S/C/51  
 
2 December  2016 
(16-6613) Page: 1/1 
Council for Trade in Services   
 
 WORK PROGRAMME ON EL ECTRONIC COMMERCE  
REPORT BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COUN CIL FOR TRADE IN SER VICES  
TO THE GENERAL COUNC IL 
1.1.  Pursuant to the 201 5 Ministerial Decision1 instructing the General Council to review progress 
on the Work Programme on Electronic Comm erce in its session of December  2016, the Council f or 
Trade in Services agreed on 25 November  2016 that I should make this report to the General 
Council , on my own responsibility.   The report  follows the one issued in July, in document S/C/49.  
1.2.  The Council f or Trade in Services discussed the Work Programme on Electronic Commerc e at 
both of its formal meetings of 7 October and 25 November  2016, in accordance with  the Ministerial 
mandate to continue that work.  
1.3.  At the October  meeting,  Members considered a commu nication  by a group of Members2 
proposing that the CTS hold a seminar on the services -trade  aspects of e -commerce. Around 30 
delegations took the floor to support the proposal, with several referring to e -commerce a s a 
possible MC11 deliverable. As a coupl e of delegations needed more time  to consider the 
suggestion , it was agreed that I would hold open -ended consultations. Accordingly, an informal 
meeting was organised on 16 November , at which there appeared to be no objection to the Council 
organising a thematic  seminar  on e-commerce  in services .  
1.4.  At the November meeting , the Council  agreed, in principle,  to hold the seminar . Several 
delegations offered comments and suggestions on the proposed  agenda . Many  called for the event  
to focus on  the development di mension  of electronic commerce , address exclusively services 
issues  and serve as an experience and information -sharing exercise , remaining within the m andate 
of the Work Program me and without any negotiating implications. Some delegations asked for  
consist ency in the way Members approached all seminars proposed to be held under the Council's 
auspices. The Secretariat was tasked with the preparation of a draft programme  that would reflect 
all the concerns raised and comments made.  
1.5.  The delegation of China  presented a communication on the e -commerce Work Programme 
that it had submitted  also to the General Council, the C ouncil for Trade in Goods and the 
Committee on Trade and Development .3 All delegations welcomed the  communication , with many 
calling for  the tab ling of  more submissions on e -commerce . A number of clarifications  were sought, 
which included what was implied by the suggestion that e-commerce -supporting services be made 
"more accommodating", what role the WTO could play in bolstering private sector co operation  and 
why only a few services sectors had been singled out  as "supporting services". In terms of more 
horizontal issues, many delegations favoured  suggestions to enhance transparency and exchange 
information on measures concerning , inter alia,  digital certificate s and electronic signature  and 
authentication . A few Members also called for the moratorium  on custom duties on electronic 
transmissions  to be made  perma nent. As for the paper's suggest ion that Members discuss  e-
commerce issues  in an informa l joint meeting of the General Council and its relevant subsidiary 
bodies , most delegations indica ted that they were flexible, but a few called for discussions to take 
place in  the subsidiary bodies first and be referred to the General Council only when  sufficiently 
mature . A couple of delegations wondered how the meeting would be organised and who would 
chair it.  
1.6.  The Council for Trade in Services will revert to the Work Programme at its next meeting .  
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1 Document WT/L /977. 
2 RD/SERV/133/Rev .2. 
3 JOB/SERV/243/Rev.1 .