RESTRICTED  
  
S/L/423  
 
17 January 2019  
(19-0285) Page: 1/2 
Trade in Services  Original: English  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM T HE RUSSIAN FEDERATION  
NOTIFICATION OF OBJECTION TO THE UNI TED KINGDOM’S REQUES T FOR  
CERTIFICATION OF ITS  SCHEDULE OF SPECIFI C COMMITMENTS  
The following communication, dated 17 January 2019, from the delegation of t he Russian Federation  
is being circulated to the Members of the WTO. 
 
_______________  
 
 
1.1.  This notification is in response to document S/C/W/380, dated 3 December 2018, which 
contains the draft 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 Commitments (S/L/84).  
1.2.  The Russian Federation, without prejudice to its position reg arding the legal status of the 
European Union’s Schedule of Specific Commitments under the GATS (document S/C/W/273), 
hereby submits its objection to the United Kingdom’s request for certification.  
1.3.  After careful examination of the UK draft Schedule, the R ussian Federation believes that the 
proposed modifications to the UK commitments are not within the terms of paragraph 1 of the 
Procedures for the Certification of Rectifications or Improvements to Schedules of Specific 
Commitments (S/L/84) because they al ter the scope or the substance of the existing commitments.  
1.4.  In particular, the Russian Federation has concerns that the “technical” replacement of “EU” or 
“member states” or “Communities” with the “UK” and the omission of reference s to relevant EU 
legislat ion across the whole  text of the draft Schedule narrow the scope of the UK services 
commitments which , in turn , leads to reduced benefits of the Russi an Federation under the GATS. 
Such changes are contained in both horizontal and sector -specific commitments.  
1.5.  An example of such worsened conditions is the removal of all references to EU legislation or 
their replacement with the references to UK legislation. The Russian Federation believes that the 
reference to EU legislation binds the application of  commitments to particular prov isions of specific 
legal acts, whereas the draft Schedule of the UK lacks such specific references to legislation, making 
the Schedule less transparent and, thus, denying the legal guarantees of market access and national 
treatment in committed sectors.  
1.6.  According to para graph  1 of Part II of the Communication the UK wishes to reflect changes for 
presentational clarity and commitments it offered to WTO Members as part of the EU -25 Schedule 
of commitments (S/C/W/273 Corr.1 & Add .1), which was ratified by the UK.  
1.7.  The Russian Federation is concerned that certain proposed modifications do not correctly reflect 
the commitments specified in the EU -25 Schedule of Specific Commitments under the GATS 
(S/C/W/273 Corr.1 & Add.1).  
1.8.  In partic ular, the following services sectors and sub -sectors are excluded from the horizontal 
commitments on mode 4 in respect of contractual service suppliers in the draft Schedule of the UK 
(S/C/W/380 of 3 December 2018): Computer and related services; Research and development 
services; Higher education services; Travel agencies and tour operator services; Entertainment 
services; Services related to the sale of equipment or to the assignment of a patent. However, the S/L/423  
 
- 2 - 
 
  above -mentioned sectors and sub -sectors are co mmitted in the respective part of the EU -25 
Schedule of commitments (S/C/W/273 Corr.1 & Add.1).  
1.9.  The Russian Federation considers that the proposed modifications , giving rise to the present 
objection,  significantly narrow the commitments of the UK under the  GATS and reduces the benefits 
of the Russian Federation under the GATS.  
1.10.   For the reasons mentioned above, the Russian Federation objects to the proposed 
rectifications and modifications of the draft UK Schedule of Specific Commitments under the GATS 
(S/C/ W/380) and reserves the right to provide additional comments.  
1.11.   The Russian Federation looks forward to entering into consultations with the United Kingdom 
in order to reach a satisfactory resolution to this matter.  
__________