RESTRICTED  
  
S/L/ 434 
 
13 December 2021  
(21-9291 ) Page: 1/2 
 Trade in Services  Original: English  
 
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED STATES  
NOTIFICATION OF OBJECTION TO THAILAND’S REQUEST FOR  
CERTIFICATION OF ITS SCHEDULE OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS  
  
The following communication from the delegation of the United States, dated 
10 December  2021, is being circulated to all WTO Members.  
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1.1.  The United States appreciates Thailand’s communication (S/C/ W/386) requesting certifications 
regarding improvements to Thailand’s Specific Commitments on Telecommunications Services 
contained in its Schedule (GATS/SC/85/Suppl. 2).  While there are certain improvements to the 
Schedule, the United States objects to the entry into force of this modification pu rsuant to the 
Procedures for the Certification of Rectifications or Improvements to Schedules of Specific 
Commitments (S/L/84) and seeks additional time to consult with Thailand on its proposed 
modifications.   
1.2.  The United States seeks clarifications on the  following issues:  
1.3.  In the revised schedule, Thailand maintains a potential limitation on licenses due to scarce 
resources.   However, the Chairman’s Note on "Market Access Limitations on Spectrum Availability " 
(S/GBT/W/3) confirms the inherent nature of sp ectrum constraints and calls for the deletion of 
redundant language from Members’ schedules.  Accordingly, because Thailand’s schedule is subject 
to that Chairman’s Note, Thailand no longer needs to schedule that language in its schedule and it 
should be d eleted for clarity.  
1.4.  While the United States w elcome s the initial clarifications provided in Thailand’s revised 
schedule, the United States seeks clarification on the scope of telecommunications services covered 
by this modification pursuant to Thailand’s T elecommunications Business Act B.E. 2544 (2001).  In 
particular, we note that Thailand’s Telecommunications Act is not limited to voice telephone services, 
telex services, telegraph service, and facsimile services, and Thailand’s committed to introducing 
new commitments in accordance with the "implementing regulations to be issued by virtue of those 
acts."  Therefore, the United States seeks clarifications as to the scope of the services covered under 
the Telecommunications Business Act B.E. 2544 and any im plementing regulations pursuant to that 
Act. 
1.5.  Finally, we appreciate Thailand adopting the o bligations in the Telecommunications Reference 
Paper , but similar to the issues related to the scope of telecommunication services, the United States 
has questions about the application of the Reference Paper commitments for these services.  
1.6.  The United States considers that the proposed modifications may not be consistent with the 
commitment made by Thailand to introduce new commitments in accordance with it s implementing 
regulations of the Telecommunications Business Act B.E. 2544 (2001), and seeks to consult with 
Thailand on this matter.  S/L/434 
 
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  1.7.  For these reasons,  the United States objects to Thailand’s "Certification of Schedule of Specific 
Commitments " (S/C/W/386 ) and reserves the right to raise additional comments  and issues . 
1.8.  The United States looks forward to entering into consultations with Thailand in order to reach 
a satisfactory resolution to this matter.  
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