. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/27 
26 April 2006 
 (06-1964) 
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session Original:   English 
 
 
 
SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES 
 
Report by the Chairman to th e Trade Negotiations Committee  
 
 
The Council for Trade in Services in Special Session met on 7 April 2006.  
I. REVIEW OF PROGRESS 
1. Members noted that the plurilateral request-offer negotiations had been proceeding very 
smoothly. Twenty plurilateral meetings took pl ace from 28 March to 6 April between groups of 
requesting and requested Members, based on 22 collective requests submitted in accordance with 
paragraph 7 of Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declarati on. Members agreed that these 
plurilateral meetings were very helpful in focu sing on specific sectors and modes of supply.  The 
exchanges between Members at these meetings were  highly informative and constructive, including 
clarification of technical issues and inform ation sharing on domestic regimes and regulatory 
structures.  Members confirmed that both devel oped and developing Members, whether requesting or 
requested, had benefited from the substantive a nd frank discussion.  The strong presence of capital-
based sectoral experts proved to be very important in  enhancing the value of th e plurilateral meetings.  
2. Members acknowledged that the momentum achieved in the plurilateral process should be 
maintained and should lead to substantive progress through the submission of revised offers by the 
end of July.  For this purpose, they agreed that  more effort and stronge r engagement was needed, 
especially in capitals and at a higher level.  
3. Members stressed the importance of follow-up to  this round of plurilateral meetings.  While 
the plurilateral process was very helpful, Memb ers emphasized that the bilateral request-offer 
negotiations remained the main approach and were still strategically important for achieving the final 
results in the Doha Round.  Members broadly supp orted the suggestion that another round of request-
offer meetings, both plurilateral a nd bilateral, take place starting on 15 May, so as to keep the 
momentum and expedite the overall process of services negotiations.  
4. With regard to the subsidiary bodies, the Chai r of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation 
(WPDR) reported that Members had worked in both informal and formal meetings with a view to 
fulfilling the Hong Kong ministerial mandate.  At  these meetings Members held substantive 
discussions on the proposals with regard to regulat ory disciplines under Article VI:4 of the GATS.  
The Chair of the Working Party on Domestic Re gulation urged Members to produce new and revised 
proposals with specific language or text as soon as po ssible as a first crucial step in the drafting 
process.  The Working Party on GATS Rules (W PGR) continued its discussions on emergency 
safeguard measures, subsidies and government procur ement.  While a number of issues had been 
raised and discussed, overall, there was not much cha nge in the long-held positions on various issues.  
The Committee on Specific Commitments (CSC) continued its examination on classification and scheduling issues.  The Committee also held a pr eliminary discussion on the relationship between old 
and new commitments. TN/S/27 
Page 2  
 
  5. It is very encouraging that, since Hong Kong,  the services negotiations have been proceeding 
in a most positive manner and in full complianc e with the timelines agre ed in the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Declaration.  I am confident that the progress in the services negotiations will have a 
positive impact on negotiations in other areas. 
II. OTHER ITEMS 
6. Under the agenda item "Implementation of th e LDC Modalities", the delegation of Zambia on 
behalf of the LDC group submitted a communica tion proposing a mechanism to provide special 
priority to LDCs pursuant to Article IV:3 of the GATS.  Canada and the United States presented their 
written responses to questions previously raised by the LDC group regarding the implementation of the LDC Modalities.  An informal meeting was sche duled to take place very soon to discuss further 
the issue of LDC modalities, especially the latest proposal made by the LDC group. 
III. FUTURE WORK 
7. As agreed, another round of request-offer m eetings will take place from 15 – 23 May.  A 
timetable for these meetings was produced and distri buted to Members on 25 April. The next formal 
meeting of the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services is to take place on 24 May 2006. 
 
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