S/C/42  
 
30 October 2013  
(13-6001)  Page: 1/9  
   
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES 
TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL (2013) 
Since its Annual Report of 2012 to the General Council1, the Council for Trade in Services (CTS) 
held three formal meetings, respectively on 6 December 2012, 21 March and 20 June 2013.2  
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, III:5, 
AND V:7 
1.1.  At its meetings held in December, March and June, the Council for Trade in Services took 
note, altogether, of the following notifications: 
(a) Notifications pursuant to Article III:3 of the GATS 
South Africa S/C/N/656-657, 682-683, 689 
Japan S/C/N/659-660 Thailand S/C/N/661-670 
Switzerland S/C/N/671 
Togo S/C/N/672 Lesotho S/C/N/673-677 
Canada  S/C/N/679 
European Union S/C/N/684-688 Sweden S/C/N/690 
 
(b) Notifications pursuant to Article V:7 of the GATS 
 
Hong Kong, China; Iceland; Liechtenstein; S/C/N/654 
 Norway; and Switzerland  
Kenya S/C/N/655 Panama and the United States S/C/N/658 
Nicaragua and Panama  S/C/N/678 
Central America and the European Union  S/C/N/680 Colombia, Peru and the European Union  S/C/N/681/Rev.1 Canada and Panama S/C/N/691 
Guatemala and Panama S/C/N/692/Rev.2 
The European Union S/C/N/693 Ukraine S/C/N/694 
Malaysia and Australia S/C/N/695 
Peru and Costa Rica S/C/N/696  
1.2.  The agreements notified in these documents were referred to the Committee on Regional 
Trade Agreements for consideration. 
1.3.  At the December and March meetings of the Council, a number of questions were raised in 
respect of a few Economic Integration Agreements that had been notified pursuant to Article V:7 in 
the past, to which the delegations concerned prov ided answers orally and in writing (document 
JOB/SERV/121).  
                                               
1 S/C/39, dated 7 December 2012. 
2 Reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/C/M/112 to 114, and should be read in 
conjunction with this report. S/C/42 
 
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  1.4.  With regard to the notification which ha d been submitted by Norway pursuant to GATS 
Article III:5 on a measure adopted by Thailand (document S/C/N/653, dated 26 September 2012), a number of supplementary questions were circulat ed by Norway for the December meeting of the 
Council (document JOB/SERV/126). The delegation of Thailand provided replies at the December 
and March meetings, and at the June meeting the delegations of Norway and the European Union 
offered updates on follow-up discussions. 
2  COMPLIANCE WITH GATS NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 
2.1.  The Council discussed the issue of compli ance with GATS notification requirements 
throughout the reporting period. At the December meeting, it addressed a Note by the Secretariat 
updating a statistical account of services notifi cations, contained in document JOB(09)/10/Rev.3, 
dated 23 November 2012, and reverted to an older submission by Switzerland contained in 
document S/C/W/297. The Council also agreed to task the Secretariat with the preparation of a 
note on the type measures that had been notified under GATS Article III:3.  
2.2.  Accordingly, a Secretariat Note titled "T ypology of Measures Notified pursuant to GATS 
Article III:3", contained in document S/C/W/351, was taken up at the March meeting. At that 
meeting, the Council also heard a presentation on  the experiences with TBT and SPS notifications, 
and reverted to the Note entitled "Means to Improve Transparency" (document JOB/SERV/136) 
that had been circulated in preparation for an informal open-ended meeting the Council had held 
on 28 February. Generally, Members seemed agreeable to taking up several of the suggestions in that Note, specifically those contained in paragraphs 4a, 4b, 4c and 4e. Instead, there had been widespread scepticism with regard to the proposal in paragraph 4f, and definite opposition to the 
suggestion in paragraph 4d. 
2.3.  Following up on those discussions, at the Council meeting held in June the Secretariat was 
asked to consult with its colleagues in the TBT and SPS area to explore the feasibility of setting up 
an electronic format for services notifi cations and report back to the Council. 
3  WORK PROGRAMME ON  ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 
3.1.  Discussions under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce continued throughout the 
reporting period.  The Council carried on with its examination of a number of communications that 
had been previously submitted under this agenda item, and some Members shared information on their own experiences with regard to the issues  discussed in the communications. In June, the 
Council considered a new submission by the Se parate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, 
Kinmen and Matsu, contained in document JOB/SERV/140 and entitled "Protection of Personal 
Information and the Development of Electronic Commerce".  
3.2.  Following an initial proposal by the United States, Members agreed that a public workshop to 
examine services-related issues for e-commerce be organised under the auspices of the Council on 
17 and 18 June 2013. The workshop featured representatives from international organizations, the private sector, government ministries and regula tory agencies. At the June 2013 meeting of the 
Council, Members expressed their satisfaction in pa rticular with the diversity of the presenters, 
presentations and issues raised, and took the view  that the workshop was a positive contribution 
to the Work Programme. An informal summing-up of the event by the chairman  of the workshop is 
contained in JOB/SERV/155. 
3.3.  Duly noting the mandate in the Ministerial Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic 
Commerce adopted on 17 December 2011 (document WT/L/843), that the General Council periodically review progress with the Work Prog ramme, the Council agreed in December and in 
June that the Chairman would produce, under his own responsibility, purely factual reports of the 
essence of the Council's discussion under that agenda item. The reports concerned are contained in documents S/C/40 and S/C/41. 
4  DEVELOPMENTS IN SERVICES TRADE AND REGULATION 
4.1.  Following the agreement to invite UNCTAD to contribute to discussions under this agenda 
item, at the Council meeting held in March a representative of the UNCTAD Secretariat delivered a S/C/42 
 
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  presentation of the organization's work on services, focused on deliberations at "Expert Meetings" 
on the regulation of infrastructure services that had been held between 2009 and 2013.   
5  DEDICATED DISCUSSION ON INTERNATIONAL MOBILE ROAMING 5.1.  At the March meeting of the Council, the delegation of New Zealand reverted to this agenda 
item to provide an update of the joint market investigation into trans-Tasman international 
roaming charges conducted by New Zealand's Mini stry of Business, Innovation and Employment 
and Australia's Department of Broadband Communications and the Digital Economy. 
6  OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE MC8 DECISION ON THE SERVICES WAIVER FOR LDCS 
6.1.  At the request of the LDC Group, an item on  the operationalization of the LDC services waiver 
was added to the Council's agenda, and addressed at the March and June meetings. The waiver foresees a dual role for the Council for Trade in Services. The Council is directed to receive 
Members' notifications of any preferences grante d to LDCs; and to approve any preferences with 
respect to measures other than those listed in Article XVI of the GATS. So far, no submissions have been made to the Council in this regard. The LDC Group is working on the identification of 
areas where potential services preferences might be granted, and is keeping the Council informed 
about its progress. 
7  WORK OF THE SU BSIDIARY BODIES 
7.1.  The activities of the subsidiary bodies in 2013 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/28) 
 Annex  II Report of the Committee on Specific Commitments (S/CSC/19) 
 Annex  III Report of the Working Part y on Domestic Regulation (S/WPDR/16) 
 Annex  IV Report of the Working Party on GATS Rules (S/WPGR/24)  
 
 
_______________ 
 S/C/42 
 
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ANNEX I 
 
  
S/FIN/28  
 
29 October 2013  
(13-5975)  Page: 1/2  
   
 
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON TRADE IN FINANCIAL SERVICES  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES (2013) 
Since its previous Annual Report to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Committee on Trade in 
Financial Services held three formal meetings, respectively on 5 December 2012, 20 March 2013 and 19 June 2013.
2  In addition, it met informally on 5 February 2013 and 23 May 2013.  
1  ACCEPTANCE OF THE FIFT H PROTOCOL TO THE GATS 
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  MACROPRUDENTIAL POLICY AND REGULATION - MEMBERS' EXPERIENCE 
Following a proposal by Ecuador, the Committee held a dedicated discussion at its March meeting 
on Members' experiences with macroprudential po licies and regulation. Many Members, some of 
whom had circulated statements or presentations beforehand, participated. The debate made 
evident that the recent global financial crisis had prompted a reassessment of financial regulation and supervision, showing in particular the need to focus on macroprudential policy as a complement to the hitherto almost exclusive emphasis on a microprudential approach. The 
diversity of experiences shared by Members suggested that no "one-size-fits-all" model was 
available for the implementation of macroprudent ial policies and regulation. While some Members 
entrusted a single agency with additional responsi bilities regarding macroprudential policy, others 
focused on coordination be tween different agencies.  
Many delegations referred to the need to avoid th e build-up of excessive leverage in the banking 
system. The macroprudential instruments used were diverse and included, inter alia , counter-
cyclical capital buffers, sectoral capital requirements, liquidity requirements, loan-to-value ratios, 
and large exposure limits. Some Members made reference to the instability brought about by extensive and volatile capital flows and the need  to apply capital flow management measures. 
Some Members considered that the Committee should be kept abreast of developments regarding 
prudential regulation, so as to better understand the effects of these regulations and policies on 
trade in financial services. 
3  TRADE IN FINANCIAL SE RVICES AND DEVELOPMENT 
At the December 2012 meeting, China made a presen tation on the availability and organization of 
microcredit, followed by another presentation in  March 2013 on the access of small and medium-
sized enterprises to financial services. 
At the meeting held in June, Norway and Pakistan made presentations on mobile banking services 
in the latter country. The presentations were followed by a focused discussion, which touched upon not only various issues involved in mobile banking services like regulation, business models, 
                                               
1 S/FIN/25, dated 5 December 2012. 
2 The reports of the formal  meetings are contained in documents S/FIN/M/75 to 77, and should be read 
in conjunction with this report. S/C/42 
 
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  interoperability of platforms, data security, pa yment risk management and consumer protection, 
but also the broader issue of access to financial services. 
4  REGULATORY ISSUES IN FINANCIAL SERVICES At its June meeting, the Committee discussed regulatory issues in financial services, on the basis 
of a Secretariat Note on these issues, contained in document S/WPDR/W/48. The section on 
financial services is to be found in paragraphs 185 to 195 of the document. The Committee agreed to revert to this agenda item at the following meeting, so as to give Members another opportunity 
to comment. 
5  TECHNICAL ISSUES (CLASSIFICATION ISSUES) The Committee continued with its consideration of classification issues in financial services.  As 
agreed by Members, the discussions were held in informal mode.   
 
 
_______________ 
 
 S/C/42 
 
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ANNEX II  
  
  
S/CSC/19  
 
29 October 2013  
(13-5974)  Page: 1/2  
   
 
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS 
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES (2013) 
Since its Annual Report of 2012 to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Committee on Specific 
Commitments (CSC) held three formal meetings, respectively on 6 December 2012, 20 March 2013 and 20 June 2013.
2  During the period covered by this report, the Committee 
addressed three items:  classification issues; scheduling issues; and the review of procedures 
under Article XXI.   
1  CLASSIFICATION ISSUES  1.1.  The examination of classification issues ba sed on the Secretariat's sectoral Background Notes 
continued to be the focus of the Committee's work this year.  As in the previous year, in order to 
facilitate exchange of view, discussions were carried out in informal mode, and an informal, non-attributable summary of the discussion was circul ated to Members after each meeting under the 
Chairperson's responsibility.  During the reportin g period, services sectors that were considered 
under this item include: postal and courier, distribution, maritime transport, logistics, and legal services.  To stimulate discussions, for each sector  under examination, the Secretariat prepared an 
informal Note providing an overview of relevant classification issues and suggesting specific 
questions for Members' consideration (JOB/SERV/110, JOB/SERV/111, JOB/SERV/129, 
JOB/SERV/137, and JOB/SERV/138).   
1.2.  With a view to adding input to the Commi ttee's sectoral discussion under this item, at the 
request of the Committee, the Secretariat also prepared a background Note (S/CSC/W/61 and 
Corr.1) examining services classification issues arising in the WTO jurisprudence, including the 
interpretative approach applied by panels and the Appellate Body.  Discussions were undertaken 
based on this Note as well.   
1.3.  At the meeting on 20 March 2013, the Trade Statistics Section of the WTO Secretariat made 
a presentation on guidelines set out in the new IMF Balance of Payments Manual (BPM6) and the Manual on Statistics of International Trade in Services with respect to the classification of 
international transactions related to intellectual property products (IPPs).  
2  SCHEDULING ISSUES 2.1.  There was no substantive discussion under this item during the reporting period.  At the 
meeting of 20 June 2013, it was suggested that Members could share scheduling experiences that 
had been gained outside the WTO on an intellectual and educational basis so as to ensure the uniformity and clarity of services commitments in future negotiations.  The Chairperson is holding 
consultations on how to proceed with this proposal.  
                                               
1 S/CSC/18, dated 6 December 2012. 
2 The reports of the formal  meetings are contained in documents S/CSC/M/65-67, and should be read in 
conjunction with this report. S/C/42 
 
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  3   REVIEW OF THE OPERATION OF PROCEDURES UNDER ARTICLE XXI 
3.1.  This item was included in the agenda since October 2012 at the request of Australia.  Under 
this item, Members shared their experiences with using the Procedures for the Implementation of 
Article XXI of the GATS (document S/L/80), and the Procedures for the Certification of 
Rectifications or Improvements to Schedules (d ocument S/L/84), adopted by the Council for Trade 
in Services respectively in July 1999 and April 2000.  As agreed, to facilitate the exercise, the Secretariat prepared, on the basis of publicly available information, a factual Note containing a 
statistical account of the application of these procedures to date.  It was circulated in document 
JOB/SERV/123.   
3.2.  At the meeting on 6 December 2012, the Committee held informal discussions under this 
item, and a non-attributable summary was circulated under the Chairperson's responsibility 
(JOB/SERV/131).  A number of important issues were raised in the discussion, concerning inter 
alia the invocation of Article XXI, timing of negotiations, conclusion of the process, and 
consolidation and distribution of the results of negotiation. 
3.3.  There was no further substantive discussion at subsequent meetings during the reporting 
period.  It was agreed that th e Committee would revert to this item at a future meeting. 
 
 
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  S/C/42 
 
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ANNEX III  
  
  
S/WPDR/16  
 
29 October 2013  
(13-5973)  Page: 1/1  
   
 
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON DOMESTIC REGULATION 
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES (2013) 
Since its Annual Report of 2012 to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Working Party on 
Domestic Regulation (WPDR) held three formal meetings, respectively on 5 December 2012, 21 March 2013 and 19 June 2013.
2 During the period covered by this report, the Working Party 
continued with its work on the domestic regulation disciplines pursuant to GATS Article VI:4. 
Discussions were undertaken on two main sub-items: technical issues based on questions 
submitted by Members; and regulatory issues in sectors and modes of supply. 
1  TECHNICAL ISSUES 
Members continued to answer queries and exchange d information on the 93 questions contained in 
the "List of Potential Technical Issues Submitted for Discussion" (RD/SERV/68). In the three meetings falling under this Annual Report, Members undertook discussions on questions 47 to 90 
covering verification and assessment of qualifications; identification of deficiencies of 
qualifications; examinations; technical standards; general provisions and development-related aspects of the disciplines. Additional information on regulatory practises was also provided by 
some Members on the time-frame for processing a pplications; permission to supply services after 
fulfilment of requirements; and fees. Responses from Members sought to clarify the use of certain 
domestic regulation concepts and terms, as well as actual regulatory practices. Certain Members also reflected on the implications of the information provided during the technical discussions for 
horizontal disciplines. These discussions have been conducted in informal mode and summaries 
were provided by the Chairperson.
3  
2  REGULATORY ISSUES IN SECTORS AND MODES OF SUPPLY 
Members have also launched a programme of discussions based on the Secretariat Note on 
"Regulatory Issues in Sectors and Modes of Supply" (S/WPDR/W/48 and Add.1). A provisional schedule organizing the discussions is contained in the document JOB/SERV/134. The discussions were launched at the meeting of 21 March and Members addressed sections of the Note 
concerning architectural services; construction and related engineering services; legal services; 
accountancy services and mode 4. At the meetin g of 19 June, Members continued their discussions 
on development; telecommunication services; computer and related services; audiovisual services; 
and modes 1 and 2. On the subject of developmen t, the Secretariat circulated a supplementary 
Note on "Services-related regulatory challenges faced by developing countries" (S/WPDR/W/51). In the discussions, Members exchan ged views on the importance of regulatory issues for services 
trade, national experiences with regulatory reform  and capacity building, as well as the specific 
challenges faced by developing countries.  
_______________ 
 
                                               
1 S/WPDR/15, dated 5 December 2012. 
2 The reports of the form al meetings are contained in document s S/WPDR/M/56-58 and should be read 
in conjunction with this report. 
3 Chair's summaries of informal discussions can be found in JOB/SERV/124/Add.1, JOB/SERV/133, 
JOB/SERV/133/Add.1, JOB/SERV/147, JOB/SERV /147/Add.1, JOB/SERV/150, JOB/SERV/156 and 
JOB/SERV/157. S/C/42 
 
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ANNEX IV  
  
  
S/WPGR/24  
 
29 October 2013  
(13-5976)  Page: 1/1  
   
 
 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON GATS RULES  
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN SERVICES (2013) 
Since its Annual Report of 2012 to the Council for Trade in Services1, the Working Party on GATS 
Rules (WPGR) held two formal meetings, on 20 March and 20 June 2013.2 In addition, it met 
informally on 5 December 2012. During the peri od covered by this report, the Working Party 
continued to engage in discussions on all thr ee GATS Rules subjects; however, progress on 
substance was limited due, inter alia, to the overall context of the DDA negotiations.   
 1  NEGOTIATIONS ON EMERGENCY SA FEGUARD MEASURES (ARTICLE X) 
The proponents presented a revised version of their room document (RD/SERV/79/Rev.1), 
compiling their proposals and positions since 1995. This systematic reference documentation could, in their view, serve as a starting point for possible future work. They recalled that their 
October 2007 Communication (JOB(07)/155) proposed rules to implement a safeguard clause in a 
Member's domestic framework, not a fully-fledged one-size-fits-all mechanism. At the June 2013 meeting, the proponents suggested initiating a dedicated technical discussion on emergency 
safeguard provisions in regional trade agreemen ts (RTAs) whereby Members, notably those that 
were signatories to agreements containing such provisions, could share their experiences. 
Members agreed to further discuss a possible framework for such a dedicated discussion at the next WPGR meeting. 
2  NEGOTIATIONS ON GOVERNMENT  PROCUREMENT (ARTICLE XIII) 
The work on government procurement saw two main developments: firstly, it was agreed that 
Members would discuss a (yet to be finalized) WTO Staff Working Paper on the scope of 
government-procurement-related commitments in RTAs; secondly, at the June meeting, the 
Secretariat made a presentation on the main fe atures of the revised Government Procurement 
Agreement (GPA), formally adopted in March 2012, and its significance for trade in services. The 
representative of the Secretariat stressed the interface and complementarity between the GPA and 
the GATS, both from a legal and economic perspe ctive. The revision had an important services 
dimension, through additions notably in terms of public entities and services sectors covered by 
the Parties. The presentation was followed by a substantive and stimulating discussion.    
3  NEGOTIATIONS ON SUBSIDIES (ARTICLE XV) 
At the June meeting, several delegations ma de interventions based on the Secretariat's 
Background Note titled  "Subsidies for Services Sectors ‒ Information contained in WTO Trade 
Policy Reviews"  (S/WPGR/W/25/Add.6). The Note presents updated empirical evidence of subsidy 
programmes in service sectors, based on information contained in the Secretariat's Trade Policy Review reports. Members agreed that more conc eptual work needed to be undertaken to better 
understand how subsidies were provided and what trade effects they might have.   
__________  
                                               
1 S/WPGR/23, dated 29 November 2012.  
2 The reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/WPGR/M/80 and 81, and should be read 
in conjunction with this annual report.