RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/C/M/94 
31 July 2009 
 (09-3725) 
Council for Trade in Services  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 23 JUNE 2009 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. On 23 June 2009, the Council for Trade in Serv ices held a meeting under the chairmanship of 
Ambassador Yonov Frederick Agah (Nigeria).   The agenda was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3386. 
2. The representative of Australia
 wanted to register an item on the certification of the EC-25 
schedule under "Other Business". 
3. The representative of South Africa  also wished to give a brief report on a services workshop 
that had been held in Durban on 15-16 June under "Other Business". 
4. The agenda was adopted , as modified. 
5. The Chairperson  asked representatives to speak at a modera te pace to facilitate interpretation. 
A. NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO ARTICLES III :3 AND V:7 OF THE GATS  
6. The Chairperson  drew attention to two notifications made pursuant to GATS Article III:3 
received from Brazil and contained in documen ts S/C/N/492 and S/C/N/493, and three more 
notifications received from Egypt, circulated in documents S/C/N/494 to S/C/N/496.  
7. The Council took note  of the notifications made. 
8. The Chairperson  then drew attention to two notifica tions made pursuant to GATS Article V:7 
(Economic Integration), one from Costa Rica and Pa nama circulated as document S/C/N/490, and one 
from China and New Zealand contained in document S/C/N/491. 
9. The Council took note  of the notifications, and referred  the agreements notified to the 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements for examination. 
B. COMPLIANCE WITH GATS NOT IFICATION REQUIREMENTS  
10. The Chairperson  recalled that at its April meeting, the Council had held a first round of 
discussions dealing with compliance with GATS notif ication requirements.  Two papers had been 
presented at that meeting:  a communication from Switzerland, contained in document S/C/W/279, on 
"Compliance with notification requirements under the GATS";  and a Note prepared by the 
Secretariat, in JOB(09)/10/Rev.1, which provided a statistical account of the notifications made under 
relevant GATS provisions.  The Council had agreed to re vert to this agenda item at its next meeting.   
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. S/C/M/94 
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  11. The representative of Switzerland
 said that his delegation had initiated informal discussions 
with some Members as a follow-up to its paper.  He  appreciated the notificati ons the Council had just 
received from Brazil and Egypt pursuant to Article III: 3, and the ones pursuant to Article V:7.  While 
some of the proposals in Switzerland's paper had no t been met with enthusiasm, others had raised 
some interest on the part of Members.  The re presentative believed that the Council should continue 
discussions on how to improve compliance with the ob ligation in Article III:3, for instance, through 
better use of new technologies and the submission of  notifications through electronic means.  The 
Secretariat could usefully periodically update its statistical account of the notifications made, and 
Members could exchange their experiences.  He aske d that this item be kept on the agenda, with a 
view to reaching some conclusions regarding the proposals made in his delegation's paper.   
12. The representative of Japan  noted the importance of strengthening compliance with 
notification obligations, welcomed the papers by Sw itzerland and by the Secretariat, and called for a 
regular update of the latter.  Japan also we lcomed the announcement made by the Malaysian 
government that it would eliminate foreign equity restrictions in 27 services sub-sectors in April and that it expected further liberalisation measures to be announced in June.  In Japan's understanding, 
those measures had been taken in order to invite investment, expertise and technology from abroad, 
and to strengthen competitiveness.  His delegation ho ped that Malaysia woul d notify those measures 
under Article III:3 at the appropriate time and that  other Members would foll ow Malaysia's example 
with respect to services liberalisation. 
13. The representative of the Republic of Korea
 expressed appreciation for the Secretariat's paper.  
His delegation felt that Article III:3 was the most controversial of the GATS notification 
requirements.  Like Switzerland, Korea also consid ered that there was an absence of understanding as 
to what exactly should be notified under that provision.  His delegation supported the idea of 
mandating the Secretariat to produce an informal not e containing an illustrative list of measures that 
must be notified according to Article III:3.  It w as important to know the original intentions of the 
Uruguay Round negotiators when they had drafted that  provision.  Therefore, he suggested that the 
Secretariat look back on any negotiating materials, including room documents or initial drafts on the 
article, to extract the common belief shared among Uruguay Round negotiators.  His delegation hoped 
that the Secretariat could hold an information sessi on for Members to share best practices on meeting 
notification requirements;  for example, Switzerland 's experience with facilitating the notification of 
changes in domestic laws deserved being promoted.  Coordinating the job of properly notifying such 
changes was quite challenging, as services normall y involved multiple governmental agencies and 
domestic laws.  He suggested that the Council hol d an informal session on this issue, involving 
relevant capital officials, at its next meeting.   
14. The representative of Hong Kong, China  stressed the importance of complying with 
notification requirements and expressed her delegati on's interest in partic ipating in relevant 
discussions. 
15. The representative of Malaysia  thanked Japan for its kind words.  She confirmed that 27 
services sectors had been liberalised, with the aim of  attracting foreign investment to stimulate the 
domestic economy, as well as creating a friend lier business environment and higher-value 
employment opportunities.  Her delegation had in formed the Trade Policy Review Body of the 
relevant measure, which was also described in th e Director-General's monitoring report.  She also 
recalled the call by the Chairperson of the General Council that all WTO bodies look at the timeliness 
and completeness of notifications.  Malaysia was looking into providing the necessary notifications 
under Article III:3. 
16. The representative of Colombia  thanked Switzerland for its c ontribution, which contained a 
number of elements, some of a procedureal and others  of a more substantive nature, that could form 
the basis of future work on this issue.  Colombia shared the view that transparency was an essential  S/C/M/94 
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  WTO discipline, and welcomed the Swiss proposals to facilitate the domestic elaboration of 
notifications and their electronic submission to the Secretariat.  His delegation was ready to share its own experience with the difficulties of the notifica tion process and the best way of solving them.   
17. As for the Secretariat's compilation of the numbe r of notifications made and of the notifying 
Members, he said that the figures were not necessarily  showing that the relevant obligations were 
being fully met.  If there were no measures to be no tified a Member could not be blamed for lack of 
compliance.  In this regard, even if the informati on had statistical value, the Secretariat should bear 
this element in mind in drawing any conclusions.  
18. The representative of China
 supported the initiative to enforce the implementation of 
notification requirements.  On the proposal from Sw itzerland, China wished to encourage Members to 
consider and understand the capacity constraints face d by developing country Members, especially the 
LDCs, in fulfilling their notification obligations.  In  this regard, technical assistance was necessary to 
help them to better perform, for instance by setting up internet sites on GATS policies.  His delegation 
was also in favour of using the Council as a platfo rm to exchange Members' experiences, to better 
understand how to manage notifications in a cost-eff icient way.  As for the suggestion that Members 
confirm annually that they had notified all what  they considered necessary, China believed it was 
better to decide on this issue only after the Counc il had examined the proposed Secretariat paper on 
which measures should be subject to notification.   
19. The representative of Chile  noted the importance of transparency.  The paper by Switzerland 
contained interesting proposals aimed at improving th e situation with regard to notifications in the 
services area.  His delegation had already highlighted in particular the proposals relating to an 
exchange of information amongst Members, as a way of understanding the difficulties they faced in 
fulfilling their notification obligations.  Facilitati ng the submission of notifications, for instance 
through electronic means, was also important.  The Note by the Secretariat on statistical information 
was useful to reinvigorate the discussion, and upda ting it would be important.  The representative did 
not share Colombia's view about the data contained in the paper;  he said that figures were a useful 
indicator.  He acknowledged that if there were no me asures to be notified, naturally there would not 
be a need to meet with the obligation under Article  III:3.  However, the low number of notifications 
indicated that a deficit existed.  It was difficult to  believe that in 10 years there had been no significant 
changes to the services legislations of Members.  He stressed the importance of continuing work on 
the issue.  The proposal by Switzerland was interesting and Members should continue discussing how to operationalise some of its elements, with the aim of improving compliance with the GATS 
notification requirements. 
20. The representative if Thailand
 also felt that the proposal by Switzerland contained a number 
of interesting proposals.  Others, however, might create an excessive burden, beyond the scope of the 
relevant GATS obligations.  He noted that Members, and LDCs in particular, might already be facing 
difficulties in meeting their notification obligati ons, and that excessively burdensome suggestions 
would not improve the situation.  His delegati on looked forward to continuing discussions on this 
issue. 
21. The representative of Chinese Taipei  noted the importance of transparency and said that his 
delegation was open to the ideas put forward and to  further discussions with Switzerland and other 
interested delegations.  By way of preliminary comment on the proposal for on-line notifications his 
view was that, at that juncture, the problem was the lack of notifications;  the submission mechanism, 
on-line or otherwise, was not an urgent matter.  He  therefore had reservations on this suggestion, but 
looked forward to further discussions. 
22. The representative of the European Communities  welcomed the paper by Switzerland.  He 
stressed the need to better comprehend, and to  reach a common understanding on, the meaning of S/C/M/94 
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  "significantly affecting trade in services" in Article III:3.  It was difficult to say whether a notification 
deficit existed at present, as the concept was not commonly understood. 
23. The representative of Australia
 noted the importance of work to enhance compliance with 
notification requirements under the GATS.  Her de legation was committed to  strengthening its own 
implementation of notification requirements, including  by looking at ways of working with states and 
territories to this end.  As many different actors were involved in the notification process, there were 
many points at which improvements could be made in the way the process was internally organised.  
She concurred with the European Communities that the meaning of "s ignificantly affecting trade in 
services" in Article III:3 was uncertain.  It would be beneficial to mandate the Secretariat with 
producing an informal Note containing a non-exhaustiv e list of typical measures that would be subject 
to notification under that provision. 
24. The representative of Switzerland  thanked all delegations and reiterated the importance of 
transparency. Some of the proposals in his delegatio n's paper had raised attention, such as the on-line 
submission of notifications, the meaning of Article III:3, the possibility of Members exchanging their 
experiences.  He therefore suggested that the item be kept on the Council's agenda.   
25. The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed to revert  to this item at its next 
meeting. 
C. SECTORAL  DISCUSSIONS 
26. The Chairperson  recalled that, at its informal meetin g held on 6 February 2009, the Council 
had requested that the Secretariat produce a series  of background papers containing information and 
analysis on services sectors and modes of supply, by way of an update of similar notes produced in 
1998.  The papers were intended to provide a basis for Members' discussions in regular sessions of the 
Council, to be held over several months. 
27. He also recalled that a provisional schedule of  such meetings had been circulated on 
7 May 2009, indicating the timeframe and sectors/mod es to be discussed at each meeting.  The listed 
sectors and modes had been identified on the basis of Members' responses to an earlier 
communication, dated 20 February 2009.  Accordi ngly, at that meeting, the Council would address 
the following sectors:  Tourism Services;  Telecommunication Services;  and Computer and Related Services.  
28. As had been indicated in the fax circulated on 8 June 2009, he believed that the Council's 
discussions should be as open and free as possible.  Accordingly, and as had been the practice with 
such discussions in the past, he intended to hold the substantive part of the debate under this agenda 
item in informal mode.  The presentations of the pa pers prepared by the Secretariat and by other 
international organisations, and the statements of any delegations wishing to place their interventions 
on record, would be incorporated in the minutes of the meeting.  As a record of the substantial part of 
the informal debate, the Chairperson would pr oduce instead, under his own responsibility, a non-
attributable summary.  This summary would be circul ated shortly after the meeting, and subsequently 
recorded in the minutes of the meeting.  The Council agreed
. 
29. He further noted that, in line with previous  practice, the Secretariat had invited other 
international organisations with observer status in  the Council for Trade in Services to share with 
Members any relevant specialised work undertaken  on the sectors under discussion at the meeting.  
Accordingly, for this meeting two contributio ns had been received from the International 
Telecommunication Union (ITU), one circulated as document JOB(09)/58 and the second one as 
document JOB(09)/63, and one from the World Ba nk, distributed as JOB(09)/57.  All three  S/C/M/94 
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  documents were relevant to the discussion of telecommunication services.  The World Tourism 
Organisation had also sent a statement, circulated as JOB(09)/61. 
30. The rules of procedure stipulated that observe rs should normally be invited to speak after 
Members.  However, given the nature of the Counc il's deliberations and for the sake of a structured 
debate, he wished to invite those international or ganisations to briefly introduce their contributions 
immediately after the Secretariat had presented its  own papers, and before opening the floor for 
general discussion.  The Council agreed . 
31. The Chairperson drew Members' attention to the fact that the Secretariat had received from 
the OECD some documentation relevant to the se ctors under discussion.  The first one, related to 
telecommunication services, was a document entitled "Convergence and Next Ge neration Networks".  
The second one, pertinent to computer and relate d services, contained highlights of the "OECD 
Information Technology Outlook 2008".  OECD work had been very helpful to the Secretariat in preparing the background Notes.  However, as th e OECD was not an observer to the Council for 
Trade in Services, no delegation had been invited to  the meeting.  Nevertheless, if there were no 
objections, he would ask the Secretariat to circul ate those contributions, which he trusted Members 
would find useful.  The Council agreed
.  
32. As for organisations without observer status, he  recalled that the Council's next sectoral and 
modal discussions in the autumn would address the four modes of supply, as well as architectural services and construction and related engineerin g services.  On those topics, the following 
organisations, which were not observers to the C ouncil, had produced relevant  and interesting work 
they could share with Members:  the OECD, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and 
the International Union of Architects (UIA).  He therefore sought Members' approval to invite these 
organisations to the Council's autumn meeting, to offer their contributions.  The Council agreed
. 
1. Tourism Services (Background note by the Secretariat, S/C/W/298) 
33. By way of general introduction to all three Secretariat papers, a representative of the 
Secretariat  said that the Notes had been  prepared at Members' request and were aiming to provide 
sector-specific information on developments and anal ysis of policy and regula tory issues.  The focus 
was on developments considered to be most relevant to the GATS, and there was no intention to provide a comprehensive account of the sectors. 
34. He also stressed that, as footnote 1 to the No tes indicated, the Secretariat had produced them 
under its own responsibility and without prejudice to the positions of Members and to their rights and 
obligations under the WTO.  There was no intenti on to draw any conclusions.  These were just 
research products, and the Secretariat welcomed Members' comments. 
35. Turning to the Note on tourism services, he not ed the multi-sectoral linkages of tourism and 
the discussions on classification issues Members had held at the start of the DDA negotiations.  Tourism had exhibited fast growth  and had proven resilient, but the global economic crisis had taken 
its toll.  The Note tried to capture these features from a GATS perspective.   
36. Speaking on behalf of Ecuador, Mauritius, Mo rocco, Panama, Peru, Thailand and Colombia, 
who had submitted the plurilatera l request on tourism services, the representative of Colombia
 
thanked the Secretariat for the background note on t ourism services.  It was a valuable contribution 
that could be added to other Secretariat papers in  this area, such as documents S/C/W/51 of 1998 and 
JOB(05)/229 of 2005.  He also looked forward to  reading the statement by the World Tourism 
Organisation. S/C/M/94 
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  37. The above group of delegations had come to the me eting with a constructive spirit, so that the 
Membership could improve its level of information on questions relevant to promoting this type of 
services.  Regarding process, they would have bene fited from more time to comment and to provide 
inputs for the drafting of the Note.  In addition, th e sectoral discussions could have been enriched by 
grouping together closely related sectors.  In the specific case, tourism could have usefully been 
combined with several transport sub-sectors.  
38. However, they were satisfied that the tourism s ector had been chosen to initiate the sectoral 
discussions.  This emphasized its importance.  Tour ism was an activity of great economic importance, 
both for developed and developing countries.  The Secretariat had put forward figures and information 
in support of that assessment.  Tourism was a major export category and source of income, and 
offered ample opportunities to alleviate poverty and to diversify the economy.  
39. In spite of encouraging trends in some areas, adverse factors continued to prevent countries 
from fully benefiting from this activity, he noted.  Heavy restrictions still remained for services 
intimately related to tourism.  The absence of regulat ions that avoided certain practices that restricted 
competition in this sector and the lack of political commitment to adopt directives governing of travel 
warnings were also crucial restrictions.  
40. Having highlighted the importance of tourism and the most notorious restrictions, he referred 
to some specific aspects of the Secretariat Note.  In its previous papers, the Secretariat had included 
questions for future discussion.  It would have b een desirable if the Secr etariat had informed the 
Membership on the state of such discussions, as well as on any newly arising questions.  
41. Although the Secretariat had included eco- and h ealth-tourism in its recent paper, there could 
have been deeper analysis.  Beyond definitions or general references to some programmes, it was 
important to have an analysis of trends, policies an d restrictions affecting exports of those services.  
Further work from the Secretariat in that respect would be welcome.  
42. The cross-border supply of services had its greatest potential in the marketing and sale 
through information and communication technologies.  World-class communication tools could 
enable SME tourist operators from developing count ries to compete with corporate international 
tourist operators.  A more deta iled analysis of this subject would be equally welcome.  
43. Even though natural persons th at provided tourism services were also a key factor in that 
labour-intensive industry, their importance, especia lly in developing countries, was rarely discussed 
by the Secretariat Note.  The global tourism i ndustry could provide great opportunities for tourism-
related personnel with relevant  experiences or qualifications.  However, regulatory obstacles 
especially in developed countries reduced those opportunities.  The Secretariat should gather 
regulatory restrictions on this mode of  supply in tourism-related businesses.  
44. Additionally, enterprises from developing countries remained affected by access restrictions 
to computer and global reservation systems.  The administrators of those systems - in whose decision-making processes tourist operators from developing countries did not participate - persisted in 
practices that restricted competition.  He said that it would be advisable that the Secretariat make a 
detailed analysis on the current state of affairs.  
45. As mentioned by the Secretariat, travel warnings  could greatly affect tourism.  The guidelines 
for travel warnings recognized by the World Tourism Organization included, among others, the concepts of accuracy, update, precision and prud ence.  Many WTO Members did not take into 
account such guidelines when issuing travel warnings.  The Secretariat should go deeper in its 
research so as to show how tourism was being affected by some of these warnings.   S/C/M/94 
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  46. Referring to the on-going services negotiations, he said that the Secretariat Note was a useful 
source of references.  However, it lacked inform ation on what was currently being requested and 
offered.  Especially, it did not highlight the impact  of non-discriminatory regulatory restrictions that 
were affecting the sector.  The Membership w ould greatly benefit from such information.  
47. He hoped that his intervention, on behalf of the "friends of tourism", would help to raise both 
developed and developing country Members' awareness of and interest in the tourism sector.  They 
would appreciate a revision of the Secretariat's docum ent, in order to include the information he had 
highlighted and have a more informed discussion about the sector.  
48. As previously agreed, the Council  conducted the rest of the discussions in informal mode.  
The Chairperson  produced the following summary of the main points raised during the informal 
discussions on tourism services (also contained in JOB(09)/66). 
49. A significant number of delegations made interv entions regarding the Secretariat background 
Note on tourism.  Members agreed with the Secr etariat on the economic importance of tourism, and 
for identifying the major challenges faced.  Many  delegations requested further information and 
Secretariat analysis on some issues. 
50. Delegations emphasized the importance of tour ism, and related services in general, for 
addressing poverty and promoting export diversificati on, and underscored the need to increase access 
to basic infrastructural services.  They noted th e largely untapped potential of LDCs, but also the 
constraints they face with regard to domestic re gulatory capacity and infrastructure, as well as 
problems related to revenue "leakages" and the negative effects of travel advisories.  Some delegations mentioned the references in the Secr etariat paper to the low-level of tourism FDI 
flows, the low percentage of long-haul tourism travel , and the lack of statistical data at the national 
level.  One delegation wished to have informa tion on tourism awareness programmes added to the 
Secretariat paper, as well as information on the nega tive influence on tourism of rising crime levels in 
some locations.  
51. More detail and analysis of tourism-related i ssues was requested by Members, especially with 
regard to travel advisories, anti-competitive prac tices, regulatory restrictions including licensing and 
qualification requirements, economic needs tests (ENTs), and the use of subsidies.  Further 
information was also sought on tourism value chains  and the effects of tourism on domestic income 
gaps, ecotourism, medical tourism and, in particular, the importance of mode 4 in the sector.  Regarding travel warnings, the Secretariat was aske d to provide more analysis of their occurrence 
and economic effects, as well as further detail on the World Tourism Organization's Guidelines on 
Travel Advisories  and how they could be more widely im plemented.  On anti-competitive practices, 
further information was requested, including with r espect to computer reservation systems (CRS) and 
electronic commerce in general.  With respect to medical tourism, additional details were requested 
on insurance portability.  One delegation expressed th e hope that trading partners would not impose 
future restrictions that could reduce the competitiv eness of developing countries in this fast-growing 
sector.  Further analysis was also requested with  regard to the importance of telecommunications 
infrastructure for tourism.   
52. One Member asked the Secretariat to further dive rsify the sources of information, to include 
more from developing countries.  Another Member requested the Secretariat to expand the regulatory 
information in Part IV, including by providing more Secretariat opinions in addition to the 
information already there, and to discuss the current  status of the limitations in Members' GATS 
Schedules mentioned in Part V.  Another delegation suggested that the questions format included in 
the original paper be retained.   S/C/M/94 
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  2. Telecommunication Services (Background no te by the Secretariat, S/C/W/299) 
53. In introducing the paper on telecommunication services, a representative of the Secretariat
 
recalled the same caveats he had highlighted for th e Note on tourism services;  the paper did not 
address negotiating issues per se  and only focused on GATS-related topics.  He encouraged Members 
to share their own national experiences. 
54. Telecommunications had undergone sort of a revol ution in the previous decade.  Only about 
30 per cent of governments now retained a monopol y on fixed telephony, and only 10 per cent 
maintained monopoly supply on mobile services or internet.  Also, since 1998, telephony prices in industrialised economies had fallen by an average of  50 per cent, and the price drops in liberalised 
developing and transition economies had been even more dramatic. 
55. The representative of the International Telecommunication Union
 (ITU) said that Members 
had been provided with Chapter 1, "Market and Re gulatory Trends in the ICT Sector", of the report 
entitled "Trends in Telecommunication Reform 2008" , as well as excerpts of the 2009 report entitled 
"Measuring the Information Society – The ICT Deve lopment Index".  Besides presenting a general 
overview of the recent trends in telecommunicati on services and regulation, that contribution also 
included the ICT Development Index.  This Index captured the level of adva ncement of information 
and communication technologies in more than 1 50 countries worldwide and compared progress made 
between 2002 and 2007.  The main objective was to provide policy-makers with a useful tool to 
benchmark and assess information society developmen ts and to monitor progress made globally to 
close the digital divide.  The "Measuring the Informa tion Society" report also contained the first-ever 
publication of the ITU's ICT price basket, which co mbined fixed telephony, mobile cellular and fixed 
broadband Internet tariffs into one single measure, and compared it across countries in absolute terms 
and relative to their GDP.  Excerpts of the report ha d been provided to Members, but the entire report 
could be downloaded from the address provided on the cover page.  The ITU hoped that this 
information would prove useful for Members' discu ssions and was ready to reply to any questions. 
56. The representative of the Philippines  noted that paragraph 24 of the Secretariat Note 
contained a reference to the sectoral and modal obj ectives in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration.  He stressed that the source, identified in footnote 29 of the note as the "Report by the 
Services Chairman", was incorrect.  The correct refe rence should have been to the attachment to the 
Report, not to the Report itself.  He also said that footnote 1 of Annex C contained an important sentence indicating that the attachment had no legal st anding, and he asked that this be added also to 
footnote 29 in future revisions of the Secretariat Note. 
57. The Council
 conducted the rest of the discussion of telecommunication services in informal 
mode.  The Chairperson  produced the following summary of the main points raised during the 
informal discussions (also contained in JOB(09)/66). 
58. In the discussion on telecommunications servi ces, Members welcomed the Note by the 
Secretariat and the papers submitted by other internat ional organizations.  They generally stressed the 
importance of telecommunications to their economies and the benefits that had resulted from sector 
reforms.  Some Members also cited the role of telecommunications in stim ulating economic growth 
and employment.  One Member described telecommunications as the backbone of modern economies.  It was also suggested that GATS comm itments and the Reference Paper had been useful 
in the reform process.  
59. Drawing from the Background Note, Members identif ied some of the issues that they felt 
might warrant continued focus or further discussion. It was suggested that interconnection continue to 
be a focus of the WTO.  Some of the additional issues mentioned included mobile roaming, spectrum 
management, new technologies.  Voice over Internet Protocol and so-called next generation IP-based  S/C/M/94 
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  networks (NGN), and problems associated with an outdated classification scheme for GATS.  On 
classification, a Member suggested that it was importa nt to recognize that with the adoption of NGNs, 
that a single network would be able to supply ev erything.  Mobile roaming, according to some 
Members, continued to exhibit high charges that a number of governments and international fora had begun to examine.  It was suggested that the roam ing debate might benefit from a WTO pers pective.  
Regarding spectrum management, one Member agreed th at reform had been slow and pointed out that 
its government already had in place a market-based  spectrum allocation process that had led to a 
competitive and innovative market for wireless services.  
60. It was suggested that the Council promote further discussion amongst WTO members on how 
best to meet challenges posed in implementing GATS commitments and regulatory disciplines as well 
as by newly emerging regulatory issues.  Some Member  also noted that a number of issues related to 
convergence might benefit from further discussion.  
3. Computer and Related Services (Background note by the Secretariat, S/C/W/300) 
61. By way of introduction to the paper on computer  and related services, a representative of the 
Secretariat
 said that, compared with mammoth sector s such as financial services, transport or 
telecommunications, the computer and related services sector was relatively small, yet it was fast 
growing and dynamic.  The sector had been a pi oneer in global outsourcing and collaboration, and 
had made it possible for other sectors to do likewise.  Computer and related services had been a catalyst of globalization of business, trade and communications and had opened up many new trade 
opportunities for emerging economies.  Global spendi ng on computer services and computer software 
had reached US$1 trillion in 2007, and estimates predic ted that it would grow by nearly 10 per cent 
annually over the following four years.   
62. The representative recalled the same caveats he  had highlighted for the Note on tourism 
services.  The Note had deliberately not focused on developments in the DDA, which had only been 
referred to when incidentally relevant.  He further indicated an inadvertent inaccuracy in paragraph 7.  
Whereas the Note stated that the Understandi ng on Computer and Related Services (document 
TN/S/W/60) suggested that software covered by the GATS computer and related services "consists 
of", the correct wording should have been "may be defined as". 
63. The representative of the Philippines
 noted that paragraph 24 of the Secretariat Note 
contained a reference to the sectoral and modal obj ectives in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration.  He stressed that the source, identified in footnote 21 of the note as the "Report by the 
Chairman", was incorrect.  The corr ect reference should have been to the attachment to the Report, 
not to the Report itself.  He also said that footnote 1 to Annex C contained a sentence indicating that 
the attachment had no legal status, and he asked that  this be added also to footnote 21 in future 
revisions of the Secretariat Note. 
64. The representative of the United States  expressed his delegation's concerns about a 
mischaracterisation, in the Secretariat Note, of the classification of software, a topic that continued to 
defy consensus among Members.  Specifically, paragr aphs 6 and 7 contained evaluative statements on 
the goods vs. services software classification debate, some of which his delegation felt were incorrect.  
For instance, the assertion that computer software supplied on-line was usuall y considered to be a 
service suggested a level of consensus that simply did not exist.  This was compounded by subsequent 
speculation on whether additional service categorie s were appropriate homes for software.  Until 
Members had agreed that software supplied on-line or  otherwise was a service, it was inadvisable to 
speculate on relevant service categories capturing such  products.  He also commented on the error the 
Secretariat representative had addressed in the opening of  the discussion on this sector.  As explained, 
the Understanding on Computer and Related Services used the expression "may be" when defining 
software, allowing for the existence of other definitions.  He appreciated the Secretariat's S/C/M/94 
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  acknowledgment that the Note failed to convey th e Understanding's flexible approach to that 
definition.  Although the Secretariat Note was not a negotiating document, he wished to see a revision 
that took these comments into account. 
65. The Council
 conducted the rest of the discussion of computer and related services in informal 
mode.  The Chairperson  produced the following summary of the main points raised (also contained in 
JOB(09)/66). 
66. Members emphasized the increasing importance of trade in computer and related services 
(CRS), particularly for developing countries.  They cited its role in stimula ting growth and enhancing 
productivity, employment and competitiveness in all economies.  One Member referred to outsourcing of computer and related services as a win-win proposition for both the importing and 
exporting markets.  
67. Difficulties related to classification of services within the sector and the use of outdated CPC 
definitions were highlighted.  Severa l delegations suggested that  in view of such difficulties, it would 
be important for Members to undertake commitments on the sector at the broad 2-digit level of the UNCPC and adopt the related Understanding proposed by a group of Members (TN/S/W/60, 
S/CSC/W/51).  One Member observed that the border between computer and software services was 
blurring and that it has begun efforts to update definitions  at the national level.  It was also pointed out 
by several delegations that there was no c onsensus as yet among Members concerning whether on-
line software was to be defined as a good or a servi ce.  Some delegations welcomed the clarification 
provided at the outset by the Secretariat to the eff ect that there was no definitive agreed definition of 
the sectoral scope of computer and related services.   
68. Members emphasized that computer and rela ted services were provided through various 
channels, lending importance to all of the modes of supply.  In view of this, it was suggested that 
liberalization efforts should include more moveme nt of natural persons and addressing the trade 
barriers that did exist, particularly new barriers to  outsourcing.  One Member observed that trade in 
the sector was addressed by the electro nic commerce chapters that it had negotiated in bilateral trade 
agreements.  It was also noted that given the impor tance of trade in the sector and the relatively few 
barriers it faced, the DDA should be able result in  an increase in the number of commitments from 
current levels.   
4. Further comments 
69. A representative of the Secretariat
 responded to the points raised by Members.  With regard to 
tourism services, he noted that there had been considerable demand for expanding the Note.  The 
Secretariat had tried to focus on the most relevant GATS-related issues, and had not further elaborated 
on regulatory and other issues such as the effects of crime rates and travel warnings on tourism. An 
addendum to the paper could address such additional elements.  As for the comparison with the older 
background Notes and the absence of questions for discussion, the representative said that they had 
been omitted deliberately because the current papers ha d been prepared in a different setting and for a 
different exercise.  The 1998 Secretariat papers had been drafted before the start of the negotiations, 
and the questions raised issues that Members might have liked to address as part of the negotiations.  
The current Notes had been prepared with the ne gotiations on-going and with a number of questions 
on the table.  As such, highlighting any particular topics for discussion through suggested questions might have tilted the debate.  As for the other points raised by Members on tourism services, they would be addressed in the envisaged addendum to th e Note. Additional information was also available 
on the WTO website, including the paper titled "LDC Poverty Alleviation and the Doha Development 
Agenda: Is Tourism being Neglected?" by Dale Honeck.  S/C/M/94 
 Page 11 
 
 
  70. Turning to telecommunication services, he said that attaching other organisations' papers to 
the WTO Secretariat Note was not usual practice.  However, it would always be possible to trace 
those papers within the WTO document system by  using the JOB number of the cover Note and 
through the reference in the minutes of the meeting.  As for the ranking of sectors in terms of number of commitments, the outcome depended on how business services were counted.  Concerning 
paragraph 11 of the Note and the question whether suppliers of services other than 
telecommunications that were owning or opera ting their own networks were supplying both 
telecommunications and the overlying service, this was a hybrid situation that required the supplier to 
obtain two licences.   
71. On the background papers in general and th eir future, he said that once the Council's 
discussions were finished, the papers could be grouped in a WTO publication, which would 
incorporate editing changes suggested by delegations.  As for issuing revisions of the papers, he said 
that, while the formulation in the computer and related services paper was not accurate, suggested refinements did not necessarily warrant a revision.  The Secretariat Notes were research pieces, not negotiating documents, and should be viewed as such. 
72. The Chairperson
 thanked Members for their contri butions on the three sectors under 
discussion.  He recalled that, as agreed, he would be producing a summary, under his own responsibility, of the main issues raised.  This summa ry would be circulated ra pidly, and subsequently 
recorded in the minutes of the meeting.  The mi nutes would also contain the presentations of the 
various papers circulated as well as interventions that delegations had asked to be placed on record. 
73. He said that the Council would revert to this item at its next meeting, when it would address 
the four modes of supply, architectural services, and construction and related engineering services.  
Delegations would also be able to revert to the sectors discussed at that meeting. 
D. 
OTHER BUSINESS  
74. The representative of Australia  said that her delegation remained concerned that there was 
still no clarity as to when the certified EC-25 schedule would enter into force following the 
conclusion of the Article XXI process on 18 De cember 2006.  Australia called on the European 
Communities to expedite and conclude as soon as possi ble its internal approval procedure, and sought 
an update on the national ratification processes. 
75. The representatives of India ;  Hong Kong, China ;  Colombia ;  Japan  and China  supported the 
statement made by Australia. 
76. The representative of the European Communities  recalled the statement made by her 
delegation at the Council meeting held on 2 April 2 009, as reflected in the minutes of that meeting 
(document S/C/M/93).  She also indicated that, at that point, 15 EC Member States out of the 25 concerned had completed their national ratificati on procedures.  These were:  Austria, Denmark, 
Germany, Finland, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, Lit huania, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, the Slovak 
Republic, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. 
77. The representative of South Africa
 shared information with Members on a services-related 
activity that South Africa had hosted the precedi ng week.  South Africa had approached the WTO 
Secretariat, the World Bank, the Australian Sta tistics Bureau and the US Bureau of Economic 
Analysis with a view to them assisting South Africa and other developing countries to develop 
statistics and/or data gathering methodologies in services.  This had culminated in a workshop that had been held in Durban on 15-16 June.  The wo rkshop was attended by representatives from Chile, 
Mauritius, Malaysia, India, Egypt, Brazil, Tanzan ia, the Philippines, Thailand, Nigeria, the United 
States and Australia.  One of the main topics consider ed was the issue of inward and outward flows of S/C/M/94 
Page 12  
 
  investments, particularly trying to trace them by partner countries and identify them by sector and 
mode of supply.  It had been a very useful work shop in terms of developing the capacity to improve 
data gathering.  He had used the word "devel oping" because it had not been a capacity-building 
exercise;  the capacity in many ways was already there, but it had to be developed further.  The workshop had been attended mainly by officials fro m central banks and statistics divisions and some 
services negotiators.  His delegation wished to expr ess its appreciation to the WTO Secretariat, to 
Australia and the United States for availing their r esource people.  As a way forward, they would 
encourage the WTO Secretariat in particular to c ontinue to assist and to provide such specialised 
technical assistance, and other delegations to a ttend further workshops in this regard.  If any 
delegation required more information, the World Ba nk would be placing the presentations made at the 
workshop on its website, and Members woul d be most welcome to consult it.   
78. The Council took note
 of the statements made.   
79. The meeting was adjourned . 
 
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