RESTRICTED  
  
S/L/421  
 
16 January 2019  
(19-0246) Page: 1/2 
Trade in Services  Original: English  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM T HE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF  
TAIWAN, PENGHU, KINM EN AND MATSU  
NOTIFICATION OF OBJECTION TO THE UNI TED KINGDOM’S REQUES T FOR  
CERTIFICATION OF ITS  SCHEDULE OF SPECIFI C COMMITMENTS  
The following communication, dated 15 January 2019 , from the delegation of the Separate Customs 
Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu is being circulated to the Members of the WTO. 
 
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1.1.  This notification is in response to document S/C/W/380, dated 3 December 2018, which 
contains a dr aft Schedule of Specific Commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in 
Services (GATS), submitted by the United Kingdom for certification pursuant to the Procedures for 
the Certification of Rectifications or Improvements to Schedules of Specific Comm itments (S/L/84).  
1.2.  Please find below the specific element s of the modification giving rise to our objection  to the 
United Kingdom’s request for certification :  
• Mode 3 Treatment of subsidiaries, branches, and agencies (Page 9, National 
Treatment column, Mode  3 Entry a):   
 This language does not describe a NT inconsistency in the context of a stand -alone schedule 
of the United Kingdom. The language merely states that a subsidiary may receive different 
legal treatment from a branch or agency because it is of a different legal form from the 
latter. The United Kingdom should delete this entry as it is unnecessary.  
 
• Public Utility footnote (Page 9):  
 The examples contained in this footnote do not appear to apply to the United Kingdom. 
The United Kingdom should rep lace the inapplicable examples with ones relevant to the 
United Kingdom.  
 
• Aircraft rental/leasing (Page 25):  
 Current European Union commitments require European Union Member States to allow 
airlines to lease aircraft registered anywhere in the European U nion. However, the United 
Kingdom has changed this obligation to require United Kingdom airlines to lease aircraft 
registered in the United Kingdom. This appears to reduce market access, as the scope of 
where aircraft may be registered has been reduced. Th e United Kingdom should delete this 
limitation.  
 
• Financial Services – Scheduling (Page 41):  
 
a. There are several areas in financial services where the European Union schedule includes 
a requirement for establishment in the European Union. The United Kingdom changed "EU" 
to "UK" for these entries in its draft schedule. This would appear to reduce mar ket access, 
as it reduces the geographical scope of establishment.  
b. It appears that t he establishment requirement is not a requirement of the law of the United 
Kingdom. The United Kingdom has confirmed that it does not impose the scheduled 
limitations for sterling issues and inter -dealer brokers. The United Kingdom should delete 
the unnecessary reservations.  S/L/421  
 
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  c. The Mode 3 commitments also contain establishment requirements as follows: (1) only 
firms having their registered office in the UK can act as depositori es of the assets of 
investment funds; and (2) inter -dealer brokers are required to be established in the UK. 
However, these establishment requirements are redundant as mode 3 requires commercial 
presence in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom should del ete these reservations.  
• Financial Services – Prudential Measure (Page 41):  
The European Union schedule requires that inter -dealer brokers be separately capitalized. 
This requirement is reproduced in the United Kingdom draft schedule. However, under the 
scheduling practices of other Members, such a requirement is covered by the prudential 
exception. The United Kingdom should delete this reservation.  
 
• Other Transport Services – combined transport services (Page 48):  
The United Kingdom’s draft schedule here reads "Land Transport, Provision of Combined 
Transport Services ", whereas the corresponding entry in the EU25 schedule reads 
"Provision of Combined Transport Services ". The language of the EU25 schedule clarifies 
that the services could include sea and air  transport. Therefore, the United Kingdom should 
delete "Land Transport " and change the phrase to "Provision of Combined Transport 
Services " to be in line with EU25 wording.  
 
 
1.3.  The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu objects to th e 
certification of the United Kingdom’s request for certification of its draft Schedule of specific 
commitments under the GATS pursuant to the Procedures for the Certification of Rectifications or 
Improvements to Schedules of Specific Commitments (S/L/84).  The Separate Customs Territory of 
Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu considers that the proposed rectifications are not within the 
terms of paragraph 1 of these Procedures as they are not "new commitments, improvements to 
existing ones, or rectifications or  changes of a purely technical character that do not alter the scope 
or the substance of the existing commitments ".  
1.4.  The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu looks forward to 
entering into consultations expeditiously with the Unit ed Kingdom in order to reach a satisfactory 
resolution to this matter.  
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