WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/34 
28 July 2008 
 (08-3606) 
Council for Trade in Services  
Special Session  
 
 
ELEMENTS REQUIRED FOR THE 
COMPLETION OF THE SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS 
 
Report by the Chairman  
 
 
1. Following the discussion in the Special Session on 2 June of my report (TN/S/33) of 26 May, 
I continued my consultations on th e elements required for the completion of the services negotiations.   
Taking account of the views expressed, I circulated  a revised draft text contained in document 
JOB(08)/79 of 17 July 2008.  At the meeting of the Special Session on 17 July, several new drafting 
proposals were made.  This led to the suspension of  the meeting, to be resumed at a later stage. 
2. After further discussion and consultation with Me mbers, certain elements of the draft text 
were modified in order to accommodate the views expressed.  These modifications included: 
(a) The proposed dates in paragraph 7 and 8 for revised offers and final draft schedules, 
respectively, have been placed in square brackets and are subject to further confirmation in the light of the overall calendar for the DDA. 
(b) While paragraph 9 contains an agreement to establish a waiver mechanism enabling 
Members to provide preferential treatment to LDCs, it was agreed that the impact of such a mechanism on other developing countries will be taken into account in negotiating the principles and characteristics of such a waiver. 
3. At the resumed meeting of the Special Session on 23 July 2008, four Members – Bolivia, 
Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela – expressed their di sagreement with the formulation of the text, 
which is annexed to this report.  Venezuela, on be half of the four Members, requested that their 
position, as expressed in the quoted text below, be re gistered in this report as well as in the attached 
Annex.  The quoted text, which was not discussed by other delegations at the Special Session, reads: 
"There is no consensus on a new text on services.   Various delegations consider that there is 
no mandate to agree on elements that go beyond the points agreed by all Members in the 
Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and that ther e is no obligation to make commitments at 
the highest possible level.  Any language that modifies Members' current obligations has no 
binding force.  However, there is total agreement on immediate implementation of any 
treatment in favour of the least developed c ountries and the small and vulnerable economies." 
 
4. Apart from the four Members mentioned above, th e Annex to this Report was considered by 
Members as providing the elements required for the completion of the services negotiations.  
 
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 TN/S/34 
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ANNEX 
 
Elements Required for the Completion of the Services Negotiations
1 
 
 
1. Members recall and reaffirm the negotiating ma ndates and objectives as stipulated in the 
GATS, the Doha Ministerial Declaration, the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, the Guidelines and 
Procedures for the Negotiations on Trade in Servi ces adopted by the Special Session of the Council 
for Trade in Services on 28 March 2001, and the D ecision of the General Council adopted on 31 July 
2004.  Members reiterate that the negotiations shall be intensified and proceed to their conclusion in 
accordance with the Objectives a nd Approaches set out in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration. 
2. Members recall that the request-offer approach  is the main method of negotiation in the 
current Round and that, prior to the Hong Kong Mi nisterial Conference, such negotiations had been 
proceeding on a bilateral basis.  Members further recall that, pursuant to paragraph 7 of Annex C of 
the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, in addition to bilateral negotiations, request-offer negotiations 
were also pursued on a plurilateral basis.  Accord ingly, 21 collective requests were submitted by co-
sponsors to other groups of Members in th e following sectors and modes: Air Transport; 
Architectural, Engineering and Integrated Engineer ing Services; Audiovisual Services; Computer and 
Related Services; Construction Services; Distributio n Services; Education Services; Energy-Related 
Services; Environmental Services; Financial Servic es; Legal Services; Logistics Services; Maritime 
Transport Services; Postal and Courier Services; Services Related to Agriculture; Telecommunication 
Services; Tourism Services; Cross-Border Supply (Modes 1 and 2); Mode 3; Mode 4; and MFN Exemptions.  On the basis of these requests, 21 re lated plurilateral groups convened four rounds of 
meetings.  Since the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference,  participants also held  six rounds of bilateral 
request-offer meetings. 
3. Members have participated actively in the request-offer negotiations.  They exchanged 
indications of possible new commitments that might be reflected in the next round of revised offers, in 
response to various individual and collective request s.  Some Members considered that the progress 
achieved to date in the services negotiations was sat isfactory compared to other areas of the DDA.  
Others took the view that so far progress fell well s hort of responding adequately to their requests.  
Members shared the view that substantial efforts we re needed to reach a successful conclusion of the 
negotiations.  They acknowledged that the outcome of the request-offer negotiations would eventually 
have to be assessed by each participant, including in relation to other areas of the single undertaking. 
4. Members reaffirm that the services negotiations are an essential part of the DDA. They 
recognize that an ambitious and balanced outcome in  services would be integral to the overall balance 
                                                     
 
1 At the meeting of the Special Session on 23 July 2008, the delegations of Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua 
and Venezuela expressed their disagreement with this annex and requested that their position be registered.  For 
that purpose, the following text has been provided by the delegation of Venezuela on behalf of Bolivia, Cuba 
and Nicaragua, with the request that it appear in this Annex.  It has not been subject to any discussion by other delegations at the Special Session. 
"There is no consensus on a new text on services.  Various delegations consider that there is no 
mandate to agree on elements that  go beyond the points agreed by all Members in the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Declaration and that th ere is no obligation to make commitments at the highest possible 
level. Any language that modifies Members' current obligations has no  binding force.  However, there 
is total agreement on immediate implementation of any treatment in favour of the least developed countries and the small a nd vulnerable economies." 
  TN/S/34 
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  in the results of the DDA single undertaking.  Negotiations must therefore be driven by a high level of 
ambition and political will as reflected in the other areas of the DDA.  Acco rdingly, the negotiations 
shall aim at a progressively higher level of liberalization of trade in services with a view to promoting the economic growth of all trading partners, and the development of developing and least-developed 
countries.  There shall be no a priori exclusion of  any service sector or mode of supply.  Respecting 
the existing structure and principles of the GATS, Members shall, to the maximum extent possible, 
respond to the bilateral and plurilateral requests by  offering deeper and/or wider commitments. Such 
responses shall, where possible, substantially refl ect current levels of market access and national 
treatment and provide new market access and national treatment in areas where significant impediments exist, in particular  in sectors and modes of supply of export interest to developing 
countries, such as modes 1 and 4, in accordance with  Article IV of the GATS.  Commitments shall be 
commensurate with the levels of development, re gulatory capacity and national policy objectives of 
individual developing countries.  In making su ch commitments, Members shall be guided by 
paragraphs 1, 2 and 7 of Annex C of th e Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  
5. In accordance with paragraph 5 of Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, 
Members are called upon to develop disciplines on do mestic regulation pursuant to the mandate under 
Article VI:4 of the GATS before the end of the current Round of negotiations .  Members welcome the 
progress achieved since the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference and, in particular, that the negotiations have moved into a text-based phase.  In light of the extensive and constructive 
discussions that have taken place, Members call up on the Working Party on Domestic Regulation to 
intensify its work and finalize text for adoption.  Me mbers invite the Chairman to continue to consult 
on drafting revisions, with a view to developing and adopting text before the end of the negotiations. 
6. Members reaffirm their commitment as made in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration to 
conclude negotiations on GATS Rules pursuant to Artic les X, XIII, and XV, in accordance with their 
respective mandates and timelines.  Members take note of the efforts made since Hong Kong, 
including through the submission of specific and conc rete proposals, to facilitate consideration and 
engagement in all three areas.  Members recognize the importance attached by some delegations to 
the objectives and principles contained in these proposal s.  While there has been more focused work, 
efforts must be stepped up for enhanced engagement  with the objective of advancing the work in the 
three areas as expeditiously as possible. 
7. In order to conclude the negotiations in a time ly fashion, Members shall submit revised offers 
by [15 October 2008 ]. 
8. Final draft schedules of commitments shall be submitted by [1 December 2008 ]. 
9. Members reaffirm their commitment to fulfil th e requirements set out in paragraph 9(a) of 
Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declarati on regarding the develo pment of appropriate 
mechanisms for according special pr iority including to sectors and modes of supply of interest to 
LDCs.  Members welcome the Note by the Secretar iat “Options to Implement the LDC Modalities” 
(JOB(08)/8).  Of the options identified in this pape r, Members are of the view that a waiver, available 
to all Members, from the obligations of Article II, paragraph 1 of the GATS in respect of preferential 
treatment benefiting all LDC Members offers the most satisfactory outcome of this negotiation. 
Members shall strive to complete negotiations on th e specific principles and characteristics of such a 
waiver before the revised offers are submitted, in accordance with the seque nce of the timelines set 
out in paragraph 11 (e) of Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
10. Members shall continue to give due considera tion to proposals on trade-related concerns of 
small economies.  In recognizing their special situ ation, further liberalization shall be in accordance 
with their development needs. TN/S/34 
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  11. Members shall complete the consideration of proposals on special and differential treatment, 
referred to the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services by the Special Session of the 
Committee for Trade and Development, with a view to making clear recommendations for a decision 
by the General Council prior to the conclusion of the DDA negotiations. 
12. Members recognize the special situation of recently-acceded Members who have undertaken 
extensive market access commitments  at the time of accession.  This situation will be taken into 
account in the DDA negotiations. 
 
13. Members recall and reaffirm that targeted technical assistance as agreed in paragraph 10 of 
Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration is intended to enable developing countries and 
LDCs to participate effectively in the negotiati ons.  In this regard, Members request the WTO 
Secretariat to prepare, prior to the submission of revised offers, a comprehensive report of technical 
assistance activities it has carried out in services since the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference, to 
enable Members to identify further required activiti es, on the basis of which the Secretariat, in 
consultation with Members, could provide a road map for future efforts before the end of the 
negotiations. 
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