.  Since November 2014 the Russian Federation, at different levels , both bilaterally and 
multilaterally , had sought clarity from Ukraine in respect of reasonable justification s for the 
adoption and implementation of  the Law  of Ukraine No.  1645-VII "On amendments to some 
legislative acts of Ukraine on reforming the management system of the Unified Gas Transportation 
System of U kraine" and the Law of Ukraine No.  329-VIII "On the Natural Gas Market" of 
9 April 2015 which had invalidated the Law of Ukraine No.  1645-VII of 14 August 2014.  S/C/M/135  
 
- 9 - 
 
  4.4.  Except for general statements by Ukraine that those  clearly WTO -inconsistent measures were 
nevertheless somehow WTO -consistent, Ukrain e had  failed to provide any legal or economic 
justification for the violation of the fundamental principles of the General A greement on Trade in 
Services, MFN and specific commitments undertaken by Ukraine under the GATS.  
4.5.  It was  rather disappointing and r egrettable that all of her delegation's efforts to obtain clear 
and adequate clarifications  from the Ukrainian side on that matter had  been unsuccessful.  In that 
regard, the Russian Federation reiterate d its request  to Ukraine  to bring the Law of Ukraine No. 
329-VIII "On the Natural Gas Market"  of 9 April 2015 in full conformity with Ukraine's obligations 
under the WTO Agreement.  
4.6.  The representative of Ukraine  said that his delegation had taken note of the Russian 
Federation's  statement , as well as of it s all previous statements on that  issue at CTS meetings 
since 2015 and wished  to reiterate once again that the Law of Ukraine "On the Natural Gas 
Market" established the principles of non-discrimination  and equal treatment for the natural gas 
market players re gardless of their origin.  
4.7.  The Law did not constitute a  measure that prohibit ed or restrict ed other Member s' service  
supplier s since it applie d to state infrastructure only and did not require or prohibit any specific 
type o f legal entity to be created to  supply pipeline transmission services. The Law did not make a 
distinction for access to pipeline services based on the origin of the gas market operators and 
created  favourable conditions for all players. The comprehensive analysis of  Ukraine's relevant 
legislation had been  provided by Ukraine's experts in the consolidated set of responses which had 
been sent to the  delegation  of the Russian Federation .  
4.8.  Ukraine was  committed to its obligations on gas transit , and that could  be exhaustively 
proved by the r elevant statistical data  of the Ukrainian gas transportatio n company "Ukrtransgaz" 
(available online). As his delegation had  mentioned previously, the volume of gas transit to 
European consumers thro ugh the territory of Ukraine had  reached a record level over the previous  
8 years and amounted to 93.5 billion cubic meters in 2017, which was 13.7% higher than the  
transit performance in 2 016. The statistics for 2018 would be circulated on a half -yearly basis.  
4.9.  Ukraine had  no evidence regarding the infringement of transit companies' rights in the course 
of gas transportation from the R ussian Federation  to EU Member  States  through t he territory of 
Ukraine. In that  regard , his delegation would ask the R ussian Federation  to provide information 
concerning any obst acles from Ukraine's side on that  matter.  
4.10.   In terms of the Council's  procedure s, he recall ed the "Rules of Procedure for Meetings of the 
General Council" , in document WT/L/28 , and in particular Rule 27 on avoiding the r epetition of 
debates at each meeting on any issue that ha d already been fully debated in the past.  
4.11.   In conclusion, he reiterate d Ukraine's commitment to comply with the rules, principles and 
obligations  of the WTO  in its relations with all Members.  
4.12.    The Chairman  suggested that the Council take note of the statements made.  
4.13.   It was so agreed . 
5  ITEM E: WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
5.1.  The Chairman  invited any delegation wishing to share information under the sub-item on 
"exchange of information and experi ences based on submissions by Members" to do so at that 
juncture.  
5.2.  The representative of China  wished to brief the Council on the "Workshop on E -commerce for 
Development under the Multilateral Trading System " that her delegation had sponsored in China 
from 8 to 21 May . 25 participants , including Vice Ministers and DGs from capitals as well as 
Ambassadors and senior diplomats from the Geneva Missions of 15 developing Members had  
attended .  S/C/M/135  
 
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  5.3.  Over two weeks, seven thematic discussions and 11 field trips were or ganized in Beijing, 
Shanghai and Hangzhou , to provide a n experience tour . Participants interacted with relevant 
stakeholders in the e -commerce ecosystem in China, including government departments, e -
commerce platforms, logistics companies and e -payment ser vice providers. A snapshot -type but 
comprehensive review of e -commerce in China ha d enabled a better understanding of e -commerce 
as a development enabler.  
5.4.  Specifically, at the government level, seminars were arranged on the drafting of e -commerce 
laws, customs’ experience , regulation and facilitation in the cross-border e -commerce (CBEC), and 
the overall development of e -commerce in China. Speakers from the Standing Committee of the 
National People’s Congress, General Administration of Customs and Ministry  of Commerce shared 
the legislative institutional design , regulatory concept s as well as innovative practices to enable e -
commerce to promote development in China. Visits were made to the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade 
Zone and Hangzhou Comprehensive Pilot Zone  for CBEC, where the “single -window” approach to 
trade facilitation and streamlined import and export procedures for CBEC were demonstrated. 
Participants interacted with local government authorities at the frontier of China’s reform and 
opening -up on their  innovative regulatory approaches to CBEC.  
5.5.  At the business level, visits were paid to e -commerce platform companies of various scale 
including Alibaba, Netease, JD.com and Jolly Information Technology Co. Ltd. By exploring their 
operational model and busin ess development, participants gained a further understanding o f how 
Chinese companies integrate d themselves into Global Value Chains through CBEC and how big 
platforms were helping MSMEs, women and young entrepreneurs to sell and buy globally and 
benefit f rom inclusive trade. Alipay and WeChat Pay elaborated on their e -payment services and 
gave a demonstration  of how payment apps  were used  in supermarkets for daily consumption. 
YTO and JD gave tours o f their logist ics facilities and command cent res, while s haring their 
business philosophy and development prospects. Participants also called on infrastructure 
company Huawei, learning about the latest communication technology and its development 
orientation, as well as how Huawei helped African countries in the ir telecommunication 
construction. A clearer picture was presented on the important supporting role played by the 
business areas of these companies to e -commerce development.  
5.6.  At the level of International Organizations, World Customs Organization (WCO) Deputy 
Secretary General Chapa introduced  the work of the WCO in promoting CBEC, the expert from the 
International Trade Centre  shared the ITC's latest research and  reaffirmed the inevitable link  
between e -commerce and development. Visits were also made to th e Operation Centre  of the Asia-
Pacific Model E -port Network (APMEN), which showcased how APEC promote d the interconnection 
of e-ports in the region and improve d the level of trade facilitation. The valuable practices of these 
International Organizations pr ovided valuable input s for the discussions at the Workshop.  
5.7.  China's consistent position was  to value and support multilateral discussions on e-commerce, 
focusing on development. Her delegation had  reiterated in the CTS and in other relevant WTO 
bodies that  e-commerce could not only help the WTO remain relevant by responding to business 
calls, but also assist MSMEs, women and young people in developing Members to participate in 
international trade, and get more developing Members on board the high -speed train of economic 
development. The previous  year, the FEDs, MIKTA and other groups had convened several 
seminars on e -commerce in Geneva, equipping M embers with a better understanding of the topic , 
in particular the developme nt nature of e -commerce. All tho se efforts had  been unswerving 
attempts under the mu ltilateral trading system and China  hoped to see tho se endeavo urs 
continue.  
5.8.  As a developing Member and one of the FEDs, China wa s willing  to continue providing 
capacity -building within its  capabilities to the vast number of developing Members in the WTO. 
With 30 million people yet to ge t out poverty, China still faced  a tangible development divide 
between its urban and rural areas, and between east ern and western, therefore development 
remained  on top of China’s agenda. In spite of this , China had not wait ed areas  until everything 
was ready before embracing the opportunities  provided by e -commerce and had  witnessed , since 
1998, the transformat ion of e -commerce from a little -known concept to a way of life in China 
presently . China was  happy to share wit h fellow Members how it  viewed and what it  had 
experienced in the development of e -commerce.  S/C/M/135  
 
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  5.9.  At the same time , China believe d that every Member had  its own situation and, therefo re, 
there was  no "one size fits all" solution . It was essential for Members to fully respect and 
accommodate each other’s concerns. During the course of the Workshop, participants had 
enthusiastically shared the status of e -commerce development in their own economies, their 
success stories and constraints, making the workshop a fully interactive exercise and contributing 
to the exploration , under the multilateral trading system,  of how to improve the ability to benefit 
from e -commerce and promote development, while bearing in mind Members' specific conditions. 
Her delegation looked forward to mo re of such in -depth information -sharing and hope d to see 
more Members get hold of the opportun ities presented by e -commerce to achieve the objective of 
inclusive development.  
5.10.   It would be worthwhile for Members to consider how to maintain and reinforce the 
momentum of multilateral discussions on trade -related aspects of e -commerce in the CTS  and 
other relevant WTO bodies . For example , in the  CTS, what we re the elements worth exploring 
when it c ame to payment and logistics services closely linked with CBEC? China welcomed  
delegations' constructive inputs to help deepen  Members'  understanding from vari ous 
perspectives.  
5.11.   The representative of Pakistan  said that  Pakistan was one of the Members  that had 
benefit ted from the two -week workshop organized by China earlier that month . His delegation 
wished to thank the Government of China for the  tremendous exper ience. It had been  remarkable 
to witness first -hand how e-commerce and development had  truly come together in wake of 
Chinese efforts.  
5.12.   As co -coordinators of the Friends of E -Commerce for Development, it was the development -
enabling nature of e-commerce that was most striking. One lesson, among the many his 
delegation had learnt in China, was that e -commerce thrived  when all segments of the economy 
gelled together to make it effective. That meant  not only the enabling se rvices of e -commerce, 
such as financial payment systems, but also the logistics, the technology, the communication 
networks, and foremost, the production channels for cross -border delivery of products through e-
commer ce. The collective impact of tho se elem ents beca me more pronounced  when Mirco , Small 
and Medium Enterprises gain ed global connectivity and help ed bring scores of people out of 
poverty by creating new jobs.  
5.13.   As his delegation had  already mentioned in a different meeting, from the platform of the 
FEDs, Pakistan was  looking forward, in partnership with China,  to host a joint seminar , at a 
suitable time in the near future, for the purpose of sharing their experiences with M embers, 
especially for the benefit of those who had not been able to attend the workshop.   
5.14.   His delegatio n was thankful once again to China for providing th e opportunity to study on  
the ground what e -commerce could  do for development in developing countries. Pakistan surely 
had many lessons to take home from that experience.  
5.15.   The representative of Nigeria  thanked China for the informative , insightful and very accurate 
report  of the workshop . Nigeria, like Pakistan, had also been  one of the 25 pa rticipants in the 
workshop and the representative had  personally  participated in the event . As Pakistan, he wished 
to seize the opportunity to share the lessons he had taken away from  that workshop . He was 
thankful for the opportunity  provided , for the comprehensive programme put together and for the 
sharing of experiences on the part of the e-commerce platform companies. He had benefited from 
hearing about the relevant rules and the contribution  of e-commerce to development in China.   
5.16.   He was also supportive of the recommendation that a similar event might possibly  be 
organized also in Geneva , and had noted the forthcoming seminar Pakistan was organizing. 
China's seminar had been very informative and very timely. His delegation believe d, as China had  
also mentioned , that circumstances  differed  across Members and, as such,  that there was no "one 
size fit s all" solution; nevertheless he  believe d that  China's  experience might be  replicated and 
adapted as appropriate , especially in national strategies. His delegation had  also benefited from 
learning about the drafting of e -commerce laws in China and the process of national consolidation , 
which was still on -going, as well as from the consumers ' experience in terms of cross -border e -
commerce regulation . Given that  insightful experience, there was no doubt that the workshop had 
been useful in exploring the opportunit ies and challenges associated with the digital  economy, S/C/M/135  
 
- 12 - 
 
  including the critical role that digital platform s played in fac ilitating international trade. He also 
echoed China's call to maintain the momentum in future discussion s in the CTS.   
5.17.   The representative of Brazil  thank ed China for organizing the  very comprehensive workshop 
on E-Commerce and D evelopment under the Multilateral Trading System. According to Brazil's  
participants to th e workshop, it had been  extremely useful to understand the development of 
business and regulatory frameworks for e -commerce in China and  in global market s.  
5.18.   The representative of India welcomed th e MC 11 D ecision reaffirm ing the 1998 Work 
Programme on Electronic Commerce. As per that Decision, Members were to  endeavour to 
reinvigorate the Work Programme.  
5.19.   While e -commerce ha d created new and exciting trade and investm ent opportunities, it also 
posed  new infrastructure and regulatory challenges which need ed to be addressed first. Th ose 
include d: the classification issue of whether e -commerce should be treated as trade in goods or 
services; the extent to which existing WTO rules appl ied to the digital economy; the fiscal 
implications of the  Moratorium and  the definition of electronic transmissions;  the impact of e -
commerce on labour markets, competition and market structures;  and the  need for bridging the 
digital divide . 
5.20.   As previously  indicated , India was working on submissions on the issue  of the e -commerce 
Moratorium and of technolog ical neutrality  as part of the 1998 Work Programme. On the 
Moratorium, she said that the realities prevailing in 1998, when WTO Members  had agreed for the 
first time to the temporary moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, had  
changed sig nificantly during the subsequent two decades. India believe d that those changes  
necessitate d a re-examination of the extension of the Moratorium with an open mind, particularly 
in view of its possible adverse impact on digital industrialization and revenue  generation for most 
developing countries. Another issue which merited  careful consideration was the scope of the 
Moratorium. While under the relevant WTO D ecision , the Moratorium  applied  to “electronic 
transmission s”, there was no agreed definition nor common understanding amongst the 
Membership of what was covered under “electronic transmission s”. 
5.21.   On technological  neutrality, t he exponential progress in information technology and 
communications over the previous two decades had  significantly altered the nature, scope and 
mode o f delivery of services, and held  potential for further, perhaps even more unpredictable 
evolution in the years  ahead. In that  context, India's  proposed submission would aim at analysing 
the implications of  evolving technology in interpreting Members ' commitments under the GATS. 
Therein her delegation  propose d in particular  to analyse the  implications of a purely 
“technologically neutral” approach. As indicated , she hoped to table India's  proposals in the 
relevant WTO bodies at the earliest.  
5.22.   She then reiterate d India’s view that Members first need ed to understand the exact nature 
of electronic trade , by discussing tho se and other relevant issues in the regular WTO bodies. India 
was convinced th at at that  juncture, when th ose technologies were still evolving, Members  had to 
refrain from endeavouring  to arrive at legally binding disciplines.  
5.23.   Further, the WTO  was witnessing a new trend in the form of joint initiatives in some areas , 
including on e -commerce. Though proponents stated that tho se plurilateral discussions were a 
stepping stone to multilateral agreements, India did not see the logic of having parallel discussions 
on e-commerce under the Joint Statement Initiative with a clear rule -making  objective,  which , in 
fact, run contrary to the exploratory ma ndate of the 1998 multilateral Work P rogramme that had 
been r eaffirmed by all Members at MC11 . It was the common responsibility of all Members to 
reinvigorate the multilater al Work Programme as j ointly agreed at MC11.  In that  regard, India 
welcome d China's  initiative to organize a workshop on e -commerce in Beijing in May 2018 as part 
of an exercise under the multilateral framework. India had participated in the event and  had found 
it useful; India  would welcome all such efforts by Members  aimed at  reinvigorat ing the multilateral 
Work Programme.  
5.24.   The representative of Argentina  also wished to thank China for the invitation to take part in 
the workshop that several  other  delegations had referred to . His delegation had found the event  
very useful , in particular because of its comprehensive and encompassing nature, cover age of all S/C/M/135  
 
- 13 - 
 
  e-commerce issues and  interaction with the private sector and  regulators . The workshop had 
demonstrated  the dynamics of e -commerce in China and , as such, contribute d to discussions in 
the WTO which were aimed at keeping  the O rganization relevant . He also welcome d and 
support ed, as a member of the FEDs,  the seminar just announced by Pakistan; his delegation 
would try to partic ipate and contribute as much as possible .  
5.25.   The representative of Mexico  thanked  China for or ganizing the e -commerce workshop , 
which had been very useful and informative; she also support ed the organization of the seminar  
just announced .   
5.26.   The representativ e of Bangladesh  also thanked China for organizing the workshop. He said 
that i t would  be ve ry useful to obtain more detailed information about the event so as to enable all 
Members to learn from it. As for the Work Programme, he fully support ed the position of India that 
Members had to respect the original Ministerial mandate as well as the MC11 mandate to 
reinvigorate  such work. The Council had a specific mandate , which Members needed to fulfil; in 
that context, in order to facilitate discussio ns, he said that it would be useful to have updated 
relevant  information . He referred specifically  to the 1998 Secretariat Note in document S/C/W/68 
and, noting that 20 years had  passed during which there had been substantial change in e -
commerce activitie s and technical innovation, request ed the Secretariat to update the  paper as a 
basis for a fruitful discussion at the following meeting.   
5.27.   The representative of Benin  thank ed China for presenting a summary of the two-week 
workshop  it had organised . Benin h ad been one of the Members who had benefited from th e 
workshop . Benin welcomed China's approach to e -commerce in the debates tak ing place in the 
WTO.  
5.28.   The May workshop in China had provided answers to  three main questions relating to e -
commerce that LDCs and developing Members that were not particularly  familiar  with e -commerce 
frequently asked themselves . The questions related to  how e -commerce work ed in practice, w hat 
was e-commerce in a country such as China and how lessons could be drawn  from China's 
successful experience.  For Benin,  a country that did not have much experience in the area, China's 
example  showed that e -commerce could  contribute to structural transformation , boost 
industrialisation and enhan ce production diversification. The impact of e-commerce on the rural  
economy through Taobao,  a platform for small and medium -sized enterprise s in rural areas, had  
promote d e-commerce in those areas and  led to the creation of new jobs. This illustrate d what e -
commerce could  do for development,  and how e-commerce could indeed help developing 
countries , and LDCs in particular, become more integrated  in international trade and further 
diversify the ir econom ies.  
5.29.   However, the workshop had shown that, beyond the very momentum of e -commerce in 
China,  constraints remain ed and that China was in fact the very synthesis of the debate on e -
commerce at the international level. The representative of China had  just said that there were 
imbalances in access to  the internet and a digital divide between rural an d urban areas, a divide 
between manufactured goods and agricultural products . While  this summarised  the legitimate 
concern s of developing countries , and in particular LDCs , a workshop like the one China had 
organised had  helped lift such fears and help ed LDCs and developing countries to have a better 
grasp o f e-commerce and  of how they could  get involve d in the debate on the issue . Some 
constrains  still existed,  such as access to electricity , the internet at reasonable price s, tran sport 
infrastructure or lo gistics.  Participants had been to shops involved in e -commerce and had seen 
the funding that that required . In that light, financial and technical support  from partners w as 
indispensable, as was assistance  for countries that did  not have sufficient experience  and means to 
get integrated in e -commerce. One of the conclusions  of the workshop was that, for the potential 
benefits of e -commerce to be realised, the constraints faced by developing countries, and LDCs in 
particular , had to  be reduced . This could materialise if Members  worked together to that effect  and 
would put developing countries on a true path to e -commerce. That was a message of hope that 
had emerged from the workshop ; his delegation wished that not only China,  but also other 
Members who  had enormous experience and expertise in the area , could organize similar  
seminar s, to allow  other  Members  who lagged  behind to draw lessons that would enable them to 
move forward and help discussion s in the WTO  to advance .  S/C/M/135  
 
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  5.30.   The representative of South Africa , speaking on behalf of the African Group, reiterated that 
the African Group's interest  in the exploratory discussions on e -commerce rest ed under the 
comprehensive framework set  out in the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, a framework  
that g ave paramount importance to the development implications of e -commerce. Therefore , the 
Group thought that there could be value in discussing a range of issues that were relevant to the 
GATS legal framework. In th at sense, sh e wish ed to acknowledge India’s inte rvention on their 
future contributions on e -commerce and look ed forward to engaging on both submissions.  
5.31.   In previous meetings, the African Group had  set out the issues that it thought should be 
taken up by the CTS. In that regard, she  recall ed and reaffir med the importance to the African 
Group of all previous statements and submissions the Group had made in 2017. For the African 
Group, discussions on competition -related provisions in the GATS would be a good starting point. 
The 1998 Note by th e Secretariat  in document S/C/W/68 stated  that, in the context of b usiness 
practices under GATS Article IX, " electronic commerce should reduce the scope for trade -
restrictive business practices by increasing both the contestability of markets and the mobility of 
consum ers. However, it is not inconceivable that some suppliers may still acquire a degree of 
market power. If such suppliers resort to anti -competitive practices then Members can take 
advantage of Article IX which provides for consultation and information excha nge between the 
concerned Members."   
5.32.   In the context of new business models, some Members assume d that GATS commitments 
made during the U ruguay Round automatically applied  to new services or , as they argue d, new 
ways of  delivering an old service. That  view was not shared by all and might be discussed. It might 
also serve the  Council well to discus s competition concerns that had  arisen where digital firms 
were both player and platform in the new marketplace. Anti -competitive practices ha d been seen 
in actions  to buy out competitors; unfairly extend software monopolies; manipulate algorithms and 
preferential placement of products; geo -blocking; using market power to enforce pricing policy; or 
preventing access to tech nology to limit competition. That  could be another topic for discussion, 
and the African Group would certainl y be interested in pursuing that  area further.  
5.33.   Another area related to the GATS legal framework was increasing the participation of 
developing countries. Of particular relevance in the 1998 Note by the Secretariat in document 
S/C/W/68 we re the barriers facing developing countries in the cross -border delivery , which should 
"facilitate sales of certain la bour-intensive services in which developing countries have a 
comparative advantage which they have so far been unable to exploit because of restrictions on 
the movement of natural persons ". One  other pertinent element that the  same Secretariat Note 
recogni zed was those issues relating to the transfer of technology. Th e Secretariat  Note share d the 
same anniversary as the Work Programme , and even though it had been  written twenty years 
earlier , the issues  it raised then were probably even more important and r elevant today.  
5.34.   With respect to the Joint Statement Initiative on e -commerce and engagement by WTO like -
minded Members on exploratory work toward s negotiations on digital trade, the African Group  
urged Members to pay careful attention to their actions and adherence to WTO principles because 
the implications of a fragmented, non -consensual approach would  impact the Multilateral Trading 
System in ways that could not  be undone. The African Group reaffirmed  its commitment to the 
multilateral framework on e -comm erce established by the Work Programme.  
5.35.   Finally, the African Group  request ed that, for future CTS meetings, the reference numbers 
of the submissions that proponents or Members intend ed to discuss under that  item be highlighted 
or clearly s pelt out. The Afr ican Group had not been abl e to adequately prepare for that  item in t he 
past as it  did not know what would  be discussed. That was  critical for Groups of Members in the 
WTO which were required to coordinate positions and statements.  
5.36.   After finishing the for mal statement, she sought one clarification from Bangladesh. She said 
that Members had discussed in the past the possibility of updating the Secretariat Note in 
document S/C/W/68. She recalled that the Note had been prepared to assist the Council for Trade  
in Services in its examination of the treatment of electronic commerce in the GATS legal 
framework. Since the GATS legal framework had not changed, she wondered what exactly would 
be updated. Her delegation was not in a position to support Bangladesh's re quest until it had 
sufficient clarity, given that the request that had been made in 2016 on that same matter were 
extremely vague, broad and leading towards interpretations of the GATS.  S/C/M/135  
 
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  5.37.   The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  recalled that the  Buenos Aires 
Ministerial Decision  instructed  Members  to continue working within the  framework of the  1988 
Work Programme on Electronic C ommerce . Against that background, the different elements 
mentioned by India were useful , as were those the Afri can Group had referred to during  the 
previous year , and particularly the issue of technological neutrality under the GATS. H e also 
echoed Bangladesh's call for more details about the workshop  organized by China because his 
delegation had unfortunately not been able to  attend th e event .  
5.38.   The representative of Chad said that electronic commerce was clearly on the rise and 
increased  trade opportunities  and provided opportunities for job creation , economic growth  and 
the possibility of attaining sustainable dev elopment . His delegation had also  had the pleasure of 
attend ing the e -commer ce seminar organised by China, which had been  a very enriching 
experience . He wished  to thank China for the invitation, commend the  initiative and congratulate 
China for the organization of  that event. What his delegation had  discovered in China was that new 
information and communication technologies  offered many advantages and could help the 
development of other sectors , including husbandry  and agriculture, promote rural deve lopment 
more globally and help the integration of young people. The seminar had been also useful in terms 
of advancing  discussion s on e-commerce  in the WTO. In that regard, he  fully supported  Pakistan's 
organization of a seminar in Geneva to  enable delegat ions which had not taken part in the China 
seminar to exchange experiences and gain a greater knowledge of e -commerce. He noted that 
LDCs were the countries that lagged behind  most in this area. LDCs  needed support  and assistance 
to enable them to catch up and gain greater access to new information and communication 
technologies . This  support and assistance  included finding responses  to fundamental problem s 
such as access to energy  and infrastructure and , in that sense , support would also be very 
important to LDCs in helping them benefit from  e-commerce.  
5.39.   The representative of Brazil  said that his delegation was looking forward with interest to the 
contributions mentioned by the delegation  of India.  
5.40.   The representative of Cuba said that her delegation was convinced of the usefulness of 
continuing to work on e -commerce on the basis of the 1998 Work Programme , as agreed in the 
relevant MC11 Ministerial Decision  which had evolved based on previous Ministerial Decisions. 
Several  devel oping countries  had repeatedly underscored the need to have a better understanding 
of the various changes that were taking place in the e -commerce arena and  the implications of 
associated regulatory developments. The digital divide needed to be given  priority attention , for 
Members to jointly analyse  how to face its challenges, including with regard to issues related to 
costs and technologies. Other elements that merited special attention were problems of market 
concentration and market distortions, which w ere examples of issues that gave rise to growing 
concern. Her delegation looked forward to the contributions from India, as a means to stimulate 
future discussion in the Council, and to discussing the issues raised by the African Group. In 
conclusion, ther e was still a need to conduct much analytical work before any thought could be 
given to any rule -making activity.  
5.41.   As for process, her delegation had noted with preoccupation that, although all Members had 
agreed to a multilateral track for the work on e -commerce, th e plurilateral initiative was being 
pursued. Cuba could not support a parallel process not based on a Ministerial mandate. Her 
delegation urged Member to return to the multilateral track, and within the existing mandate on e -
commerce , engage in those discussions with the aim of revitalizing work.  
5.42.   The representative of Nigeria  said that Nigeria's position on e-commerce  was well -known . 
His delegation was part y to several initiatives, including  the FEDs , and recognised the 
opportunities and potential of e -commerce, especially for MSMEs, while also being mindful of the 
challenges posed, especially the digital divide and infrastructural struggles, which his delegation 
would continue to flag. Nigeria suppor ted technical discussions in all the WTO bodies relevant to e -
commerce; in that sense, the suggestion to update the Secretariat Note in document S/C/W/68 
was not in contradiction with the mandate of the Work Programme and past relevant Ministerial 
Decision s. Delegations could not just pick and choose amongst Ministerial Decisions, but needed to 
work on the basis of all of them. Any discussion that was appropriate in the context of the Council 
was welcome.  S/C/M/135  
 
- 16 - 
 
  5.43.   As far as the  organization of the  CTS work was conc erned, this should not override or  
interfere with other processes ; for instance, the horizontal discussion s in the General Council 
would continue in that forum, while the Council would operate on the basis of its own mandate. 
There could be no agreement un less there was consensus amongst Members; even if some 
Members were going through the plurilateral track, at the end of the day the outcome would be 
multilateral  and require a consensus . On rule -making, the issue was part of that conversation and 
his deleg ation would participate. Information -sharing was very important; equally important were 
the challenges faced by developing countries , and how to address them, Aid for Trade and trade 
facilitation.  
5.44.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  said that, in line wi th the latest Ministerial Decision, in 
February her delegation had  submitted two additional technical papers to the Council, aiming to 
reinvigorate Members'  work under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce. She did not 
intend to discuss her delegations ' papers but stood ready to respond to any questions on the 
papers bilaterally. Generally speaking, her delegation  had been  pleased to see active engagement 
from Members on its non-papers at the CTS meeting in March and thank ed delegations  for their 
commen ts and questions. Sh e welcome d the fact that  Members had identi fied issues of interest  to 
them that might deserve further attention. For some of those topics, her delegation did not have 
clear answers , as answers might depend on the results of future discussions.  
5.45.   Against th at backdrop, she invite d Members to take up one issue left behind before MC11. 
She recall ed that the Council ha d agreed in principle to hold a thematic seminar on e -commerce, 
pending further agreement on a deta iled program me. It had been a disappointment that the 
Council could not hold the se minar in 2017, as many Members had expected. Her delegation still 
believed  that such a seminar would  be extremely beneficial to se rvices colleagues in furthering 
understandi ng of recent market and regulatory developments, as well as actions taken by 
governments in response to the challenges and difficulties of promoting e -commerce. She also 
hoped  that the seminar could address the issue of the information and knowledge gap am ong 
Members in th at regard.  She acknowledged  that a number of seminars and workshops on e -
commerce had  been held in and outside the WTO, but none had been held in that Council. She  
believed that a CTS seminar on e -commerce had  a unique role and merit ed dedicated discussi ons 
from a services perspective.  
5.46.   Regarding the program me, the Secretariat had very helpful ly produced a draft, in document 
JOB/SERV/256, dated 13 April 2017. A number of c omments , received from  the delegations of 
South Africa, Uganda, Bolivi a, and India,  had been taken into account. Together with South 
Africa’s proposed textual refinements, a later  version had been  circulated via email to Members 
upon the request of South Africa on 31 August 2017. Hard copies of that program me were  
available in the room . The latest version of the program me could work for her delegation, but  
Chinese Taipei was  also open to accommodat ing other recommendations. Having said that, she 
wished to emphasize one point, namely that no  seminar could  fit perfectly the nee ds of all 
Members. The aim was to strike a good balance by addressing the interests of different Members.   
5.47.   She concurred with China that Members should maintain the momentum in moving the work 
on e-commerce forward . Her delegation would welcome more inform ation-sharing in different 
places and formats  and, as such, encourage d Members to positively consider resuming the  
organization of the CTS thematic seminar on electronic commerce.  Finally, she also wished to seek  
the Chairman's assistance in facilitating a  final version of the program me and in consult ing 
Members’ views.  
5.48.   The representative of Bangladesh  wished to clarify his proposal. He had understood from 
the statement s made that Members needed to continue work under the Work P rogramme ; in the 
CTS, this wo rk would be guided by the CTS-specific mandate laid out  in the Work P rogramme. The 
African Group had also as mentioned  that they wished  to reinvigorate such work . Against that 
background,  the 1998 Secretariat Note, which  addressed the core elements of the Work 
Programme with regard to the CTS, was now 20 years  old. Although the GATS had not changed, e -
commerce had been steadily  evolving,  and as such there was new analysis that could be done. The 
update of the Note needed t o be seen  in the context of new development s related to e -commerce, 
including those mentioned by India on classification , by South Africa on compe tition, or in  the 
paper s submitted by Chinese Taipei on taxation  issues and 3D printing. U pdating the Secretar iat 
Note would be very useful  for Members  to continue discussion under the  Work Programme as 
agreed in 1998 and  mandated by  Ministers  at MC11 .  S/C/M/135  
 
- 17 - 
 
  5.49.   The representative of Panama  said that a  wide range of services , such as legal, financial  or 
telecommunication  services , depend ed on technology and electronic communications or deliv ery. 
Electronic commerce enabled  MSMEs and enterprises to engage in business transactions with 
customers from any country, reducing the signif icance of geographic distance and  traditiona l 
business networks, making trade easier, faster and less expensive. Her delegation believe d that 
there were many issues the Council could consider to ensure that electronic and digital technology 
remain ed as useful as possible as a tool for trade, develop ment and economic growth.  
5.50.   For that reason, Panama ha d cosponsored the proposal for a CTS thematic seminar on e-
commerce in which to explore the opportunities and challenges that  e-commerce created  for the 
services sector. It was important for Members to assess recent market and regulatory 
developments relating to trade using electronic means, in order to continue informed discussions 
and to identify the opportunities and benefits of e -commerce in both developing and developed 
countries. Her delegation  remained open to discuss ing constructively with interested Members 
about questions or doubts rel ated to the organization of the  seminar.  
5.51.   The representative of Hong Kong, China  said that his delegation had been a long -standing 
supporter of discussions on e -comm erce in the WTO. It was important that Members remain up -to-
date about the latest developments in e -commerce and study and understand the impact of those 
developments on services trade. As such, the previous year, his delegation had supported Chinese 
Taipe i's proposal to organize a seminar on e -commerce under the Council , and certainly supported 
the proposal to revive the event, which could stimulate further thinking and discussion on e -
commerce in the WTO. He had also appreciated the Secretariat's efforts in accommodating 
Members' comments on the draft programme the previous year, and urged Members to be open -
minded and flexible so that the seminar could be held as soon as possible. Hong Kong, China 
would work constructively with Members to that effect.  
5.52.   The representative of Kenya  said that , before a decision would be taken, his delegation 
needed time to reflect on the suggestion by Bangladesh for the Secretariat Note in document 
S/C/W/68 be updated.  
5.53.   The representative of Israel  wished to thank Chinese Taipei for  raising again the proposal to 
hold a thematic seminar on e -commerce in the CTS ; her delegation saw value in continuing 
relevant work of a substantial and  technical nature. Without deliberations and a proper 
understanding of the e-commerce experi ence in each Member's market, it was not possible to 
make progress on the topic. She therefore added her delegation's voice of support for the 
proposal.  
5.54.   The representative of Nigeria  also wished to reiterate his delegation's support for the 
proposal that the CTS hold a seminar  on e-commerce.  A seminar that benefitted Members across 
the board  and highlig hted the development and infrastructure challenges, the obstacles faced by 
developing countries and the digital divide  was a useful approach.  
5.55.   With respect to  the proposal by Bangladesh to update the Secretariat Note, he said that the 
clarification by Bangladesh in response to the question by South Africa should be satisfactory, 
although Members' consensus agreement was clearly needed before the Note could be u pdated. 
The Secretariat update would be without prejudice to Members' negotiating positions. If the 
Secretariat update was purely informative, factual and accurate, it should not raise any concerns; 
should there be any issues with the Note, delegations cou ld always revert to the Secretariat. There 
should be no apprehension about updating the Note on a factual basis. Given that Members were 
always referring to developments in the digital economy, it was appropriate and timely to update 
the Note as relevant.  
5.56.   The representative of China  thank ed Members who had intervened to express their 
appreciation of the workshop convened  in Beijing in May . The success of the event had been 
exactly due to the active participation of all attendees and their valuable inputs wh ile observing e -
commerce developments in China. Th ose Members' interventions were in themselves testament to 
significance of information -sharing regarding the development -enabling role of e -commerce. She 
also thanked those delegations who had expressed int erest in finding out more about the 
workshop and had taken note in particular of the calls for more details from Bangladesh and 
Venezuela. In that context, she echoed the statement by Pakistan about the proposal to hold a S/C/M/135  
 
- 18 - 
 
  seminar in Geneva, as supported by  Mexico, Argentina, Benin, Chad and Nigeria, who had also 
participated in the Beijing workshop. China w ould work in close collaboration with Pakistan and 
other FED Members to work out the details. While it was not possible to move the entire two -week 
Beijing programme to Geneva, her delegation would try its best to map out a "mini -version" of 
that event for the wider Membership, to address how e -commerce, and in particular cross -border 
e-commerce and supportive logistics and e -payments services , could help Members realize 
inclusive development.  
5.57.   The representative of South Africa  thanked  Bangladesh for the clarification ; she  would 
transmit th e information to her Capital and request some time to consider Bangladesh’s request. 
She also thank ed Chinese Taipei for re -tabling the proposed seminar on e-commerce.  As her 
delegation had stated at the CTS in November 2016 an d at the informal consultations  and 
subsequent CTS meetings, South Africa  had no objection to the proposed seminar on e -commerce 
and was intere sted in shaping the agenda. In that spirit, her delegation had submitted textual 
suggestions in writing, and had taken  note of the indication by Chinese Taipei that some Members 
could not agree to the few , relatively small changes to the progr amme that her delegation had 
made to address issues that were of interest to South Africa . 
5.58.   That was regrettable. Th ose small changes were aimed at strengthening the development 
dimension of e -commerce in the agenda, notably by  looking at the disruptive eff ects to industry 
and labour markets under the session on addressing the challenges , and to address approaches to 
promote inclusive growth.  She wished to point out that in the informal consultations held in 2017 , 
Members had also been invited to propose spe akers. She wished to inform the Council that her 
delegation was willing to show more flexibility , as it already had,  in finding common ground on its 
initial s uggestions. South Africa intended to pursue tho se minor changes and would recommend 
that the Chair man convene consultations on th e matter, similar to what ha d been done with the 
development of the agenda for the mode 4 s eminar. Finally, the same treatment accorded to the 
mode 4 s eminar in terms of process, form and ambition had to  be given to the seminar on e-
commerce.  
5.59.   The representative of Japan  highlighted that his delegation, like  all WTO Member s, had  
agreed  in Buenos Aires to reinvigorate  work under the 1998 Work Programme. Since th e MC11 
Ministerial D ecision had been taken after discussions over the previous  two years, work under the 
Council needed to be fully consistent with that  Decision. In other words,  Japan was supportive of  
any constructive and meaningful ideas aim ed at reinvigorat ing the 1998 Work Programme. In that 
regard, for example,  he observed that the imposition of custom duties on electronic transmission s 
had to be  examined by the General Council, in order to be in line with the Work Programme.  
5.60.   With regard  to the workshop held in Beijing, he had appreciate d China's  presentation of  the 
event . Unfortunately his delegation had not been invited to th e workshop, but the event  appeared 
to have been very informative  judging from the interventions by  Pakistan, Nigeria and other 
Members . In that sense,  he encouraged  China to share more details on the event, either in the 
Council or bilaterally . Japan believed that it  would  be invited to the workshop which was being 
planned by China, Pakistan and other FED Members  in Geneva . 
5.61.   Japan was basically positive on  the suggestion from Bangladesh to update the Secretariat 
Note, but wished to hear other Members’ vi ews in that regard . He also wished to thank Chinese 
Taipei for the suggestion to hold a seminar  on e-commerce . As previously  mentioned, his 
delegation was supportive of any constructive and m eaningful ideas aim ed at reinvigorating  the 
Work Programme. Although an agenda  for the seminar  had already been discussed the previous 
year, the situation ha d significantly changed since  then. Thus, Japan would wish to see a new draft  
programme  for an autu mn 2018 seminar , and would actively engage in the process of shaping it . 
As Chinese Taipei had noted , several workshops and seminars  had been held on e -commerce in 
Geneva , and more seminars were being planned. If Members wanted the CTS seminar to be 
meanin gful and constructive, its content needed to be well -focused and meet Members ' interest s, 
and the seminar had to be  conducted as efficiently as possible.  
5.62.   The representative of Switzerland  said that his delegation fully supported the Work 
Programme and work  on e-commerce and wished  to make a strong c ontribution on the issue . He 
echoed delegations who had spoken in favour of a CTS seminar on e -commerce; Switzerland  also 
support ed the holding of  such a  seminar and would be interested in helping to draw up the S/C/M/135  
 
- 19 - 
 
  programme , which,  as Japan ha d said, needed  to take into account the different levels of 
development and interest s of Members.  
5.63.   The representative of Bangladesh  said that his delegation had very li mited knowledge o n e-
commerce and thought that updating the Secretariat Note could contribute to remedying that 
problem. He asked the Secretariat to provide more information about how Secretariat Notes were 
updated, whether consensus was needed or whether delegations could individually ask for such 
updates of the Secretariat.  
5.64.   A representative of Secretariat  explained that  the paper under discussion, document 
S/C/W/68 , was a Background Note by the Secretariat drafted in 1998 at the request of the 
Council.  I n order to produce an update to such a Note, the Secretariat would again the Council to 
agree  by consensus , and it would not be possible to do so on the basis of an individual Member's 
request.  
5.65.   The representative of UNCTAD  express ed its appreciation for th e opportunity to brief the 
Council for Trade in Services on UNCTAD's  most recent relevant projects and programmes , notably 
UNCTAD E -commerce Week and its work on measuring exports of digitally -delivered services.  
5.66.   UNCTAD 's E-commerce Week ha d quickly become  the leading global forum where public and 
private stakeholders, as well as civil society, could  participate and engage in a conversation about 
the development implications of the digital economy. The 2018 edition had taken place in Geneva 
from 16 to 20 Ap ril. Only the 4th edition, it had brought together an impressive 1180 registered 
participants. 113 country delegations were represented, half of which were developing countries , 
and more than a quarter from l east-developed countries. Government officials represented about a 
third of all registe red participants, the other two -thirds being from the private sector, civil society 
and other international organizations.  
5.67.   The presence and contribution  of the WTO Director -General, who had spoken  at the High -
level D ialogue on the Development Dimensions of Digital Platforms, had been much appreciated, 
as had been the participation of several Ministers from developing and least developed countries at 
the two Ministerial Roundtables. In addition, UNCTAD had hosted some 60 parallel ses sions, co -
organized by member S tates, partner organizations, the private sector and civil society. With 
regard to sessions dealing wit h trade policy -related issues, she  mention ed, for example, the 
session by the World Bank and Japan  on the trade policy implications of harnessing digital trade 
for development, a session organized by the Friend s of E -commerce for Development  presenting 
the roadmap and agenda for e -commerce and development, a session organized by South Africa 
on the African digi tal structural transformation, a session organized by Bangladesh on its 'Vision 
2021' and the concept of 'digital Bangladesh' , various sessions on  the potential of e -commerce to 
achieve further trade facilitation, and the WTO session on emerging B2B market s from a trade in 
service perspective.  
5.68.   Key to the success of UNCTAD 's E-commerce Week was the "eTrade for all" initiative, in 
itself a multi -stakeholder initiative to improve the ability of developing countries and countries with 
economies in transition to  use and benefit from e -commerce. It function ed as a demand -driven 
mechanism in which currently 29  leading development partners, including the WTO and the 
Enhanced Integrated Framework, cooperate d with the private sector to pool capabilities and 
resources.  The main tool of the Initiative was its online platform, which helped  developing 
countries and donors navigate the supply of support to e -commerce development, learn about 
trends and best practices, and raise visibility for the various partners' initiativ es and resources.  
5.69.   Back-to-back with E -commerce Week, UNCTAD  had also hosted the second meeting of the 
Intergovernmental Group of Experts on E -commerce and the Digital Economy. One of the main 
discussion ite ms and agreed conclusions at that  meeting had been  the need to improve statistics 
on e-commerce and the digital economy as a tool for more evidence -based digital trade policy -
making, building on the efforts of other organizations and initiatives such as the G20.  
5.70.   An UNCTAD project to improve the measuremen t of international trade in services that were 
digitally -delivered was one example of an initiative which could  help to support efforts to collect 
and compile such data. In 2015 -2016, UNCTAD  had proposed  a definition of services that we re 
delivered remotely over ICT -enabled services. This had been  approved by the UN Statistical S/C/M/135  
 
- 20 - 
 
  Commission in 2016 at its 47th session. Subsequently , UNCTAD had developed a model survey 
questionnaire and helped launch pilot surveys in three developing countr ies, namely  Costa Rica, 
India and Thailand. The first results from Costa Rica and India had been  presented in a session at 
E-commerce Week and had been incorporated in a summary report of main findings and 
recommendations for other countries interested in implementing the survey. That  project had been 
supported financially by the Government of Sweden and UNCTAD was currently looking to attract 
additional financial resources to scale up the implementation of such surveys in other interested 
countries. UNCTAD  had recently presented the  initiative at the newly launched "Simply Services"  
WTO speaker series.  
5.71.   UNCTAD looked  forward to continuing the good collaboration with the WTO, Members , 
partner organizations, the private sector and civil society in exploring fu rther the develop ment 
dimension of e -commerce.  
5.72.   The representative of ITU wished to take the  opportunity to provide the Membership  with 
information about the upcoming  ITU Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) to be  held at the 
CICG in Geneva  from 9 to 12 Ju ly. The theme for the 2018 GSR wa s "New Regulatory Frontiers" , 
with discussions focus ing on how the digital transformation sweeping across sectors was impacting 
the daily lives of consumers, businesses and citizens and e xtending regulatory frontiers.  
5.73.   Since 2000 , the GSR had  brought to gether high -level policy makers and  regulators as well 
as the private sector and academia from around the world to network , exchang e experiences and 
collaborate. Every year , regulators ha d adopted best practice guidelines on topical regulatory 
issues in the  ICT sector.  
5.74.   In 2018, the thematic event on 9 July would  address artificial intelligence, IOT  and 
cybersecurity and discuss policy  and regulatory challenges on those issues. The programm e across 
the remaining days  included  discussions ranging from a leadership debate on emerging 
technologies to discussions on digital identity across platforms and th e protection of personal data. 
The agenda was available on the ITU website. On 12 July, a multi-stake roundtable  would look at 
achieving new sustainable investment models, how to work together and what innovative 
regulatory tools there were as drivers of  cross sectoral collaboration. C ase studies for collaboration  
would  be showcased  and the ITU would also be presenting its ICT regulatory tracker , an evidence -
based tool that analysed the evolution of the ICT regulatory environment by looking at 50 
indicators , in four clusters , in over 190 countries over ten years.   
5.75.   The Chairman  said that requests  had been put forward for consultations  with different 
delegations , to see how to advance on the suggestion  to update to the Secretariat Note in 
document S/C/W/68 and on the programme for the CTS seminar on e -commerce. He encouraged 
those delegations  directly concerned  to talk to each other; for his part, he would also be in touch 
to see how to find a way forward in a manner acceptable to all  Members . He then suggested that 
the Council take note of the statements made and  said that the Council would  revert to that item 
at its next meeting.  
5.76.   It was so agreed . 
5.77.   Before moving to agenda item F, the Chairman  recall ed that the Buenos Aires Ministerial 
Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce (document WT/L/1032) instructs the 
General Council to hold periodic reviews on work under the Work Programme, based on the 
reports submitted by the relevant WTO bodies . The next such review  was scheduled for July. 
Therefor e, in line with past practice, he  would be producing, under his own responsibility, a 
Chairman's Report to the General  Council of the discussions the  CTS had had under the Work 
Programme , in March and at that meeting. The report would  be purely factual, reflecting the 
essence of Members'  deliberations.  
5.78.   It was so agreed . S/C/M/135  
 
- 21 - 
 
  6  ITEM F: MODE 4 – ASSESSMENT OF BARRIE RS TO ENTRY – STATEMENT BY INDIA  
6.1.  The Chairman  recalled that that item had been placed on the agend a of the Council at the 
request of the delegation of India. Before offering them the floor, he recall ed that, at the Council 
meeting held in March, India had reiterated its proposal that the CTS hold a thematic seminar on 
mode  4. While Members had been generally open to India's suggestion to organize such a seminar, 
a number of delegations had stressed that they needed to re -examine the proposed programme 
for the event. It had been agreed that my predecessor, Ambassador Braithwaite, would organise 
informal consultations on the issue, with a view to establishing if Members could move forward 
with the seminar.  
6.2.  At the Council meeting in  March, India had  referred to the latest version of its proposed 
programme for the mode 4 seminar, contained in document RD/SERV/135/Rev.1. Members had 
first considered that programme at the beginning of 2017; they had made some comments an d 
had suggested a few changes. On that basis, the Secretariat had been tasked to produce a revised 
draft, which was issued in  April 2017 in document JOB/SERV/255.  
6.3.  From discussions with a few delegations, Ambassador Braithwaite  had sensed some confusion 
about which draft programme Members should be focusing on, whether India's latest draft or th e 
Secretariat's draft. Against that  background, just before the Easter break he  had held some initial 
consultations to get more clarity on that issue. His conversations  had revealed that India was 
satisfied with delegations using the Secretariat's draft programme, contained in JOB/SERV/255,  as 
a starting point for discussion.   
6.4.  On that basis, Ambassador Braithwaite had held further consultations with delegations which  
had either intervened under the releva nt agenda item at March meeting , or which had explicitly 
asked to be included in his co nsultations on the issue. His discu ssions had revealed the following. 
First, there was broad support within the group for the Council to proceed with the mode 4 
seminar on the basis of the Secretariat's draft programme in document JOB/SERV/255. Second, 
information about past practice with the organization of CTS -endorsed seminars  shared by the 
Secretariat  had provided reassurance to delegations. Specifically, the Secretariat had explained 
that seminars of that kind were normally held back -to-back with a mee ting of the Council but were 
not, in themselves, meetings of the Council, that no record was produced and no summary 
conclusions drawn up. Delegations were free to bring back into the "formal" CTS discussion their 
own individual take -away from such events.  Third, with regard to the identification of speakers for 
the seminar, the importance of having a balanced representation was underscored by several 
Members. While the selection of speakers would not be a matter discussed in the Council, but 
would be left to the Secretariat, Members' suggestions of possible contributors would be highly 
welcome. The importance of having as much interactivity as possible was also highlighted.  
6.5.  In essence, Ambassador Braithwaite's consultations provided an outline for a way for ward on 
the proposed mode 4 seminar, but clearly that  outline did not presuppose agreement and need ed 
to command the consensus of the whole Membership.   
6.6.  The representative of India wished to thank  the outgoing Chairman for organising informal 
consultation s on the CTS mode 4 seminar on 17  May. During th ose consultations , India had 
communicated that it welcomed  the Secretariat  draft programme  as the basis for the proposed 
seminar if that help ed to move the process forward. As noted  at the Council  meeting hel d in 
March , a number of Members  had supported India’s  proposal for a CTS seminar on mode 4. Also, 
at the in formal consultations held on 17  May there  had been  no opposition from any Mem ber on 
the organization of the s eminar.  Her delegation look forward to working with Members and the 
Secretariat on the organization of the seminar at the earliest.  
6.7.  The representative of Ecuador  wished to reiterate his delegation's support for the proposal 
that the CTS hold the seminar  on mode 4 . He sought a c larification about the Chairman's report on 
the consultations held on 17 May, and specifically wondered why no records of the seminar would 
be produced, given that the seminar would be  an event  formally agreed by the Council.  
6.8.  A representative of the Secre tariat  explained that the practice with Council -endorsed 
seminars in the past had been to hold those events back -to-back with clusters of services 
meetings , but not as meetings of the Council as such. Therefore, neith er records not summaries of S/C/M/135  
 
- 22 - 
 
  the events were produced; it was up to delegations to take away their own conclusions and bring 
them back into the discussion of the Council. While that had been the practice in the past, it was 
up to Members to decide how they wished to proceed in this instance.  
6.9.  The representative of Ecuador  attached great importance to the seminar, which addressed an 
issue of great relevance to developing countries in particular. As such, he wished  to explore the 
possibility that records be produced , in order to facilitate the Counc il's future discussions o f the 
issue.  
6.10.   The representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela  wished to reiterate his 
delegation's support for the seminar and suggested that the possibility of producing records of the 
event be explored, in light of the importance that mode 4 held for developing countries.  
6.11.   The representative s of China , Bangladesh  and Brazil  reiterated  their respective  delegation 's 
support for the proposed seminar and  looked forward to participating in the event .  
6.12.   The representative of the United States  had appreciated the opportunity to consult with 
India and other Members on the issue  and looked forward to putting together a proposal that 
brought to fruit the seminar in the Council. He said that Members should res pect past practice wi th 
the organization of seminars  to make sure that speakers spoke on their own behalf and that there 
was no confusion between a meeting of a body and a seminar, but suggested that , if presenters 
agreed to make their presentations availa ble, those could be  circulated on their own behalf. This 
was a way to bridge the questions raised by Ecuador and Venezuela in terms of getting some 
record of the seminar  without having formal minutes that might lead to problems in future in 
terms of how su ch formal records might be constructed . 
6.13.   The Chairman said that the practice with past CTS seminars had been to post presentations 
and the programme on the WTO's website. As there seemed to be no objections, he suggested 
that the Council agree to hold the s eminar on mode 4 on the basis of the Secretariat draft 
programme in JOB/SERV/255, on the understanding that the old date mentioned therein would be 
modified to reflect the final date of the seminar. He proposed that, in order to allow sufficient 
preparatio n for the organization of the seminar, the event be held in conjunction with the next 
formal meeting of the Council.  
6.14.   It was so agreed . 
6.15.   The Chairman  thanked all delegations for their positive and constructive spirit.  
6.16.   The representative of India thanked th e Council for approving the holding of the seminar. 
She also wished to take the opportunity to request the Secretariat to update its Background Note 
on mode 4 , contained in document S/C/W/301, dated 15 September 2009. Mode 4 was an 
important mode of supply  with deep inter -linkages with all other modes of supply of services. An 
update of the said Note by the Secretariat would therefore be very useful and timely for all 
Members.    
6.17.   The representative of the European Union  thanked India for the proposal. His d elegation 
was always fond of the work of the Secretariat and looked forward to new contributions, but was 
wondering about the timing of the suggestion. Members had just approved a seminar on mode 4, 
in terms of sequence he thought it would useful to go thr ough that event first, and see what the 
takeaway might be, and revert to consider how to pursue the conversion on mode 4 in the Council, 
whether through a Secretariat Note or something else.  
6.18.   By way of general comment, t he representative of the United Stat es said there had been a 
flurry of proposals and requests at that meeting  that were not reflected on the agenda. He asked 
Members to consider if that was the most efficient way to proceed. He could not get an answer to 
those suggestions instantaneously, so  in the future it would be more helpful to put any proposals 
on the agenda and circulat e them in writing, as this would facilitate Members' engagement. Two 
suggestions had been made under the current item, one under the e -commerce Work Programme 
and multiple ones under the LDC Waiver, none of which were on the agenda. That way of 
proceeding d id not allow his delegation to agree to suggestions on the spot. There seemed to be a S/C/M/135  
 
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  high level of ambition in the room which was not reflected on the agenda; ensuring that 
suggestions appeared therein would enable delegations to come to meetings prepared . 
6.19.   Turning to the suggestion to update the Secretariat Note, h e echoed the EU's statement ; his 
delegation would also prefer to go forward with the seminar and see what information was 
provided before embarking on a decision to update the mode 4 Background N ote. He had looked at 
the Note and the bulk of it addressed the GATS and the description of the modes of supply, which 
had not changed. He had noticed that there had not been many updates between 1998 and 2009 
and he was not sure what would be updated. Fro m his delegation's perspective , the horizontal 
nature of mode 4 commitment implied that the value of mode 4 commitments depended on the 
extent of the sector -specific commitments. If specific commitments were not being changed, given 
that there was no on -going negotiation, there seemed to be little point in updating the Note .  This 
was different from the situation in 2009 , when there was at attempt at services negotiations. He 
agreed that Members should go step -by-step and take a very careful approach. If th e seminar 
produced some useful information, then the Council could revisit in which specific and tailored way 
such an update might be approached.  
6.20.   The representative of Canada  said that his delegation was in a similar position as the United 
States on India' s request. The proposal was not on the agenda, had not been communicated in 
any other way and his delegation was learning about it on the floor; as such, he could not take a 
positive view of the suggestion. He recalled that the suggestion had been previous ly raised by 
India alongside a paper that was very clearly inaccurately representing Canada's mode 4 regime. 
Canada supported working on mode 4 issues in the Council and was collaborating on the seminar, 
which was on the right track and looked like it would be useful and interesting. He agreed with 
other Members that t he focus at that stage should be on the seminar, and in the meantime India 
could maybe add more clarity to what its wishes were for the update before the following meeting 
of the Council.   
6.21.   The representative of Australia  said that her delegation was very pleased with the Council's 
agreement to move forward with the mode 4 seminar. Her delegation was very interested in 
exploring any proposal put forward by Members for work in the Council and wo uld hope to see 
more of a constructive and engaged Council in 2018. To enable that kind of engagement, some 
more advance information would be helpful. From Australia's perspective, while there would not 
necessarily be concerns with an update of the mode 4 Secretariat Note, more time for reflection 
would be necessary. As India had noted, mode 4 was a mode with linkages to other modes of 
supply and , as such , one question in her delegation's mind before updating the mode 4 Note was 
whether it would not be usef ul to update also the other two Secretariat modal papers, document 
S/C/W/304 on modes 1 and 2 and document S/C/W/314 on mode 3. She was not making a formal 
proposal, but only flagging as something her delegation was thinking about in the context of how 
to take forward discussions in the Council at the conclusion of the mode 4 seminar.  
6.22.   The representative of Cuba wished to support India's suggestion to update the Secretariat 
Note on mode 4, given the importance of the issue to the Council's discussions and to  advance 
Members' deliberations.  
6.23.   The representative of India said that her delegation saw  both the mode 4 seminar and the 
updat ing of the m ode 4 Note as mutually supportive and did not feel the need to sequence them. 
She stressed that  the resources of the Secretariat should remain focused on mandated issues and 
existing areas  of work in the WTO. Therefore, she urged the Council and the Secretariat to accord 
priority to the work of the regular bodies. Given that the Secretariat did not appear to be  too 
heavily tasked at that point in time , her delegation felt that it should be able to proceed with 
updating the mode 4 Note without any need for sequencing .  
6.24.   The Chairman  said that it was clearly not possible for the Council to agree to India's 
suggestion to update the Secretariat Note on mode 4  at that meeting . As with previous items, he 
urged India to contact delegations which had expressed some concerns or suggestions to see how 
to get to an understanding with them; for his part, he wo uld discuss with India to see how to move 
forward on its suggestion. He then suggest ed that the Council take note of the statement s made.  
6.25.   It was so agreed . S/C/M/135  
 
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  7  ITEM G: OTHER BUSINESS  
7.1.  The representative of New Zealand  wished to alert other Members to the fact that the United 
Nations Statistics website appeared to no longer provide excerpts to the Provisional Version of the 
Central Product Classification and instead there were only links to the more recent versions, 1.1 
from 2004 and 2.1 from 2015. Given its imp ortance as a reference document for services 
commitments under the GATS as well as under many FTAs, her delegation was concerned by those 
developments. She understood that the Secretariat had been in contact with UN Statistics in that 
regard and would welc ome any update on progress and possible solutions as to how access to that 
information might be regained.  
7.2.  The representative of the Secretariat  confirmed that it had been in touch with the UN 
Statistics Division to enquire about the removal of the CPC Prov isional from their website. At that 
stage, it had not received any information, but would be sure to keep the Members informed as 
soon as it obtained some feedback.  
7.3.  The representative of Japan  wished to make a concise intervention and avoid a long and 
detailed statement  at that meeting  regarding the cybersecurity -related measures of Viet Nam and 
China . Japan had  already expressed  serious concern s at previous Council  meetings concerning 
those measures by Viet Nam and China, but was still concerned that t he development of related 
laws and regulations was proceeding  without any response  to his delegation's concerns.  
7.4.  With regard to Viet Nam's measures , Japan was  concerned that a bill including provisions on 
domestic preservation obligation of important data had been  submitted to Congress , where 
deliberation s had started that  month, and it was expected that the bill would  be passed in the 
middle of June. 
7.5.  With regard to China's measures , the scope of important data had  not been reviewed and 
about half a year la ter, a safety assessment was actually being carried out on transboundary 
transfer of information , including general business data.  
7.6.  Japan expected  that the concerns expressed by his delegation up to then would be taken into 
consideration and adequate respon ses would be obtained from Viet  Nam and China at appropriate 
places.  Japan reserve d the possibility of expressing specific concerns once again in future meetings 
of the Council . 
7.7.  The representative of the United States supported and echoed  the statement made by Japan 
with respect to measures under development i n both China and Viet Nam. Concerns that had  been 
expressed by the U nited States on th ose measures continue d to remain. T he United States  urged 
China to take WTO Members ' concerns  into account . His delegation also  asked that Viet  Nam delay 
passage of the measures  at issue until WTO  Members ' concerns had been addressed and continue d 
to urge Viet  Nam to commit to robust consultat ions with governments and stake holders before 
finalising an d implementing regulations , with a view to mitigating any negative effects on 
legitimate cross -border services , including those  for which Viet  Nam had  international trade 
commitments.   
7.8.  The representative of China  said that China had responded in great det ail to the questions 
Japan had raised at the October 2017 Council meeting and at the previous  CTS meeting in March . 
It was a pity that Japan continued  to have concerns despite of clarifications  provided by China. Her 
delegation had  also provided responses to the US communication on the matter on those 
occasions.  
7.9.  She noticed that , instead of requesting that the  issue be an agenda item like on the previous 
two occasions, that time Japan had raised the  issue under 'Other business ', and had not sen t her 
delegation  specific questions before th e meeting. She did not know if that that was because 
Japan’s concerns ha d been alleviated or it simply did  not expect any concrete feedback from 
China .  S/C/M/135  
 
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  7.10.   In whichever case, she  could repeat the elaborated responses pro vided by China at the 
previous two CTS meetings on  the Cybersecurity Law, Measures on the Security Assessment of 
Cross -border Transfer of Personal Information and Important Data, as well as on the issue of VPN. 
But for the sake of time, she just wished to refer to China' s relevant  statements , as contained in 
document S/C/M/133, paragraphs 6.58 to 6.64, and document S/C/M/134, paragraphs 6.59 to 
6.67.  
7.11.   She reiterate d a few points. First, safeguarding cybersecurity and national security , 
including the securit y of personal information and important data when regulating cyberspace was 
a universally recognised  and common inte rnational practice. Members had  the right to design 
regulatory measures in line with their specific conditions , and need ed to protect their people’s 
interests and public policy objectives.  Second, the laws and regulations in question applied both to 
Chinese service providers and foreign ones, and were without prejudice to the implementation of 
China’s related WTO commitments. Last but not leas t, China atta ched great importance to the 
transparency obligation and ha d made the relevant laws and regulations available for public 
comment during their drafting process. A thematic workshop for opinion -seeking had been  held for 
the Measures on the Secur ity Assessment of Cross -border Transfer of Personal Information and 
Important Data, which had been attended by the E mbassies of the U nited States, Japan, the 
United Kingdom , Germany, Australia and the EU delegation in China, as well as over 200 
representatives from over 150 multinational companies and associations. The ongoing drafting 
process had  been transparent.  
7.12.   The representative of Viet Nam  extend ed her delegation's appreciation to the United States, 
Japan and other Members for sharing their views with respect to Viet Nam's draft Law on 
Cybersecurity. She  stated that , nowadays, Members were facing the common challenges of 
safeguarding cybersecurity and combating cybercri me. Promoting the sound development of 
cyberspace was in line with Members' common interests. On the basis of the universal reco gnition 
that cybersecurity needed  to be enhanced in the context of broaden ed and deepened international 
economic integration, Vi et Nam was preparing to adopt a law with a view to ensuring national 
cybersecurity and safeguarding its people’s interests within th e right of Viet  Nam as a WTO 
Member.  
7.13.   She inform ed Members that during the session from 21 May to 15 June 2018, the 
Vietnames e National Assembly had  held a hearing session  on 29 May on the draft Law on 
Cybersecurity , for the legislators to consider different opinions and comments from the public and 
various stakeholders. The National Assembly would  reflect, amend  the draft Law i f necessary and 
vote to adopt it on 12 June.  
7.14.   It was very important for her delegation  to highlight that Viet  Nam ha d always been in 
compliance with its WTO  obligations, including the principles and commitments of market access, 
non-discrimination and tran sparency. In terms of the latter, in addition to making the draft Law 
publicly available for public comments since early 2017, numerous meetings  had also been held  by 
the National Defence  and Security Committee of the National Assembly  and related Governme nt 
agencies with stakeholders , to consult each other about the draft Law. The draft Law ha d been 
revised to take into account  the comments received. The whole drafting process had been  
transparent, progressive and conducted in an open-minded  spirit.   
7.15.   However, at that moment her delegation was  not able to prejudge the outcome of the 
National Assembly's voting on 12 June. She had  taken note of the views of Members and would 
transmit them back to Capital. Her delegation was ready to discuss further , with any interested 
Member , on issues relating t o the draft Law , so to enable them to  understand the pressing context 
and the legitimate objectives of Viet Nam in pursu ing the Law in question .  
7.16.   The representative of Chinese Taipei  thanked Japan for having raise d those issues  again in 
the CTS.  At previous meetings, his delegation had also  expressed its concerns about  the 
importance of reciprocally equal market access on e -commerce and would continue to follow 
developments with the measures  at issue .  
7.17.   The represen tative of Brazil  asked if, in view of the very recent entry into force of the EU 
General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation 2016/679, and taking into consideration the S/C/M/135  
 
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  relevance of that measure to trade in services, the European Union had the intention  to notify it to 
the Council in accordance with Article III:3 of the GATS . 
7.18.   The representative of the European Union had taken note of Brazil's interest in measures by 
the European Union and of the question Brazil had posed and would revert to the Council as soon 
as possible.  
7.19.   The Chair man said that the Council would take note of the statements made.  
7.20.   The meeting was adjourned . 
__________