RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/M/36 
28 June 2010 
 (10-3525) 
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session  
 
 
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 30 APRIL 2010 
 
Note by the Secretariat1 
 
1. The Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services held a formal meeting on 
30 April 2010, chaired by Ambassador Fernando de Mateo of Mexico.  The agenda for the meeting, 
contained in document WTO/AIR/3548, was adopted.2 
A. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MODALITIES FOR THE SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR LEAST -
DEVELOPED COUNTRY MEMBERS IN THE TRADE IN SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS  
2. The Chairman  said that on 20 April, an informal meeting of the Special Session had been held 
to discuss a text proposal for an LDC waiver, circul ated earlier by the small consultative group led by 
Norway.  The purpose of the meeting was to conduct  an initial, paragraph-by-paragraph examination 
of the text.  Various issues arising from the text  were raised, and sever al delegations proposed 
modifications.  Explanations were furnished by Ambassador Mwape of Zambia, on behalf of the LDC 
group.  Overall, there was recognition of the importan ce of an effective resolution of the issue of the 
implementation of LDC modalities. 
3. The delegation of Zambia, on behalf of the LDC group , said that the summary just given of the 
consultations of 20 April was an accurate one .  The LDC group believed that steady progress had 
been recorded as a result of the various consultations  taken at the initiative of the group, but also in 
the informal consultations undertaken in the Special Session.  The consultations had helped to clarify 
issues, concerns and questions put forward by delega tions.  It was very positive that the last informal 
consultation on 20 April was able to stabilize the prea mble and paragra phs 5 and 6 of the draft waiver.  
This was a direct and positive result of the consu ltations that had been undertaken. However, it was 
important to note that there was still a lot more  work to be done, especially on paragraph 1. 
4. The LDC group would continue to engage positiv ely, and exercise necessary flexibility where 
appropriate.  In this regard, the group thanked the delegations that had made suggestions and 
proposals for the draft, and looked forward to recei ving written copies so further engagement with 
other delegations could be made.  The LDC group planned to call for another consultative meeting at 
which it wished to discuss the speci fic proposals that had been put forward by delegations.  It would 
be circulating a notification of this meeting s oon.  The group thanked other delegations for the 
positive spirit that had been exhib ited in the negotiations on the text. 
5. The Chairman  said that he intended to continue cons ulting on this matter, including through 
further informal meetings of the Special Session.  He suggested that the Council take note of the 
statements made, and revert to this item at the next meeting.  It was so agreed . 
                                                      
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. 
2 Item A was dealt with as the last substantive item of the agenda. TN/S/M/36 
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  B. W
ORK OF SUBSIDIARY BODIES - REPORTS BY CHAIRPERSONS  
6. The Chairman  said that the four subsidiary bodies had met recently, and voted in new 
Chairpersons.  He congratulated those assuming th eir new responsibilities, and wished them all the 
best in their efforts to achieve the negotiating objec tives.  At the same time, he thanked the departing 
Chairpersons for their dedication and hard work.  He invited any Chairperson who wished do so to 
report on recent progress in their discussions. 
7. The Chair of the Committee on Specific Commitments  reported that, since the report of her 
predecessor to the Special Session in February 2010,  the Committee had held two meetings.  At these 
meetings, the Committee had continued to di scuss the relationship between old and new 
commitments.  The key issue in the Committee's disc ussion was how to ensure that there would be no 
rollbacks in the new schedules when the Round was concluded.  At the informal meeting, the 
discussion focused on the relevance of some provi sions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of 
Treaties to this issue, which had been referred to by  delegations in the past.  At the formal meeting, 
Members made comments on the various approach es proposed by delegations to address the key 
issue.  While it appeared to be a general view that Article XIX was not clear enough to provide 
guidance for the relationship between old and new commitments, a divergence of views remained as 
to what was the best way to preven t rollbacks.  Delegations largely reiterated their pos itions under this 
agenda item.  It appeared that further work was ne eded to be done in order to reach consensus in the 
Committee on this issue.  There was no discussion on scheduling and classification issues.  The Chair 
would hold consultations with  delegations about the future work of the Committee.  
8. The Chair of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation  reported that, since the last report in 
February 2010, the Working Party had held one formal meeting, on 27 April 2010.  That meeting 
provided a first opportunity for Members to comment on the "Annotated Text" which had been prepared by his predecessor and circulated as a Room Document on 14 March 2010.  The Annotated 
Text reflected, for each paragraph of the Chairman 's March 2009 draft text on disciplines on domestic 
regulation, any subsequent language proposals and text-related comments by Members, as well as 
comments and suggestions by the Chairperson.  The text did not compile proposals and comments 
made prior to March 2009.  A first round of comment s by Members showed that the Annotated Text 
was generally considered to provide a balanced an d useful input to the negotiating process.  With 
regard to future work, there seemed to be broa d agreement that the efforts of the Working Party 
should focus in the near term on technical issues , and that discussions should be organized around 
different themes in the negotiations, instead of fo llowing a chapter-by-chapte r approach.  The Chair 
would consult with de legations individually over  the next few weeks, and in due course suggest a way 
forward. 
9. The Chair of the Working Party on GATS Rules
 reported that, since the last report to the 
Special Session, the Working Party had met in fo rmal session on  27 April 2010.  On emergency 
safeguard measures, the Chair understood that th e proponents were still studying the comments 
received on the concept of "domestic industry".  A number of ideas were also proposed for technical work on ESM.  The Chair would be consulting with  Members on what further technical work might 
be required.  On government procurement, the proponents had indicated they would be willing to 
continue with the technical discussions on the proposal for a GATS Annex on Government 
Procurement, and the Chair would be consulting with Members on th e way forward.  On subsidies , 
the Working Party had received updates from a number of delegations on the submissions that were 
being prepared for the Work Programme on Inform ation Exchange, as contained in JOB/SERV/1.  
The Chair thanked these Members for their efforts and encouraged others to participate actively, so 
that the programme would be a success. Under th is item, the Working Party also continued its 
consideration of the proposal for disciplines on expor t subsidies, as contained in RD/SERV/4.  The 
proposal had generated some interesting discussion,  and the Chair would also be consulting with 
delegations on how work on this matter might be structured.  TN/S/M/36 
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  10. The Chair of the Committee on Trade in Financial Services  reported that the Committee had 
held a formal meeting on 26 April. There was no news  to report with regard to the acceptance of the 
Fifth Protocol to the GATS, which was still to be ac cepted by Brazil, Jamaica and the Philippines.  At 
a previous meeting, the Committee had taken three d ecisions:  to go ahead with Pakistan's proposal on 
e-finance;  to organize a dedicated discussion with in the Committee on the financial crisis;  and to 
organize a seminar on trade in non-life insurance ser vices.  The decision on the last two events was 
taken as a package, ad referendum , with a deadline set on for 26 February.  Since no objections to 
hold the dedicated discussion on the crisis and the seminar on non-life insurance services were 
received by the agreed deadline, the decision stood, and was confirmed at the open-ended informal meeting on 17 March.  These two events would thus be held, on 28 and 29 June.  The outline for the 
dedicated discussion on the financial crisis woul d shortly be circulated to Members.   
11. The Secretariat had started to prepare both of th e June events.  The program for the seminar on 
non-life insurance, as well as further information on the international organizations (and eventually 
national representatives) making presentations at th e discussion on the financial crisis would be 
communicated to Members in due course.  The dedica ted discussion on e-finance would be held in the 
first meeting after the summer break. 
12. The Committee also discussed the background note on financial services prepared by the 
Secretariat.  Members welcomed the note, which prov ided not only a general picture of the sector, but 
looked also at the GATS provisions of particular relevance to trade in financial services.  Most 
importantly, the paper examined the current financial crisis, discussing its origins, effects, the policies 
adopted to counter those deleterious effects, and the potential implications for trade in financial 
services in the future.  The Chair did not wish to  summarize the whole discussion on the paper, but it 
was important to emphasize two important points that emerged.  First, Members seemed to agree with the Secretariat's assessment that none of the root cau ses of the financial crisis could be attributed to 
the liberalization of financial services as underst ood in the GATS, namely providing market access 
and national treatment, and that the crisis had no t prompted widespread resort to protectionist 
measures on trade in financial services.  Second, if  not adequately regulated, financial services could 
cause financial instability and affect the rest of the economy.  Financial servic es liberalization had to 
be underpinned by sound regulatory and supervisory frameworks, and these needed to be adapted to 
emerging challenges.  It was clear that the "perimeter  of regulation", as it was currently referred to by 
the specialised international organizations, would be expanded to cater for gaps that might have 
contributed to the crisis.  
13. A second point worth making was that the Secret ariat note had inspired Members to continue 
discussions on several issues of interest, such as fina ncial sector development, the role of trade in 
financial services in expanding access to financial serv ices, the relationship between financial services 
opening and overall economic  development, issues related to co mpetition in the financial services 
sector, and even the distinction between modes 1 and 2 of the GATS in the case of electronic 
transactions.  Some of these issues would be touche d on at future meetings of the Committee but, as 
the Chair had indicated at the meeting, he intende d to hold consultations with Members to devise an 
appropriate work program to take  forward Members' proposals for additional discussions.  The next 
meeting of the Committee (including the dedicated discussion on the financial crisis) would be held 
on 29 June, and would be preceded by the seminar on  trade in non-life insurance services, on 28 June. 
14. The delegation of Hong Kong, China
 said that it was encouraged to note that technical work on 
rule-making was moving forward.  On domestic re gulation, there was a high degree of consensus 
among Members that the Annotated Text could serve as a useful reference point for advancing discussions.  The Working Party had explored the idea of organizing future negotiations in a thematic 
manner, and Hong Kong, China thought this would he lp prepare the ground later for tackling the most 
difficult parts of domestic regulation, including but not limited to the question of a necessity test.  
Hong Kong, China remained deeply interested  in negotiating robust disciplines on domestic TN/S/M/36 
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  regulation.  On GATS rules, the information ex change programme on subsidies, if successfully 
concluded, would bring Members a significant step clo ser to fulfilling their mandate in this respect.  
The programme was doable, but it was in the hands  of individual Members to make it work.  Hong 
Kong, China hoped to see positive developments in  the coming months.  In closing, Hong Kong, 
China wished to underline the positive and coope rative attitude that Members had continued to 
demonstrate in the committee work of other subsidia ry bodies of the Council for Trade in Services.  
15. The delegation of China
 said that a priority focus for financial services should be how this 
sector could promote development.  In the summary  just made of recent work in the Committee on 
Trade in Financial Services, China's lengthy presenta tion on this aspect of financial services had not 
been reflected.  Since all were in terested in economic development, it had been hoped that the focus 
China had highlighted would be presented in the report. 
16. The Chairman suggested that the Council take not e of the reports and statements made.  It 
was so agreed . 
C. REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATIONS , INCLUDING PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 15 OF THE 
GUIDELINES FOR NEGOTIATIONS ;  AND ORGANIZATION OF FUTURE WORK 
17. The Chairman  said that the current meeting took place in the wake of the stocktaking, 
concluded by the Trade Negotiations Committee on 26 March.  The TNC had had before it his Report 
in which he had presented an uneven picture of th e services negotiations.  While  noting little or no 
significant progress in market access since July 2008, he had observed progress on domestic regulation and the implementation of LDC modalities.  He had concluded by cautioning that, in filling 
the remaining gaps in services, commensurate pr ogress was needed in the other areas of the DDA 
negotiations.  In his concluding statement to the TNC, the Chairman had said that Members possessed 
the collective determination to get to the finishing line, but this required closing the gaps.  On next 
steps, he had said that Members agreed that, wh ere gaps were clear, political decisions would be 
needed as part of the final package;  where gaps were less clear, then  further work was needed.  A mix 
of technical and political preparations w as required to achieve a final package. 
18. In the light of the TNC stocktaking, the Chairm an thought Members need ed to consider where 
they stood in the services negotiations.  They needed to consider how best to move ahead.  In that 
light, the Chairman wished to hear  delegations' views on these matters. 
19. The delegation of Switzerland
 thanked the Chairman for summar izing his report to the TNC.  
Although the report was descriptive in nature, it did demonstrate that there was a great deal of 
headway to be made in the services negotiations, an d this was what Members would be looking to do 
over the coming year.  During the current week, Swit zerland had held a number of bilateral meetings 
with Members, and had taken part in Friends' meet ings.  In the bilateral meetings, Switzerland had 
addressed market access issues, as well as those relati ng to the negotiating process.  On market access, 
the results achieved, and the level of satisfaction obtained, were varied.  On process, Switzerland noted a growing level of satisfaction.  Howeve r, many Members believed that the process would 
require more time, and it was often difficult to discuss the specifics of market access.  Switzerland 
thought that the bilateral and plurilateral negotiatin g system was no longer bearing the expected fruit,  
and perhaps new ideas for negotia ting were needed.  New appro aches would happen gradually if 
Members remained committed.  Switzerland was, of course, still attached to the bilateral negotiating 
process.  There was a lack of progress, but it was nece ssary to look at the cause of this inertia – was it 
due to process, to substance, or both? 
20. Switzerland's main message was that it was open to new ideas on tools and negotiating 
methods.  Some of these ideas and tools were potenti ally important, and needed  to be developed in 
future meetings.  For instance, there was a need to work on sectors redefined in a more appropriate  TN/S/M/36 
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  way.  If new methods and tools were adopted, this  should not however prejudice the bilateral process, 
which remained the primary negotiating method in line  with Annex C to the Hong Kong Declaration, 
and the Negotiating Guidelines. 
21. Switzerland supported the statement made by the delegation of Hong Kong, China.  There was 
a need to move forward, using more in-depth thinki ng.  What was on the table had to be in line with 
reality, and offers did not match th e level of liberalization already en shrined in national legislation, 
whether in market access and or rules.   If there were a wish to change matters from the supplier side, 
delegations would need to expedite work.  It w as also important to acknowledge the importance of a 
good outcome in the services, in order to have a high level of acceptance in all areas. 
22. The delegation of Brazil  repeated its view that negotiations on trade in services, especially in 
market access, were advanced co mpared to the other areas of the Doha Round.  Brazil and other 
developing countries had proved thei r genuine engagement in the services negotiations by tabling 
their best revised offers, and by indicating a cons iderable number of possible additional changes, 
during the 2008 Signalling Conference.  Unfortunately, neither the stocktaking exercise nor any other 
recent event had provided clear indication of a breakthrough in agriculture and NAMA that could 
justify another step in terms of market access. 
23. In this context, Brazil remained sceptical about a resumption of the negotiating process in 
market access for services in any format.  Brazil rejected the argument that the services negotiations 
should bear the responsibility for stimulating converg ence in the other pillars of the Round.  This 
argument was an attempt to divert the focus of th e Round from its development objective.  Brazil also 
had concerns about calls for more clarity, comfort,  and transparency in services, as the targets were 
essentially the requests directed at developing countries. 
24. Brazil was of the view that more effort needed to be put into the other pillars of the services 
negotiations, in order for them to catch up with ma rket access.  In domestic regulation, the Chair's 
Annotated Text had shown a high degree of dive rgence among Members, which would certainly 
require much discussion and technical work to overcome.   In this respect, Brazil reiterated its view 
that the Annotated Text should constitute one of th e tools for the work of the WPDR, and that the 
Chair's text of March 2009 should continue to be th e basis for the negotiations.  On GATS rules, a lot 
of technical work was still need ed, in accordance with the mandate of the Hong Kong Declaration, to 
provide a better understanding on how to proceed. 
25. The delegation of Canada  referred to the call made the previous summer by senior officials to 
reinvigorate the services negotiations, with a view to achieving greater clarity and certainty, and to 
providing the key elements of a potential services p ackage.  In line with this statement, Canada 
approached recent services clusters with a high de gree of engagement and co mmitment.  Canada had 
held a number of bilateral meeti ngs with key Members in the hopes of having a genuine market access 
negotiation on outstanding issues, and had enga ged constructively in discussions on domestic 
regulation and GATS rules.  Since October, Canada ha d held bilateral meetings  with over 20 different 
Members in the hopes of both clarifying previous  signals of flexibility in market access and 
discussing additional flexibility that might be possibl e beyond previous signals.  However, Canada's 
basic objectives on market access had not  been met through these meetings. 
26. On the rules side, Canada had seen some recen t examples of success including the agreement in 
February by Members for the Chair to produce an  annotated version of the WPDR text, and 
agreement on the Chair's work plan for proceedi ng with an information exchange on subsidy 
programmes in the area of services.  Discussi ons on LDC modalities had been constructive, but 
nevertheless some key questions and issues remained to be resolved.  From Canada's perspective, 
however, the progress and outcome on services market access still left much to be desired.  Few 
Members were open to discussing additional areas where an improved offer might be possible beyond TN/S/M/36 
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  previous signals of flexibility.  In the majority  of cases this impasse had not been a function of 
Members not having done the necessary homework.  It reflected instead a lack of willingness to 
engage in this level of discussion due to broader dynamics at play in the negotiations.  In short, 
although most Members had been prepared to clarify previous signals of flexibility, they had not been 
prepared to negotiate.  One of the more disturbing trends that Canada had witnessed was the large gap 
that still remained between the level of openness of many Members' services regimes and their 
willingness to bind this in the form of trade commi tments, let alone provide for genuine new market 
access.   
27. Canada was one of a handful of Members that had offered new market access in the services 
negotiations.  For example, in response to requests from a number of developing countries, Canada's 
current offer on mode 4 effectively removed current  economic needs tests (ENTs) for categories such 
as for professionals and spouses.  In addition, Cana da had signalled the potential to remove ENTs for 
an additional 20 categories of professions, co mprising over 1500 occupations.  Canada was 
disappointed to see that other Members had not aspired  to this level of ambition, both in terms of 
demandeurs on services as well as key target markets.  In terms of Canada's key priority services 
sectors and modes of supply, the commitments of Me mbers in key areas such as professional services, 
financial services, environmental services, energy and mining services, mode 3 and mode 4 still fell 
well short of Canadian expectations.  There needed to be further improvement in these areas in order 
to call the negotiations a success.  Notably, these sam e sectors played a valuable role in economic 
development.  Services remain a key pillar of the DDA, and Members needed to constructively 
engage with a view to achievi ng a higher level of ambition. 
28. Canada was open to explore ne w approaches to services negotiations, but was mindful that 
above all it was important to be gin with an honest assessment of  priority needs and potential 
negotiating flexibility.  Only then could Members achieve a satisfactory level of balance within 
services and in terms of the broader Doha Round. 
29. Canada recognized, as all Members did, that th e services negotiations were affected by the 
broader dynamic at play in terms of agriculture a nd NAMA.  However, there were also important and 
difficult issues within services that needed to be addressed.  Members had to be aware of these issues, 
and begin to think about creative solutions now so  that when the time was right to conclude the 
Round, services negotiators were not the ones left holding the bag.  Once modalities on agriculture 
and NAMA had been agreed, there wa s a risk that Members might not achieve the level of ambition 
on services that many had sought since the were launched 10 years ago. 
30. The delegation of Colombia
 agreed with the Chairman that since July 2008 there had been little 
or no significant headway made on negotiations on market access in services.  It was therefore 
opportune to use the Special Session of the Council to assist Members on a path that would lead to the 
conclusion of the negotiations.  Members needed to re-energize the negotiations.  As well as the 
problems in the other areas of the Round, there were still misunderstandings in the services 
negotiations, on both the recipient and demandeur si des.  The Council might be an appropriate forum 
for the discussion of such problems, in which th ere could be a better understanding and possible 
resolution of the problems.  Members could also establish links between the various negotiating areas, 
allowing all to benefit from a significant economic out come.  Colombia urged the Chairman to take 
this suggestion into account, with a view to hol ding consultations to determine which problems 
merited discussion, and what the most appropriate  forum would be.  As to national or domestic 
regulation, Colombia associated itself with the statem ent of Hong Kong, China.  This was an issue on 
which Members should continue to work, sin ce so far there had not been enough progress. 
31. The delegation of Hong Kong, China  said it was aware that the previous week's services cluster 
had been less intensive than its predecessors, for reasons already explained by previous speakers.  
This did not, however, represent a diminished interest  in engagement.  On the contrary, following the  TN/S/M/36 
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  stocktaking exercise, Hong Kong, China thought it appropriate for Members to reflect for a while so 
as to move on to the next stage with renewed purpose. 
32. Members had generally acknowledged that there were significant gaps among them on market 
access, and that the political will to fill these gaps ha d yet to crystallize.  More creativity was needed 
in order to infuse new dynamics into the negotia ting process.  Hong Kong, China was ready to 
consider with an open mind any new ideas that mi ght be put forward in this regard.  Members 
remained committed to keeping the negotiating pr ocess going.  For its part Hong Kong, China was 
prepared to intensify its engagement in the process to help achieve a successful outcome in services, 
which was an important pillar to the Round. 
33. The European Union  said that Members had been asked to engage in a stocktaking exercise on 
the negotiations, and this had been a real challenge.  According to one dictionary that it had consulted, 
there were three definitions of the term ‘progress’ .  The first was the advancement of troops on the 
ground during an operation or a campaign, which was cl early not appropriate to the current situation.  
The troops had been in Geneva, they had fought, but they operated using a certain strategy from 
Brussels.  The second definition was the fact of moving forward, becoming better and acquiring new 
aptitudes.  Perhaps the negotiating experience had enabled certain members in his delegation to 
become more philosophical and more patient, and pr ogress had thus been made in that regard.  The 
third definition was the development or evolution of  society in terms of improvement.  This reflected 
the current situation.   
34. If the European Union were to sum up its evaluation of the negotiations, it could simply refer to 
what it had stated on 16 March.  No signifi cant progress had been made since the Signalling 
Conference of July 2008.  At present, this evaluation still applied.  As to its assessment of the current 
cluster, the EU had taken part in a number of info rmal bilateral and sectoral meetings, for instance on 
mode 3, the maritime sector, transport, construc tion, and accounting.  The bilateral contact between 
the EU and some Members had made it possible to  have an exchange of views on the negotiating 
process.  The EU did not hold any bilateral meetings on market access itself.  The EU had also 
participated in the discussions on how to re-launch th e negotiations, but at this point it was early days.  
It was quite difficult to begin new challenges while  there was no progress made in the general context 
of negotiations, in agriculture and NAMA in particular .  The EU continued to think about ways of re-
launching the negotiating process, and consider the f easibility of new initiatives for the next cluster or 
beyond.  The EU had mentioned earlier the progress made in the various subsidiary bodies, and it 
agreed with what the chairs had earlier reported.  It  seemed to the EU that the discussions held in the 
CSC were particularly interesting with respect  to the relationship between the old and new 
commitments, and that this needed to be highlighted. 
35. The delegation of India  said that, in terms of engagement, it had participated in numerous 
bilateral meetings during the week.  But it had not heard of any improvement in sectors and modes of 
export interest to developing countri es, particularly in mode 4.  In market access, the real issue was 
the imbalance in the offers on the table in curre nt Round – developing countries had put much more 
on the table than developed countries.  Without this imbalance being addressed, no progress could be 
achieved.  That was the prism through which Indi a would view any new or innovative approaches 
being suggested by some other Members. 
36. On domestic regulation, now that Members had the Chair's Annotated Text as an important 
consultative and reference tool to facilitate their di scussions, it was time to get back to the negotiating 
track with the March 2009 text as the basis for futu re negotiations.  For India, disciplines on domestic 
regulation were an important de liverable of the Round, as without  it market access was only an 
illusion without any real gains.  Members needed to focus on finalizing the text, since this would 
require considerable time and effort.  At the same  time, Members had to be on guard to ensure there 
was no further dilution of the level of ambition of the text. TN/S/M/36 
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  37. On subsidies, India was pleased to note that Members had initiated the process of compiling 
information domestically to fulfil the Chair's work programme.  To have a meaningful exchange of 
information, commercially important sectors, pa rticularly from developed countries who provided 
most of the subsidies, had to figure in the info rmation exchange.  Without this, the initiative would 
not be of much use. 
38. Regarding LDC modalities, India was disappointed with the lack of further progress in the 
discussions.  This topic needed to take priority.  The issue of scope, coverage and extension of the 
benefits had to be addressed quickly. 
39. The delegation of China
 referred to the ideas it had heard on new methods to move forward in 
the market accession negotiations.  China had old sa yings with respect to substance and method. It 
was said that if you did not have the substance th en, whatever forms or methods you employed, you 
would still end up with no substance.  It was also said that, if you want to sharpen your work, you 
needed to sharpen your methods or your tools.  Accordingly, China urged Members to work on both 
sides – the substance as well as the methodology. 
40. During the past services clusters, China had br ought sector experts from capital to join several 
of the bilateral negotiations with its major trad ing partners. Unfortunately, some of these major 
trading partners did not have their sector experts with them at that time.  China was able in any case to exchange many views on general matters and, throu gh those consultations, arrive at the view that 
Members still had the will to move forward.  Some even showed flexibility, if not in all sectors, but 
this was far from significant in terms of market access.  Some major developed Members had reiterated their difficulties in mode 4, which was a priority for China.  Th ere was a will to move 
forward, but there were many difficulties.  It w as important for Members to come up with more ideas, 
and to build a consensus in moving forward.   
41. On other issues, China wished to put LDC moda lities on the priority agenda.  It fully supported 
the waiver mechanism for LDC Members, and clarifi cation of the draft waiver proposal was currently 
at the core of discussions. China encouraged Member s to carry on technical discussions in order to 
reach an early consensus on this matter.  On domes tic regulation, China was ready to work on the 
Annotated Text prepared by the outgoing Chair.  It  suggested a step-by-step approach, dealing first 
with the easiest issues (such as soft-law language or  transparency), and then moving on to the more 
difficult issues.  On the subsidy information excha nge, China was trying its best to follow the agenda, 
and hoped that developed Members coul d take a lead in that regard. 
42. The delegation of Australia
 said that the week's meetings, the first since the stocktaking 
exercise in March, provided an excellent opportun ity for Members to reflect on how to take the 
services negotiations forward in a creative, constr uctive and effective way.  The report by the 
Chairman to the Trade Negotiations Committee, fo r the purpose of the TNC stocktaking exercise, 
indicated that on market access th ere has been little or no significant progress made since July 2008.  
As stated in that report: 
Gaps in sectoral coverage and levels of commitment need to be filled in order for 
Members to be satisfied with the outcome of  the services negotiations.  In filling these 
gaps, rule-making in the services negotiations will need to move in tandem with market 
access.  
43. Australia remained resolutely committed to a strong and ambitious outcome on services in the 
Round.  It had demonstrated this commitment in it s offer, and specifically in its commitment to 
binding the existing level of market openness,  as well as to providing new market access.  TN/S/M/36 
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  44. In addition to its strong offer, Australia had r esponded directly to calls by developing country 
Members at the July 2008 Ministerial Signalling C onference by making signals on new market access 
in areas of direct interest to developing countries.   For example, Australia had signalled an offer on 
mode 4 for nurses and midwives, and an offer to bind cross-border services trade (mode 1) across all services sectors in its schedule. 
45. In Australia’s view, it was the right time to use creative approaches to taking the services 
negotiations forward, and to building the mome ntum needed to engage all Members in the 
development of a strong and ambitious outcome on services.  Australia wanted to ensure that the services negotiations were developed sufficiently to  ensure this strong outco me, and Members needed 
to be well-positioned for the time when progress w as made in other areas of the Round.  Members 
simply could not allow lack of progress in other ar eas, such as agriculture and NAMA, to be a barrier 
to constructive engagement on services.   
46. Australia was looking for ways to move forward.   It was very heartened by discussions with 
other delegations during the week, both in the range of bilateral meetings and in the various Friends 
meetings.  Australia had gained a sense that there was a genuine interest in looking at new ways of 
configuring the negotiations, in order to build th e momentum and engagement Members were looking 
for.  Members needed to further reflect on these ne w suggestions for moving forward, and to discuss 
these and other new ideas at the forthcoming June meetings. 
47. On LDC modalities, Australia welcomed the discussion  of the text of a draft waiver mechanism.  
It would take some time to work through the text and create a univer sal understanding of the 
mechanism, but it was an excellent basis for discussion. 
48. On domestic regulation, Australia looked forw ard to real progress in the negotiation and 
thought the previous chair of the Working Party, in the production of a detailed Annotated Text, had 
provided an excellent basis on which Members could m ove forward.  The text identified a number of 
areas of possible convergence, and provided help ful guidance to the membership about how to 
achieve that convergence.  Australia supported a th ematic approach to these negotiations and looked 
forward to working with the new chair to take th ese negotiations forward to a successful conclusion.  
Australia also looked forward to further e ngagement in the discussions on GATS rules. 
49. Australia was convinced that a strong outco me on services was essential to delivering the 
outcomes all Members wanted and expected from th e Round.  Competitive, efficient services markets 
were essential to building vigorous economies in  both developed and de veloping economies.  A 
strong outcome on services was crucial to helping Me mbers deliver on the development dimension of 
the Round. 
50. The delegation of Japan
 said that, with respect to the stocktaking exercise, more than 20 
coordinators of the sectoral Friends' meetings had made statements on the gaps between their requests 
and the current situation.  There was insufficient momentum to move the negotiations forward at the 
pace wished for.  During  the week Japan had conducted several bilateral consultati ons and organized 
plurilateral friends' meetings on maritime transport and construction, and had participated in several 
plurilateral groups.  Japan had discussed various op tions on how to make progress in the services 
negotiations.  There were new types of approaches,  and Japan was open to any new ideas which might 
promote negotiating dynamism.  Japan saw the impo rtance of rule-making issues, such as domestic 
regulation and LDC modalities.  Technical discussi ons on these matters were useful, and Japan was 
ready to participate actively in these.  In conclusi on, Japan emphasized the necessity for momentum in 
the negotiations, and the real engagement of all Members.  
51. The delegation of the United States  said that it would not repeat  the points it made at past 
meetings of the Council.  These points remained vali d, including the US response to the assertion by TN/S/M/36 
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  one Member that the sectoral coverage of offers w as unbalanced.  While it was not possible to point to 
an area of advancement in the market access nego tiations over the week, the United States did explore 
ways in which Members could shape the contour s on an acceptable way forward.  This was done 
bilaterally and plurilaterally, and the United States wa s encouraged by the open mind that a number of 
Members had maintained in exploring these ideas.  In doing so, it was clear that a great deal of work 
was still necessary to move from shaping tho se ideas to making them concrete outcomes. 
52. Work in the regular Council had also been carried  out and, in some instances, it was especially 
useful.  In particular, the Council's discussion on the Secretariat's mode 3 paper highlighted the 
importance of that mode of supply in trade in servic es.  However, the paper al so highlighted the fact 
that mode 3 supply was characterized by the highest number of limitations in a number of schedules.  
The remedy for that situation was th rough negotiations in the Council. 
53. Progress achieved in market access would affect the pace of work in other areas of the services 
negotiations.  The United States remained committe d to an acceptable and ambitious outcome for 
services, but a sustained effort by all Members was need ed to achieve that objective.  In that light, the 
United States looked forward to the next services cluster for continuing discussions bilaterally and 
plurilaterally. 
54. The delegation of Chile
 said that progress in market acce ss would require the political will to 
make progress in other spheres of the Round.  Ho wever, Members could develop technical initiatives 
that would enable delegates to move forward in  the negotiations.  Chile welcomed any ideas that 
would help make progress in the plurilateral nego tiations, on the basis of what had already been 
accomplished.  The idea of establishing links between sectors in services that were closely related 
was, in the present current economic activities, a ve ry attractive idea.  Members should not reject the 
plurilateral format, but rather find complements that would assist progress in the negotiations.  Likewise the Council was the place to take up horizont al issues, where its broader negotiating view 
could contribute to clarify positions.  As an exampl e, Chile referred to concerns by certain Members 
about the lack of compliance in transparency in services, with respect to matters such as consumer 
protection and the responsibility of service suppliers.  Time should be used by delegations to carry out 
technical work that would be useful for the nego tiating process, enabling work to proceed on a more 
fluid basis. 
55. The delegation of New Zealand shared the view th at the current week had been quieter than in 
previous clusters.  This resulted from the overarching  situation in the Round, as well as the fact that 
the seam of activity pursued up to this point in Fr iends groups and through b ilaterals had been mined 
of most of its value.  Nevertheless, in seeking an  outcome to the Round, delegations were obliged to 
look for ways to achieve some progress, while waiti ng for the situation to improve elsewhere.  While 
the inevitable links were always made to progress in agriculture and NAMA, services had its own set of technical issues that could only be resolved within the services negotiations.  To this end, New 
Zealand was interested in discussions during th e week on new approaches, and in convening new 
plurilateral groupings to discuss different sectoral conf igurations.  Another alte rnative was to convene 
in smaller groups of interested parties to discu ss issues which were common to many of the 
plurilateral requests – but on a horizontal basis. 
56. There was still some work to be done on defi ning a set of cross-cutting issues of common 
interest. An example was concerns about consumer prot ection, relevant to mode 3 but also to a raft of 
services provided under mode 1.  Also related to mo de 1 was the issue of technical feasibility, and the 
exclusion of various sectors from schedules, when  in fact advances in technology allowed an 
increasing array of services to be delivered cross-border. The scope and drafting of economic needs tests would also be a suitable topic, allowing dele gations to gain a greater understanding of existing 
regimes, and the extent to which they imposed rest rictions to mode 4 suppl y.  Finally, delegations 
could usefully discuss sensitivities around mode 3 co mmitments, and the interpretation of various  TN/S/M/36 
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  foreign equity limitations.  New Zealand was open as to which fora these topics could be pursued in, 
but it was important to keep in mind that ultimately delegations were trying to conduct and conclude a 
negotiation.  These initiatives would be aimed at  increasing understanding of existing regimes and 
limitations, and so be of value to our ultimate goal of the negotiations. 
57. New Zealand had participated in a meeting of  the proponents for an accountancy plurilateral 
request, and welcomed this initiative.  It was a useful addition to the suite of professional services 
targeted via plurilateral requests.  New Zealand supported ideas for recasting or creating new plurilateral groupings that were focused, relevant  and based on commercial reality, hopefully leading 
to an outcome that was saleable to business and political constituencies.  Initiatives focused on supply 
chains (incorporating transport and logistics sectors)  and environmental/energy sectors, were two such 
examples.  New Zealand supported the suggestion ma de by Colombia, that the Chair could conduct 
consultations to determine the issues and fora for a horizontal discussion. 
58. In other work areas, New Zealand supported th e ongoing work on LDC modalities, and hoped 
Members responded positively to the GATS rules initiative on a subsidy information exchange 
programme.  On domestic regulation, New Zeala nd supported the future work programme discussed 
on the basis of the Annotated Text.  It recognized  however that progress in those areas would be 
contingent on parallel progr ess being achieved elsewhere. 
59. The delegation of the Philippines
 wished to comment on some issues raised by other Members 
during the meeting.  On domestic regulation, the Philippines noted the careful words used by the Chairman in making his report on the Annotated Text .  He had stated that the Annotated Text was 
“accepted or viewed by many Members as a balan ced and useful input".  The term “input” was 
important because, like Brazil, the Philippines thought  that Members should continue to work on this 
topic on the basis of the March 2009 Chair's text.  This text was what was presently on the table, and 
the Annotated Text was merely a “balanced and useful  input”.  However, the Philippines joined others 
in welcoming that document as an important contribution to the discussions.  
60. On GATS rules, the Philippines reiterated the impor tance attached to the question of an ESM in 
services.  It thanked the outgoing Chair for the work  done over the past year on technical discussions 
with regard to the concept of domestic industry, and looked forwarded to working with the current 
Chair in fleshing out how Members could move forw ard on some of the ideas that the Philippines had 
raised at the meeting held on 27 April. 
61. On market access, the Philippines fully agreed with the statement made by Brazil that services 
was not the problem child of the DDA negotiations.  Developing countries had been as constructive as 
possible in the services negotiations (in market access in particular) within the rights, obligations and 
flexibilities accorded by the GATS.  For example, developing countri es had made active contributions 
during 2006 and during the 2008 Signalling Conferen ce.  Another example was the constructive 
engagement that many developing countries provided in terms of discussing the services text of July 
2008, which many felt was unnecessary in the contex t of the GATS and the Negotiating Guidelines. 
62. With respect to new tools and methods, Switzerland had nonetheless recognized in its lucid 
intervention that the Hong Kong mandates were clea r, and that the 2001 Negotiating Guidelines were 
still in place.  The Philippines hadn’t seen a nything specific, although following Switzerland’s 
mention of new tools and methods, there had been at least five references to new suggestions, new 
ways, new ideas, new approaches, or  new initiatives.  It would be interesting to hear more specific 
suggestions on this particular topic. 
63. It was sometimes said 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' .  Delegations needed to be clear whether there 
really was a problem with existing tools and met hods under the GATS, the Doha Declaration, Annex 
C of the Hong Kong Declaration, and the Negotiating Guidelines.  Was it not simply a function of TN/S/M/36 
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  what New Zealand referred to as the "overarching situation" in the Round?  It was only wise to go 
down the path of discussing new tools, new met hods, new suggestions, new ways, new approaches, 
new ideas, and new initiatives if delegations were ag reed that there was a problem with existing tools 
and methods.  Otherwise, as China had stated, "i n sharpening the methodology, we might lose sight of 
the substance".  At the end of the day, what de legations did not want was a discussion that would 
destroy or poison the overall envir onment, not only in services, but in  the overall Doha negotiations.  
There was enough history in the services negotiations alr eady to conclude that this issue needed to be 
treated with prudence, discretion and extreme cauti on.  As always, the Philippines would look at this 
issue with an open mind, within the contours of the GATS and the flexibilities of developing 
countries. 
64. The delegation of Egypt
 attached great importance to present cluster, as it reflected the situation 
after the stocktaking that had taken place in March.  The aim of that exercise was to assess whether it 
was realistic to conclude the D oha Round in 2010.  Eg ypt remained committed to the completion of 
the Round, and considered services as a key component. 
65. Egypt recognized that the current cluster had been productive, especially in the sectoral and 
modal discussions on education services, financial ser vices, and mode 3.  An important value added 
through the cluster was the valuable contribution by  representatives of international organizations, as 
well the interventions by some Members.  Anothe r significant item during the services cluster was the 
technical discussion on domestic regulation.  Egypt viewed domestic regulation as an integral part of 
the Round.  For this reason, Egypt assumed that th e Annotated Text was a good tool for future work, 
as it provided an official record of the past di scussions that had arisen within the course of 
negotiations, as well reflecting the le vel of development achieved.  It was a significant opportunity to 
reassess the state of play. 
66. Egypt had conducted a number of bilateral consu ltations with major trading partners to discuss 
comprehensively and share information about vital issues such as domestic regulation, market access, 
and the previous signals of flexibility that ha d been provided during the July 2008 Ministerial 
Signalling Conference.  Discussions had also ta ken place on recent developments in services 
negotiations.  Egypt believed that such types of c onsultations could accelerate the pace of the services 
negotiations.  In conclusion, Egypt looked forward to  participating in the next cluster, including the 
workshop on non-life insurance and on the financial crisis. 
67. The delegation of Chinese Taipei  noted that it was the first services cluster since the stock-
taking exercise held the previous month.  Despite the overall climate in the Round, the discussions in 
the regular Council and the subsidiary bodies had b een very healthy and constructive.  There was 
much work ahead, and Chinese Taipei looked forw ard to further engagements with Members under 
the guidance of the chairs or the services negotiating bodies. 
68.  Nonetheless, it was a matter of concern that the negotiations on market access had been 
relatively quiet, if not in total hibernation.  The Chairman's stocktaking report of March 22 stated “it 
is clear that there has been little or no significant pr ogress in the market acces s negotiations since July 
2008.  Gaps in sectoral coverage and levels of comm itment need to be filled in order for Members to 
be satisfied with the outcome of the services negot iations.”  Chinese Taipei thought that more work 
needed to be done in the market access area.  It had participated during the week in several sectoral 
Friends meetings, and exchanged views on how to re-invigorate the seemingly-stalled negotiations.  
Some delegations suggested that it might be usef ul to discuss cross-cutti ng issues in the Special 
Session, or in the appropriate subsidiary bodies.  Some had also proposed that plurilateral groups 
could be reconfigured to make them more relevant  and meaningful to the business world.  Chinese 
Taipei was open to any idea that would keep up th e negotiating momentum, and looked forward to the 
Chairman's further guidance and consultations in this respect.    TN/S/M/36 
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  69. The delegation of Indonesia  said it was aware of how challenging the tasks before Members 
were, particularly in bridging the remaining gaps on the issues in the services negotiation.  Indonesia held the view that, to move the negotiation forwar d, Members needed to keep in mind the importance 
of maintaining balanced progress across the various services issues. As well, it was important acknowledge that the services negotiations could not be taken in isolation. Progress in services was 
interlinked with progress achieved in other fronts of negotiations. It was Indonesia's firm belief that 
Members needed to adhere to their mandate  of achieving a balanced Doha package. 
70. With regard to the WPDR, Indonesia welcomed th e annotated draft text issued by the former 
Chair.  In moving the negotiation forward, Indonesia was of the view that the delicate balance and convergence that Members had now achieved, as refl ected in the revised Chair’s text of March 2009, 
needed to be preserved.  Indonesia was also of the view that the draft text needed to reflect the 
principle of the right to regulate, and the special  needs of developing count ries and LDCs, taking into 
account their level of development.  
71. On the rules negotiations, Indonesia welcomed th e work program on the information exchange 
of subsidies in trade in services. The exercise would enhance the understanding of Members of the 
diversity of subsidies in the area of trade servi ces.  With regard to ESMs, Indonesia thought the 
technical discussions initiated by the previous Chairm an of the WPGR were very useful in achieving a 
higher degree of clarity among Members on the co ncepts and finer details of the topic. 
72. On market access issues, Indonesi a thought that the discussion to enhance the clarity of the 
signals given at Ministerial Signalling Conference had to be placed in th e context of balanced 
progress among the various services issues, and in the agriculture and NAMA negotiations. 
73. The delegation of Pakistan
 had comments on the market access negotiations.  Pakistan, and the 
majority of the other Members, were finding ways to hide behind various issues, statements and ideas, and not to engage in market access.  There had been a series of justifications – the overall situation in 
the DDA, the Hong Kong sequencing issue, the parall elism within services w ith respect to domestic 
regulation, the 'I have done more than you have done' argument, and old versus new approaches.  
Since July 2008, there had been nothing that would meaningfully translate into engagement. 
74. It was important to realize that the situati on in services was entirely different from that in 
agriculture and NAMA.  This was because very fe w Members had substantively changed their tariff 
structures and rates since the start of the Round, and especially in the past two or three years.  That 
might be due to structural adjustments or ot her reasons.  However, many Members, including 
developing Members, had in the past ten years cha nged their domestic services regimes, or developed 
their capacities to import or export services.  Like wise, the realities in the services area had changed 
so dramatically in the last couple of years that  one could realistically accept the hesitation by some 
Members to stand by their signals given in 2008.  The financial crisis was hitting directly most 
services areas.  So, taking everything in context,  the non-engagement in services was not due to the 
delays in agriculture and NAMA.  In services, Memb ers were not just eroding their level of ambition, 
but were in a sense escaping reality.  One could imagine a situation where Members continued with 
the same sequencing, and that modalities in Ag a nd NAMA had been achieved.  On turning to the 
services dossier, Members would not be comfortable in facing the reality at that late stage in the negotiations. 
75. For Pakistan, it was not necessary to devise innova tive approaches.  What needed repeating was 
that Members had to get something done.  It was simply not happening in the services negotiations, 
regardless of the new approaches or revitalized ol d approaches.  What was needed was an objective 
assessment of where Members presently stood in the services negotiations.  This might lead to signals that would help Members make progress. TN/S/M/36 
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  76. The Chairman suggested that the Council take note of the reports and statements made, and 
revert to this item at the next meeting.  It was so agreed
. 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
77. Since there was no other business, the Chair  adjourned the meeting. 
__________