RESTRICTED  
  
S/C/W/357  
 
5 November 2014  
(14-6436)  Page: 1/4  
Council for Trade in Services    
 
 - DRAFT -  
 
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES 
TO THE GENERAL COUNCIL (2014) 
Since its Annual Report of 2013 to the General Council1, the Council for Trade in Services held five 
formal meetings, respectively on 29 October 2013, 26 February 2014, 8 May 2014, 20 June 2014 
and 17 September 2014.2 During the period covered by this report, the Council addressed the 
following matters. 
1  NOTIFICATIONS MADE TO THE COUNCIL PURSUANT TO GATS ARTICLES III:3, V:7 
AND VII:4 
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 
Australia S/C/N/698, 718 
Colombia S/C/N/699-700 
The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, S/C/N/702  Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu 
South Africa S/C/N/703-708, 712, 727-730 
Switzerland S/C/N/713 Norway S/C/N/714 Ukraine S/C/N/719 
The European Union S/C/N/720-726 
Togo S/C/N/731 The Kingdom of Morocco S/C/N/732-738, 740-741 
Senegal S/C/N/746-765 
 (b) Notifications pursuant to Article V:7 of the GATS 
Chile and Nicaragua S/C/N/697 
Mexico S/C/N/701 Costa Rica and Singapore S/C/N/709 New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of S/C/N/715 
 Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu 
Colombia S/C/N/681/Rev.1/Add.1 Canada and Chile S/C/N/65/Add.1 
The European Union S/C/N/716 
Mexico and Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, S/C/N/717/Rev.1  Honduras, Nicaragua 
Singapore and the Separate Customs Territory of S/C/N/739 
 Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu Switzerland and China S/C/N/742 The European Union and the Republic of Moldova S/C/N/743 
The European Union and Ukraine S/C/N/744 
The European Union and Georgia S/C/N/745 
                                               
1 S/C/42, dated 30 October 2013. 
2 Reports of these meetings are contained in documents S/C/M/115 to 119, and should be read in 
conjunction with this report. S/C/W/357 
 
- 2 - 
 
  1.2.  The agreements notified in these documents were referred to the Committee on Regional 
Trade Agreements for consideration. 
(c) Notifications pursuant to Article VII:4 of the GATS 
Montenegro S/C/N/710-711 
 
1.3.  With regard to a measure adopted by Thailand  that had been the object of a notification by 
Norway pursuant to GATS Article III:53, at the February meeting of the Council Thailand provided 
written replies4 to earlier questions Norway had raised.5 Norway and the European Union offered 
follow-up comments. The Council took  note of the statements made. 
1.4.  At that meeting, the Council also agre ed that the Secretariat would update its Note 
containing a statistical account of the notifications made under relevant GATS provisions, and that 
it would produce annual updates of that document. The updated Note was circulated to Members 
at the May meeting of the Council.6 
2  COMPLIANCE WITH GATS NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 
2.1.  As part of its deliberations of the issue of  compliance with GATS notification requirements, 
the Council considered the suggestion to create an online system for the submission of services notifications. The Secretariat was asked to prepare a Note on the feasibility of setting up such a 
system. The Note, which was circul ated at the February meeting,
7 indicates that the estimated 
cost of setting up a scheme for the online submi ssion of GATS notifications is in the order of 
CHF 100,000. It also signals that, as concerns the retrieval of information about notifications, an 
online mechanism already exists thanks to the WTO's Documents online facility. The Secretariat 
was thus asked to organize a presentation of that facility, which was delivered at the May meeting 
of the Council. In light of Members' diminishing interest, at that juncture, in pursuing further discussions on the question of compliance with GATS notification requirements, at the June 
meeting the Council decided to defer its deliberations of this agenda item. 
3  WORK PROGRAMME ON  ELECTRONIC COMMERCE 
3.1.  Discussions under the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce continued throughout the 
reporting period. At the February meeting, Members unanimously welcomed the Ministerial 
Decision on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce adopted in Bali on 7 December 2013
8, 
and noted the positive work carried out under the Work Programme since the Eighth Ministerial Conference. A number of delegations put forward suggestions for future work the Council might 
usefully undertake. 
3.2.  At the May meeting, the United States indica ted that it was preparing a formal submission for 
the Work Programme. The submission would address data flows and localisation requirements, and 
their trade implications, while also considering privacy concerns, as well as cloud computing 
services and their classification. In September, the European Union also announced its intention of delivering a presentation on the new EU regulation on electronic identification and trust services 
for electronic transactions.  
3.3.  A number of other issues were mentioned in the course of the Council's deliberations as 
possible areas for further work. Several delegations stressed the importance of addressing questions relevant to Members across the development spectrum, and of keeping a balance 
between the trade and development dimensions of e-commerce in the Council's deliberations. 
3.4.  Duly noting 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, the Council agreed in June that the Chairman would produce, 
                                               
3 Document S/C/N/653, dated 26 September 2012. 
4 Document JOB/SERV/172, dated 20 January 2014. 
5 Document JOB/SERV/126, dated 28 November 2012. 
6 Document JOB(09)/10/Rev.4, dated 8 April 2014. 
7 Document JOB/SERV/174, dated 12 February 2014. 
8 Document WT/L/907, dated 11 December 2014. S/C/W/357 
 
- 3 - 
 
  under his own responsibility, a factual report of the essence of the Council's discussion under that 
agenda item. The report is contained in document S/C/43.9 
4  OPERATIONALIZATION OF THE LDC SERVICES WAIVER 4.1.  The Council discussed the operationalization of the LDC services waiver during the entire 
reporting period. The Ministerial Decision on the issue adopted in Bali in December 2013 
mandates, inter alia , that the Council for Trade in Services initiate a process aimed at promoting 
the expeditious and effective operationalization  of the waiver, and periodically review its 
operationalization.  
4.2.  As part of that process, the Council agreed to the suggestion by the LDC Group that the 
Secretariat prepare a Note collecting information on measures of general application notified under GATS Article III:3, measures under economic inte gration agreements notified under Article V:7, 
and measures on recognition notified under Article VII:4, limited to those taken in the professional 
services sectors by the top ten services traders. The Note was circulated in June.
10  
4.3.  A further suggestion, that the WTO Secretariat share with the Council information on the 
work done by the International Trade Centre (ITC) relating to LDC services exports, did not enjoy 
consensus. However, Australia decided to sponsor independently an ITC seminar on "LDC Services 
Exports: Business Success Stories and Challenges", which was held in May and appreciated by 
Members. 
4.4.  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. 
4.5.  Pursuant to that Decision, on 21 July the LDC Group submitted its collective request.11 At the 
Council meeting held in September, the LDC Group gave a detailed overview of its request, 
providing additional background information an d context to its various elements. All Members 
welcomed the request, as a stepping stone in th e process of the operationalization of the waiver. 
They indicated that they were still reviewing the document, and would revert to it, and stressed 
their willingness to engage in discussions with LDCs  to further clarify specific elements of the 
request and make progress towards operationalizing the waiver. A handful of delegations alluded to a potential linkage of progress on the LDC waiver with other Bali outcomes, in very general 
terms. 
4.6.  With regard to the High-Level Meeting, LDCs  stated their expectation that it would take place 
in the second half of January 2015. The Group was still reflecting on the procedural aspects 
involved, and would present to the Council its views on the organization of the event. LDCs were 
encouraged by the Chairman of the Council to sh are their ideas with the Membership as early as 
possible, so that planning for the High-Level Meeting could proceed effectively. 
5  FOLLOW-UP TO SECTORAL AND MODAL DISCUSSIONS 
5.1.  Under this agenda item, the Council addresse d, at its meetings in December and February, a 
communication circulated by Switzerland on th e issue of small and medium-sized enterprises 
(SMEs) in the services sector, titled "Service s sector, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and 
Employment: The Case of Switzerland".
12 The communication prompted a number of other 
delegations to share information about the role that services SMEs played in their own economy. 
                                               
9 Dated 30 June 2014. 
10 Document S/C/W/355, dated 17 June 2014. 
11 Document S/C/W/356 and Corrigenda 1 and 2. 
12 Document S/C/W/340/Add.1, dated 30 September 2013. S/C/W/357 
 
- 4 - 
 
  6  RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN TRADE IN SERVICES 
6.1.  The item was added to the Council's agenda  in December 2013, at the request of the group 
of Members, who sought to provide the Membersh ip with information about their discussions on a 
framework for negotiations on a Trade in Services Agreement (TISA). A communication to that 
effect was submitted in October 2013.13 
6.2.  Discussions under this agenda item cont inued throughout the reporting period, with TISA-
participating Members regularly updating the Council on progress with their negotiations. While 
generally appreciative of the transparency elem ent of these updates, some Members expressed 
concerns about the 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 mutually 
supportive and expressed their readiness to meet with any Member interested in obtaining more information about their initiative.  
7  I-TIP SERVICES DATABASE – PR ESENTATION BY THE SECRETARIAT 
7.1.  At its December 2013 meeting, the Council heard a presentation on the "I-TIP Services" 
database just developed by the WTO Secretariat jointly with the World Bank. I-TIP Services, the 
services component of the WTO's Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal, aimed at making it easier 
for Members and other stakeholders to access the various types of information relevant for services trade policy-making, be they commitments, applied measures, or statistics. 
8  TRADE RESTRICTIVE MEASURES IN SERVICES OF CERTAIN MEMBERS 
8.1.  At its May and June meetings, the Council addressed trade restrictive measures in services of 
certain Members, at the request of the Russian Federation. The Council took note of the statements made by the Russian Federation, the Un ited States and the European Union at the May 
meeting, and by the Russian Federation, Cuba, Ca nada, Nicaragua, Australia, the United States 
and the European Union at the June meeting. 
9  DEVELOPMENTS IN SERVICE TRADE AND REGULATION 
9.1.  Under this agenda item, the European Unio n presented, at the Council meeting in June, its 
Directive on conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals in the context of intra-corporate transfers. Members were appreciative of  the information provided, and sought additional 
information on certain aspects of the Directive.  
10  WORK OF THE SU BSIDIARY BODIES 
10.1.  The activities of the subsidiary bodies in 2014 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/**) 
 Annex  II Report of the Committee on Specific Commitments (S/CSC/**) 
 Annex  III Report of the Working Part y on Domestic Regulation (S/WPDR/**) 
 Annex  IV Report of the Working Party on GATS Rules (S/WPGR/**) 
 
__________ 
 
                                               
13 Document JOB/SERV/164/Rev.1, dated 22 October 2013.