. /. WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
S/FIN/W/80 
7 October 2011  
 
(11-4928) 
Committee on Trade in Financial Services Original:  English 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM ECUADOR 
 
Proposal for furthering work on Regulator y Measures in Financial Services,  
for inclusion in the Ministerial Declaration  
 
 
 The following communication, dated 7 October 2011, from the delegation of Ecuador is being 
circulated to the Members of the Comm ittee on Trade in Financial Services. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
1. In 2010, the Committee on Trade in Financial Services held discussions on the international 
financial crisis of recent years and its influence on trade, on the basis of a proposal presented by 
Argentina, Ecuador, India, and South Africa.  In a first phase of work, discussions were held with the 
purpose of allowing Members to exchange informati on on their experiences, and to be informed about 
research activities carried out by international orga nizations on this issue.  As a result, Members 
received insight on the types of policy actions that were broadly taken to mitigate the effects of the 
crisis, and acknowledged that one of the recurrent  themes was the importance of taking prudential 
regulatory measures in the financial sector.  Furtherm ore, it became clear that regulatory reforms were 
being implemented everywhere, and that Members n eeded to ensure not only that regulation was 
adequate, but that it was applied in a consistent manner across the world, so as to avoid distortions. 
2. The dimension of the financial cr isis, which began just 10 years after the entry into force of 
the Fifth Protocol to the GATS, is only comparable to that of the Great Depression.  This, by itself, is 
sufficient cause to examine more closely the needs and effects of  macro-prudential regulation in 
relation to the GATS Annex on Financ ial Services.  Moreover, this analysis should not be done in 
abstract of the global financial and monetary cont exts, where the need to preserve policy space to 
avoid crises and to promote development are evident.  
3. Outside the WTO, at the technical level, in academia, and in various international fora, the 
need for strengthening financial supervision a nd regulation and to ensure policy space for macro-
prudential regulation have become a paramount point of discussion.  The G-20, the Group of Thirty, 
the Commission of Experts of the President of  the UN General Assembly on Reforms of the 
International Monetary and Financial System , amongst others, have expressed agreement and 
proposed reforms for a new international financial system, based on certainty, transparency and strong 
regulatory capacity.1  Within the WTO, the Director-General  has expressed the need to properly re-
                                                      
1  
 G-20, Declaration on Strengthening the Financial System , London, April 2009. 
 G-20, London Summit – Leaders’ Statement, 2 April 2009. 
 Group of Thirty, Financial Reform: A Framework for Financial Stability , 2009. 
 ICMB/CEPR, Geneva Reports on the World Economy No. 11 - The Fundamental Principles of 
Financial Regulation , 2009.  S/FIN/W/80 
Page 2  
 
 regulate the financial system and to introduce ma cro-prudential reforms.  Furthermore, he has 
expressed that a "business-as-usual" approach is not an option.2 
4. Consequently, continuation of the work undertaken during 2010-2011 in the Committee on 
Trade in Financial Services, under the title "Recent Developments in Financial Services Trade" is 
needed to better understand, promote and ensure policy space for financial regulation.  Given the 
importance of this matter, we consider it shou ld be addressed in the Eighth WTO Ministerial 
Conference, and propose the following paragraph for inclusion in the Ministerial Declaration: 
In the context of the current international financial crisis, Ministers instruct the 
Committee on Trade in Financial Services to co ntinue to review the WTO rules so as to 
promote and ensure the preservation of polic y space for macro-prudential regulations 
and the integrity and stability of the financial system. 
 
__________  
                                                                                                                                                                     
 ICMB/CEPR, Geneva Reports on the World Economy No. 12 - A Safer World Financial System: 
Improving the Resolution of Systemic Institutions , 2010.  
 The Commission of Experts of the President of the UN General Assembly on Reforms of the 
International Monetary and Financial System, various reference documents (2009 – 2011), see: http://www.un.org/ga/president/63/commission/refdocchair.shtml  
 IMF, Shaping the New Financial System , 2010. 
 BIS, CGFS Paper No. 38 - Macro-prudential instruments and frameworks: a stocktaking of issues 
and experiences, 2011.  
 UNCTAD, Trade and Development Report – Chapter IV: Financial Re-regulation and 
Restructuring , 2011. 
 
2 7 December 2009:  http://www.wto.org/english/ne ws_e/sppl_e/sppl144_e.htm