. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/25 
21 March 2006 
 (06-1278) 
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session  
 
 
 
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 13 and 16 February 2006.  
I. REVIEW OF PROGRESS 
1. Members noted that the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, including Annex C, establishes a 
set of clear negotiating objectives for services and a timeline to achieve them, providing the essential 
guidance for the negotiations to conclude by the end of this year.  Members also recognized that, as 
the Hong Kong Declaration does not define or provide  a formula for the outcome of the negotiations, 
much will depend on the early and intense engagement  by Members, particularly in the request/offer 
process.  Members stated that only through this enga gement will the services objectives set out in the 
Hong Kong Declaration be met, allo wing a successful conclusion of the services negotiations by the 
end of this year.  
2. Members acknowledged that the plurilateral a pproach mandated by para graph 7 of Annex C 
was an important outcome of the Hong Kong Minist erial Conference, which would complement the 
bilateral request-offer process and help  to intensify the market access negotiations and improve offers.  
Noting that the first deadline set out in the Hong Kong Declaration on services was to present 
plurilateral requests by 28 February 2006, Members reported that they have actively engaged in the 
preparation of collective requests.  In their view , this process allows them to have more focused 
discussions, increasing the efficiency of the negotia tions.  Members emphasized that the plurilateral 
process should be open, transparent and inclusive, in accordance with paragraph 7(c) of Annex C 
which states that "plurilateral negotiations shoul d be organized with a view to facilitating the 
participation of all Members, taking into account the limited capacity of developing countries and 
smaller delegations to particip ate in such negotiations".  
3. Although request/offer negotiations on a plurila teral basis are set to begin, Members 
mentioned that they will continue to undertake bila teral request/offer negotiations, in addition to the 
plurilateral process.  The coexistence of both plur ilateral and bilateral processes, and the overall 
intensification of negotiations, pr esents huge organizational challenges.  For this reason, I held 
consultations in different formats on the organizati on of future meetings with a view to avoiding 
overlaps, maximizing time and resources, and facilitati ng the participation of capital-based experts.   
4. Members recalled that Annex C has reaffirmed th e mandate for negotiations on rules and that 
they shall intensify their efforts to conclude such negotiations in accordance with the agreed timelines.  
With respect to domestic regulation, Members noted th at they have to work harder so as to develop 
disciplines before the end of the current round of negotiations.  They supported the Chair of the 
Working Party on Domestic Regulation (WPDR) in pr eparing a roadmap to guide the negotiations.   TN/S/25 
Page 2  
 
  5. Members noted that apart from negotiations on market access and rule-making, Annex C also 
sets up a work programme on LDC Modalities, with a view to the beneficial and meaningful 
integration of LDCs into the multilateral trading system.  Members reiterated their commitment to 
contribute to developing methods for full and eff ective implementation of the LDC Modalities within 
the timeline set out in Annex C. 
6. 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.  The Working Party agreed that the Chair should 
prepare a roadmap to facilitate negotiations on domestic  regulation, and that a consolidated draft text 
should be produced before the summer break.  The Chair of the Working Party on GATS Rules 
(WPGR) reported on discussions with respect to emergency safeguard measures, subsidies and 
government procurement.  While a number of issues  had been raised and discussed, overall, there was 
not much change in the long-held positions on va rious issues.  The Chair undertook consultations so 
as to facilitate informal exchanges between Memb ers.  The Chair of the Committee on Specific 
Commitments (CSC) reported on discussions on classification and scheduling issues as well as on 
organization of the Committee's future work.  Having completed its sector-by-sector review of 
classification issues, the Committe e has yet to decide its prio rities for work this year. 
7. The Cuban delegation, supported by Venezuela,  made a statement at the meeting of 13 
February recalling its reservation with respect to  the procedure and substance of the Hong Kong 
services text. 
II. OTHER ITEMS 
8. Under Assessment of Trade in Services
, the Cuban delegation suggested that the Secretariat 
circulate a compilation of all the documents subm itted under this item and based on these documents, 
prepare a background paper on the impact of liberali zation of trade in services.  I have requested the 
Secretariat to prepare the compilation.  On Cuba's second proposal, I will continue to hold 
consultations. 
9. Under the agenda item Negotiating Proposals , only one new proposal on energy services was 
submitted.  I understand that Members are focusing their efforts on the prep aration of plurilateral 
requests in order to meet the timeline set out in Annex C. 
III. FUTURE WORK 
10. Members requested that the Chair consult on how best to organize future work. As a result of 
these consultations, a calendar was produced which was distributed  to Members on 10 March. The 
next formal meeting of the Special Session is to take place on 7 April 2006. 
 
__________