S/C/48  
 
2 November 2015  
(15-5820)  Page: 1/11  
   
 
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES 
TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL (2015) 
Since its Annual Report of 2014 to the General Council1, the Council for Trade in Services held four 
formal meetings, respectively on 28 November 2014, 5 February 2015, 18 March 2015 and 
3 June 2015.2 During the period covered by this report, the Council addressed the following 
matters. 
1  NOTIFICATIONS MADE TO THE COUNCIL PU RSUANT TO GATS ARTICLES III:3 AND V:7  
1.1.  The Council for Trade in Services took no te, altogether, of the following notifications: 
(a) Notifications pursuant to Article III:3 of the GATS 
South Africa S/C/N/766-770, 788 
Mauritius S/C/N/772 
The Republic of Guinea S/C/N/775-784 Switzerland S/C/N/793 
The European Union S/C/N/794-802 
Honduras S/C/N/803-804 
 
(b) Notifications pursuant to Article V:7 of the GATS 
China and Hong Kong, China S/C/N/264/Add.7 and Add.8 
China and Macao, China S/C/N/265/Add.7 and Add.8 The European Union and the Repu blic of Moldova S/C/N/743/Add.1 
The European Union and Georgia S/C/N/745/Add.1 
Iceland and China S/C/N/771 Hong Kong, China and Chile S/C/N/773 
Costa Rica, Panama, Iceland, Liechtenstein, 
  Norway and Switzerland  S/C/N/774 The Russian Federation S/C/N/785 
The Republic of Korea and Australia S/C/N/786 
Japan and Australia S/C/N/787 Canada and the Republic of Korea S/C/N/789 Armenia and the Russian Federation S/C/N/790 
Canada and Honduras S/C/N/791 
 
1.2.  The agreements notified in these documents were referred to the Committee on Regional 
Trade Agreements for consideration. 
1.3.  At the meeting held in March 2015, the Council also took note of the updated annual 
Secretariat Note containing a statistical account of the notifications made under relevant GATS 
provisions.
3 
                                               
1 S/C/44, dated 28 November 2014. 
2 Reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/C/M/120 to 123, and should be read in 
conjunction with this report. 
3 Document JOB(09)/10/Rev.5. S/C/48 
 
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  2  OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE LDC SERVICES WAIVER 
2.1.  The Council discussed the operationalization of the LDC services waiver during the entire 
reporting period.  
2.2.  The Bali Decision on the operationalization  of the LDC services waiver mandates the Council 
to convene, six months after the submission of an LDC collective request identifying the sectors 
and modes of particular export interest to them, a High-Level Meeting where developed and 
developing Member, in a position to do so, would indicate the preferences they intend to grant to 
LDCs services and service suppliers. 
2.3.  Pursuant to that Decision, on 21 July th e LDC Group had submitted its collective request.4 At 
the Council meeting held in November 2014, Members continued their deliberations on the content of collective request, while stressing the importance  of the early operationalization of the waiver. 
At that meeting, views were also expresse d regarding the procedural and substantive 
arrangements for the High-Level Meeting. It was agreed that the Chairman would engage in a consultative process to finalise those arrangements. 
2.4.  At the informal meeting held on 15 Decemb er 2014, Members concurred that the High-Level 
Meeting would be held on 5-6 February, organise d as a formal Council meeting, with a formal 
record in the form of minutes in line with the Co uncil's Rules of Procedure and convened at "high-
level", with an indication in the airgram that high-level representation at Ministerial level would be 
welcome. The proposed agenda for the meeting was also established.
5 
2.5.  Accordingly, on 5 February the Council held a High-Level Meeting on the operationalisation of 
the waiver. A significant level of engagement em erged from the meeting. Over 25 Members, both 
developed and developing ones, indicated services  sectors and modes of supply where they were 
considering providing preferential treatment to se rvices and service suppliers from LDCs. In their 
indications, Members addressed most of the 74 services sectors in which LDCs had requested 
preferences. Some preferences would include: expanding access for mode 4 trade from LDCs for a 
range of services professions and occupations; wa iving fees for business and employment visas for 
LDC persons; not imposing economic needs and labour market tests for LDC Members; and 
extending the duration of stay of LDC profe ssionals in the markets of preference-granting 
Members. Many delegations also mentioned various technical assistance initiatives to improve LDC services export capacity, including training programmes for LDC service suppliers and support to upgrade infrastructure.  
2.6.  Two elements were agreed in terms of next steps. First, it was decided that a sub-item would 
be included on the agenda of the following m eeting of the Council, on the "Assessment of the 
results of the LDC services waiver High-Level M eeting". Second, it was agreed that Members would 
endeavour to submit notifications of preferential treatment for services and services suppliers of 
LDCs at the earliest possible date, and no later than 31 July 2015.  
2.7.  At the meeting held in March, Members conducted an assessment of the results of the High-
Level Meeting, which was, overall, very positive. The Council received its first notification with 
respect to the waiver Decision from Canada, with respect to which some clarifications were sought by the LDC Group.
6 Several other delegations indicated that they were still working on their 
domestic processes, with the aim of meeting the in dicative time-frame of end July 2015 to submit 
their own notification. 
2.8.  At the June meeting, the Council received Au stralia's notification of preferential treatment to 
services and service suppliers of LDCs.7 The LDC Group expressed its appreciation for Australia's 
notification and encouraged other Members to no tify in due time. Several delegations indicated 
that, while they were still engaged in the necessary domestic processes, they were working towards the objective of submitting their respective notifications by the end of July.  
                                               
4 Document S/C/W/356 and Corrigenda 1 and 2. 
5 See document S/C/46. 
6 Document S/C/N/792. 
7 Document S/C/N/805. S/C/48 
 
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  3  WORK PROGRAMME ON  ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 
3.1.  Discussions under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce continued throughout the 
reporting period. At the November meeting, the European Union introduced a submission on electronic authentication and trust services
8, and also delivered an extensive presentation of the 
new EU Regulation on cross-border elec tronic identification and e-signatures.9 Taking up the 
suggestion in the EU submission, several other Members shared information about their own regulations on electronic authentication, as well as any relevant provisions that had been included 
in their Preferential Trade Agreements. 
3.2.  The United States also introduced a new submission in November, addressing cross-border 
information flows, localization requirements, privacy protection, as well as cloud computing.
10 The 
submission was taken up again at the March meeting of the Council. The United States indicated 
that it was not proposing that new rules be developed or new commitments negotiated under the 
e-commerce Work Programme. Rather, the US submission was designed to engage Members in a dialogue and information-sharing exercise with regard to the issues it addressed, possibly via a 
dedicated discussion or a seminar. While several delegations underscored that no new 
commitments or disciplines could be negotiated under the e-commerce Work Programme, Members were generally amenable to engaging in an experience-sharing discussion, so long as 
this implied no normative or prescriptive content.  
3.3.  At the June meeting, two proposals were put forward. Chinese Taipei suggested that a 
workshop on trade policy issues related to e-co mmerce be organised under the auspices of the 
Council, and China suggested that Members embark on a structured information-sharing exercise, 
and add a standing sub-item to that effect on the Council's agenda. While stressing that the 
exercise it was proposing should be open-ended with respect to content and format, China suggested that challenges and implications for the participation of SMEs in e-commerce could be 
one topic of interest. Members generally welcomed both suggestions. One delegation reiterated 
that the Work Programme did not include a negotiat ing mandate. It was agreed that the Chairman 
would hold open-ended consultations to determine next steps on the two proposals made. 
3.4.  Chinese Taipei also submitted a communication  on the protection of personal information and 
the development of e-commerce in June.
11 Delegations generally welcomed the information 
provided, with many indicating that they were still analysing it. Nevertheless, a few Members sought further clarifications about the privacy pr otection framework adopted by Chinese Taipei.  
3.5.  Pursuant to the mandate, in the Bali Ministerial Decision, that the General Council periodically 
review progress with the Work Programme based on the reports submitted by the WTO bodies 
entrusted with its implementation, in November 2014 and in June 2015 the Council agreed that 
the Chairman would produce, under his own responsi bility, a factual report of the essence of the 
Council's discussion under that agenda item.
12  
4  RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADE IN SERVICES 
4.1.  Discussions under this agenda item continued at the November, March and June meetings of 
the Council, with TISA-participating Members keeping the Council updated on progress with their negotiations. Both TISA and non-TISA Members reiterated their earlier and unchanged positions about the initiative.
13 
                                               
8 Document S/C/W/358. 
9 The presentation was subsequently circulated in document JOB/SERV/197. 
10 Document JOB/SERV/196, subsequently re-issued as S/C/W/359. 
11 Document S/C/W/360. 
12 The reports are contained, respectively, in documents S/C/43 and S/C/45. 
13 While generally appreciative of the transparency  element of the updates, some Members expressed 
concerns about the TISA initiative, relating, inter alia, to its non-inclusive nature, its impact on multilateralism and the successful conclusions of the DDA negotiations. Furthermore, a few delegations questioned the relevance of this agenda item. TISA participants saw no contradiction between the TISA talks and the DDA 
negotiations. They noted that the two could be mutu ally supportive, that the TISA was developed to be 
compatible with the GATS, was intended to attract broad participation and could be multilateralized in the future. TISA participants continued to welcome the participation of all WTO Members who shared their S/C/48 
 
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  5  CERTAIN MEASURES RELATED TO THE REFORM OF THE UNIFIED GAS 
TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM OF UKRAINE – STATEMENT BY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION 
5.1.  At its November, March and June meetings, the Council addressed certain measures related 
to the reform of the Unified Gas Transportation Sy stem of Ukraine, at the request of the Russian 
Federation. The Council took note of the statements made by the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the 
Plurinational State of Bolivia, Nicaragua, Arge ntina and Cuba at the November meeting; the 
Russian Federation, Ukraine and Argentina at th e March meeting; and the Russian Federation, 
Ukraine, Argentina and Cuba at the June meeting. 
6  WORK OF THE SU BSIDIARY BODIES 
6.1.  The activities of the subsidiary bodies in 2015 are reflected in their respective reports, which 
are annexed to this report, as follows:  
 Annex I Report of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services (S/FIN/30) 
 Annex II Report of the Committee on Specific Commitments (S/CSC/21)  Annex III Report of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation (S/WPDR/18) 
 Annex IV Report of the Working Party on GATS Rules (S/WPGR/26). 
  
 
_______________ 
 
                                                                                                                                               
objectives, and expressed their readiness to meet with any Member interested in obtaining more information 
about their initiative. S/C/48 
 
- 5 – 
 
 ANNEX I 
  
S/FIN/30  
 
14 October 2015  
(15-5380)  Page: 1/2  
   
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES 
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES (2015) 
 
Since its previous Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Committee on 
Trade in Financial Services held two formal meetings, respectively on 17 March 2015 and 
2 June 2015.2   
 
1  ACCEPTANCE OF THE FIFT H PROTOCOL TO THE GATS 
1.1.  The Committee continued to monitor the status of acceptance of the Fifth Protocol to the 
GATS, which has yet to be accepted by Brazil.  
2  TRADE IN FINANCIAL SE RVICES AND DEVELOPMENT 
2.1.  The Committee continued its consideration of the issue of financial inclusion, on the basis of a 
Background Note prepared by the Secretariat (Financial Inclusion and the GATS, document 
S/FIN/W/88). The purpose of the Note, prepared  at the request of the Committee, was not to 
replicate the growing literature on financial inclusion, but rather, to discuss the issue from a trade 
policy perspective, addressing also the role that th e GATS may play in that regard. As part of this 
discussion, several Members (Argentina, China, Indi a, Korea, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and 
Turkey) provided overviews of the situation of financial inclusion in their respective economies and 
highlighted the most important initiatives and policies adopted towards its promotion.  
3  REGULATORY ISSUES IN FINANCIAL SERVICES 3.1.  The Committee continued with its consideration of regulatory issues in financial services. In 
June, a representative of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF-GAFI) made a presentation before 
the Committee on the objectives and purposes of the FATF, and on the latest developments in its area of competence. The FATF-GAFI had been invited together with the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Ta x Purposes, the latter being unable to attend on 
that occasion. The Secretariat will keep in touch with the Global Forum to ensure its participation 
at a future meeting.  
4  TECHNICAL ISSUES (CLASSIFICATION ISSUES) 
4.1.  Due to the lack of discussion, the Committ ee decided to put aside this agenda item until 
specific suggestions are made on the part of Members. 
_______________ 
 
                                               
1 S/FIN/29, dated 28 November 2014. 
2 The reports of the formal meet ings are contained in documents S/FIN/M/83 and 84, and should be 
read in conjunction with this report. S/C/48 
 
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 ANNEX II 
  
  
S/CSC/21  
 
14 October 2014  
(15-5387)  Page: 1/2  
   
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS 
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES (2015) 
 
Since its Annual Report of 2014 to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Committee on Specific 
Commitments (CSC) held two formal meetings, respectively on 18 March and 2 June 2015.2 During 
the period covered by this report, the Committee addressed two standing items - classification 
issues and scheduling issues – and considered possible future work.  
1  CLASSIFICATION ISSUES  
1.1. During the reporting period, the Committee cont inued to consider the issue of "new services" 
based on an informal Note the Secretariat had prepared upon the request of the Committee, which 
contains an illustrative list of services identified in previous discussions as not being explicitly 
referred to in document W/120.3 The Secretariat Note also provides a brief background on the 
issue of "new services" and suggests a number of  general questions for consideration. Members 
expressed divergent views with respect to a numbe r of issues such as: whether "new services" 
existed, whether a definition of "new services" wa s needed, and the implications of "new services" 
for existing commitments under the GATS. In this  context, there were further discussions on the 
nature of cloud computing services with different views expressed as well. In addition, a number of 
Members reiterated that the discussion on the issue of "new services" should not affect the scope 
of the existing commitments under the GATS.  
1.2. At the meeting on 18 March 2015, the dele gation of China suggested that the Committee 
invite experts from the United Nations Statistical Department to give a presentation on the gap 
between the CPC Provisional and the CPC Version 2 for the purpose of information sharing. After 
the Chairperson's consultations, it was agreed at the meeting on 2 June 2015 that the proposed presentation would be delivered to the Committee at its meeting in October 2015 either through a 
video conference by the UN experts or directly by the WTO Secretariat.  
2  SCHEDULING ISSUES 2.1.  There was some expression of interest in having discussions on issues related to the 
scheduling of specific commitments. A number of  Members suggested that the Committee revisit 
economic needs tests (ENTs).  
2.2.  The Chairperson would continue to hold consultations on how the Committee could build on 
previous work and look into recently emerged  scheduling issues.  
                                               
1 S/CSC/20, dated 17 November 2014. 
2 The reports of the form al meetings are contained in document s S/CSC/M/72, S/CSC/M/73, and should 
be read in conjunction with this report. 
3 The illustrative list is contained in document JOB/SERV/189. S/C/48 
 
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  3  OTHER ISSUES 
3.1.  The Chairperson also held consultations on any possible technical work the Committee might 
undertake with respect to the conclusion of the services negotiations. To facilitate Members' consideration, the Secretariat circulated a list of documents the Committee had produced in the 
past with respect to the submission of offers, the methods to incorporate new commitments into 
the GATS, the relationship between old and new co mmitments as well as the verification process 
at the end of the negotiations. The list of  documents is contained in JOB/SERV/212. 
 
_______________ 
  S/C/48 
 
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 ANNEX III 
  
  
S/WPDR/18  
 
15 October 2015  
(15-5418)  Page: 1/2  
   
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON DOMESTIC REGULATION 
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES (2015) 
 
Since its Annual Report of 2014 to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Working Party on 
Domestic Regulation (WPDR) has held two formal meetings, respectively on 17 March and 3 June 
2015.2 During the period covered by this report, the Working Party continued with its work on 
domestic regulation disciplines pursuant to GATS Article VI:4.  A dedicated discussion of domestic regulation in Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) was continued.  Additionally, following earlier 
discussions of the Working Party on the Secretariat background Note on Technical Standards in 
Services (S/WPDR/W/49), a presentation was gi ven by the International Organization for 
Standardization (ISO) on its work relating to services standards. 
1  DEDICATED DISCUSSION ON DOMESTIC REGULATION IN REGIONAL TRADE 
AGREEMENTS 
1.1.  The dedicated discussion on Members' experi ences with domestic regulation disciplines in 
services regional trade agreements was continued during the first meeting of the review period, on 
the basis of one additional oral contribution. Th e purpose of the discussion was to give Members 
the opportunity to share details on the different ty pes of domestic regulation provisions that can 
be found in Regional Trade Agreements, as well as to draw any commonalities or differences with 
the disciplines negotiated under the GATS Article VI:4 mandate. The Working Party agreed to 
include this item on the agenda of future meetings  on the basis of delegations' indications to the 
Secretariat.  
2  DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATORY DISCIPLINES UNDER GATS ARTICLE VI:4 
2.1.  The Working Party continued to discuss the a ppropriate course of action with regard to the 
development of regulatory disciplines under GATS Article VI:4.  At the June meeting, a group of 
delegations suggested a discussion on elements that  delegations considered 'doable' and 'realistic', 
should domestic regulation form pa rt of the post-Bali work programme.
3  A large number of 
delegations intervened under this proposed discussi on, with several of them providing substantive 
views on their DR priorities in the context of  a post-Bali work programme.  Other delegations 
reiterated that other areas of the negotiations needed to progress before the issue of domestic 
regulation could be considered in the same context.     
                                               
1 S/WPDR/17, dated 17 November 2014. 
2 The reports of the formal meet ings are contained in document s S/WPDR/M/63 and S/WPDR/M/64 and 
should be read in conjun ction with this report. 
3 RD/SERV/124, dated 22 May 2015;  Unofficial Room Document - Communication from Australia; 
Canada; Colombia; Republic of Korea; Mexico and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen 
and Matsu - Proposal to discuss elements of Domestic Regu lation that could form part  of the services post-Bali 
work programme. S/C/48 
 
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  3  PRESENTATION BY THE INTERNATIONA L ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION 
3.1.  A representative of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) updated the 
Working Party on activities of the ISO in the field of services standards, and replied to questions by 
members of the Working Party.4 
 
_______________ 
 
 
                                               
4 The presentation by the ISO was made available in RD/SERV/126, dated 4 June 2015. S/C/48 
 
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 ANNEX IV 
  
  
S/WPGR/26  
 
15 October 2015  
(15-5395)  Page: 1/2  
   
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON GATS RULES 
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES (2015) 
Since its Annual Report of 2014 to the Council for Trade in Services,1 the Working Party on GATS 
Rules (WPGR) held two formal meetings, respectively on 18 March and 6 June 2015.2 During the 
period covered by this report, the Working Party continued engaging in discussions on all three 
GATS Rules topics. However, prog ress was limited due notably to the overall context of the DDA 
negotiations.   
1  NEGOTIATIONS ON EMERGENCY SA FEGUARD MEASURES (ARTICLE X) 
1.1.  In 2015, the Working Party continued its dedicated discussion on emergency safeguard 
provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs), as initially proposed by the 'Friends of ESM'
3 in 
their Communication on "Emergency Safeguard Measures (ESM ) in Regional and Bilateral Trade 
Agreements: A Proposed Dedicated Discussion"  back in 2013.4  On substance, no new elements 
were fed into the discussion.  Members did not revert to the updated factual Note prepared by the Secretariat reviewing safeguard–type and safeguar d–related provisions for trade in services in 
some 122 RTAs notified to the WTO under GATS Article V:7.
5  The proponents invited WTO 
Members to re-examine their 2007 proposal for an “Annex on Article X Emergency Safeguard 
Measures” (document JOB(07)/155) and reiterated their availability to hold informal consultations 
with interested Members in that regard.     
2  NEGOTIATIONS ON GOVERNMENT  PROCUREMENT (ARTICLE XIII) 
2.1.  As previously agreed by Members, the Wo rking Party discussed the final version of the WTO 
Working Paper entitled "The Relationship between Services Trade and Government Procurement 
Commitments: Insights from Relevant WTO Agreements and Recent RTAs"  prepared, in their 
personal capacity, by staff members from the Secretariat's TRIPS Division in charge of the GPA and the Trade in Services Division.
6 
2.2.  Regarding future work in this area, the delegation of the European Union suggested analysing 
how Members treated foreign-owned or controlled established7 service suppliers with respect to 
                                               
1 Document S/WPGR/25 dated 17 November 2014.  
2 The reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/WPGR/M/86 and S/WPGR/M/ 87, and 
should be read in conjun ction with this report.  
3 T h e  f ol l o wi n g n i n e  de l e g a t i o n s ,  a s  p r o p on e n t s  on  emergency safeguards in services, constitute the 
'Friends of ESM": Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam. 
4 Document JOB/SERV/163 dated 18 October 2013, Communication from Brunei Darussalam, 
Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.  
5 Document S/WPGR/W/64 dated 4 September 2014. 
6 WTO Working Paper ERSD-2014-21, final version released in November 2014: 
https://www.wto.org/ english/res_e/reser_e/wpaps_e.htm . The views expressed in the Paper are the authors' 
personal responsibility and should not be attributed to the WTO or its Secretariat. 
7 I.e., for services supplied via foreign commercial presence, so-called 'mode 3'. S/C/48 
 
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  government procurement procedures, as compared to their own 'domestic' service suppliers ‒ to 
identify good practices that could be drawn from national experiences (as well as possible sources 
of discrimination). Further to this exchange of information among Members, the EU delegation 
suggested requesting the Secretariat to further examine Members' practices in this regard as 
reflected notably in their regional trade agreements. Further discussions to define the contours of future work are expected to take place in forthcoming meetings.  
3  NEGOTIATIONS ON SUBSIDIES (ARTICLE XV) 
3.1.  In January 2015, the Secretariat issued a revised version of its Background Note entitled 
"Subsidies for Services Sectors ‒ Information contained in WTO Trade Policy Reviews"  (based on 
information contained in WTO Secretariat Trade Policy Review reports).
8 A couple of delegations 
made observations on the Note. More conceptual work would ideally be needed to better 
understand how subsidies are provided and what trade effects they might have.  
 
__________  
  
                                               
8 Document S/WPGR/W/25/Add.7/Rev.1 dated 13 January 2015.