RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/M/35 
27 April 2010 
 (10-2232) 
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session  
 
 
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 16 MARCH 2010 
 
Note by the Secretariat1 
 
 
1. The Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services held a formal meeting on 16 March 
2010, chaired by Ambassador Fernando de Mateo of Mexico.  The agenda for the meeting, contained 
in document WTO/AIR/3526, was adopted. 
A. REVIEW OF PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATIONS , INCLUDING PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 15 OF THE 
NEGOTIATING GUIDELINES , FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE STOCK -TAKING EXERCISE CALLED 
FOR AT THE 7TH WTO  MINISTERIAL MEETING  
2. The Chairman  said that the meeting was focused on th e services input that would be needed 
for the stocktaking exercise to be conducted by  the Trade Negotiations Committee the following 
week.  For the stocktaking, he would be submitting a written report as Chairman of the Special Session.  In the Report, he intended to cover th e four main negotiating areas in services:  market 
access, domestic regulation, GATS rules and the LDC waiver.  Under each of these four headings, he 
would be describing three main elements: what ha d been achieved so far in the services negotiations, 
where gaps remained, and how some of these gaps could be addressed. 
3.  In order to reflect accurately these elements in his report, he needed Members' input.  He 
therefore welcomed interventions from delegations , and from the Chairpersons of the two Working 
Parties with DDA negotiating mandates.  As well, the Coordinators of the plurilateral request-offer 
groups had informed him that they wished to ma ke individual reports representing the views of 
delegations having made plurilateral requests. 
4. The Chairman's intention was to give the floor  first to the Chairpersons of the Working 
Parties, and then to the Coordinators of the plurila teral request-offer groups.  At that point, he would 
open the floor for general comments from delegations.  In that way, delegations could include in their 
interventions, if they so wished , comments on both the Chairpersons' and Coordinators' reports.   
5. The Chairperson of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation
 (WPDR) reported that an 
informal meeting had been held on 15 March, to  assess the state of play of the negotiations on the 
development of disciplines on domestic regulation and provide inputs to the st ocktaking process.  To 
this end, she had been asked by Members to pr ovide a concise and factual summary of the points 
expressed at that meeting. 
6. In the meeting, many Members had stressed the importance of a satisfactory outcome on 
domestic regulation.  Delegations c oncurred that significant gaps in the negotiations remained to be 
closed, concerning both the technical aspects of the future disciplines as well as their level of 
                                                      
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. TN/S/M/35 
Page 2  
 
  ambition.  It was observed that the political aspect of the level of ambition of the disciplines, most 
notably the balance between “necessity test” and “r ight to regulate”, was closely connected with 
advances on the market access side of the servi ces negotiations, and more broadly overall with 
progress in other areas of the DDA. 
7. Delegations had agreed that there had been an  increased and constructive engagement by all 
sides in the negotiations since the revised Chairm an's draft text of March 2009 had been issued.  
Numerous Members welcomed the annotated text , issued on 14 March, which compiled work 
undertaken over the previous year, including th e written proposals by delegations.  Views were 
expressed in general that this annotated text coul d be an important element for future work.   
8. There had been a clear sense among delegations that  more focussed work needed to be carried 
out for the negotiations to come to fruition.  Many  delegations suggested that future work should 
follow a thematic approach that would allow for th e addressing of various cross-cutting issues.  Other 
delegations added that the Chairperson should mainta in the flexibility to structure the work in the 
most efficient way.   
9. The Chair of the Working Party on GATS Rules
 reported that an informal meeting had been 
held on 16 March, to assess the state of play of  the GATS Rules negotiations on emergency safeguard 
measures, subsidies and government procurement, a nd to provide input to the stocktaking process.  
10. Members had recognised the useful and extensive technical work undertaken on all three 
areas over many years, particularly in the last 12 months.  In this connection, many Members recalled  the mandate for GATS Rules, as contained in para graph 4 of Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration, for more focused discussions.    
11. On subsidies, the Working Party had agreed  on a work programme for the exchange of 
information in fulfilment of the requirement cont ained in Article XV of the GATS.  Many Members 
expressed the view that the provision of information would enable further work to be undertaken on 
other issues in the negotiations, particularly on the identification of problems created by subsidies, if 
any.  
12. On emergency safeguard measures (ESM), consid erable technical work had been undertaken, 
which was useful to clarify certain concepts and c oncerns with regard to the application of these 
measures.  While political differences were s till wide, proponents still assigned a fundamental 
importance to this area within the GATS.   
13. Over the last months there had been more focu sed discussions on the proposal for an annex to 
the GATS on government procurement.  The economic  importance of this area had been raised on 
many occasions.   However, as in the negotiations on ESM, political differences remained wide on the 
inclusion of GP-related market access commitmen ts into the framework of the GATS.   
14. In terms of next steps, delegations had called for more focussed technical work on all three 
areas.  In terms of subsidies, which had receive d heightened political attention, the successful 
completion of the work programme would require po sitive participation from Members.  On the other 
two subjects, further guidance was required to reso lve fundamental political differences on the desired 
outcomes. 
15. The delegation of Japan
, as coordinator of the plurilateral request on construction services , 
said it would report on behalf of co-sponsors (Aus tralia, Canada, Colombia , Chinese Taipei, EU, 
Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Singa pore, Turkey and the United States).  The report 
covered the progress made by both recipients and co -sponsors of the plurilateral request, as well as the 
remaining gaps for meeting the plurilateral request.  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 3 
 
 
  16. In construction services, about half of the target ed recipients had made positive indications in 
the Signalling Conference or at bilateral/plurilate ral meetings.  Taking these indications as well as 
existing commitments into account, only one out of 19 recipients had already achieved full 
satisfaction of the plurilateral request.  However, ab out three-quarters of the recipients did not cover 
all sub-sectors, and seven recipients did not have , and had not given indications of, satisfactory 
commitments in the two most important sub-sect ors: CPC 512 (general construction work for 
buildings) and CPC 513 (general construction for civil engineering).  Ten recipients had not indicated 
the elimination of existing restrictions  in mode 3, the most important m ode of supply in this sector.  In 
addition, two recipients had not made commitments/o ffers at all in construction services, and one of 
them had not given any positive indications.  The 13 co-sponsors, also deemed recipients, had all 
made the utmost effort to meet the plurilateral request.  In addition, some co-sponsors had also 
indicated in the Signalling Conference or at bilate ral/plurilateral meetings their willingness to make 
further commitments. 
17.  Despite some positive steps, significant gaps rema ined and further effort had to be made to 
meet the level of ambition of the plurilateral requ est in construction services, which needed to be 
reflected in the next revised offers.  Co-sponsors believed that more intensive work was necessary, 
and looked forward to improvements in revised offers. 
18. As coordinator of the plurilateral re quest on maritime transport services , Japan also wished to 
report on behalf of the co-sponsors (Australia, Cana da, China, EU, Hong Kong, China, Iceland, Japan, 
Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Switzerland and Chinese Taipei).  The report 
covered progress made as well as remaining gaps between the plurilateral request and progress made 
by both the recipients and co-sponsors of the pl urilateral request on maritime transport services. 
19. In the maritime transport services sector, less th an half of the 25 recipients had made positive 
indications in the Signalling Conference or at b ilateral/plurilateral meetings, and at present no 
recipients had achieved full satisfaction of the plur ilateral request.  In addition, for international 
freight transport (less cabotage) in mode 1, emphasized in the plurilateral request, 16 recipients had 
given neither commitments/offers nor positive indica tions.  Furthermore, eight recipients had not 
made commitments/offers at all in maritime trans port services, and five of them had not given any 
positive indications.  The 14 co-sponsors, also deemed  recipients, had all made offers based on the 
plurilateral request.  In addition, some co-sponsor s had indicated in the Signalling Conference or at 
bilateral/plurilateral meetings their willingness to  make further commitments.  It was worth noting 
that many recently-acceded Members of the WT O had entered comprehensive commitments for 
maritime transport in their schedules. 
20. Although some recipients and co-sponsors ha d taken positive steps towards meeting the 
plurilateral request in maritime transport services at the Signalling Conference or at 
bilateral/plurilateral meetings, significant gaps re mained and further effort to meet the level of 
ambition of the plurilateral request wa s required, and needed to be reflected in revised offers.  It was 
also important to note that maritime transport services had a special status in the GATS.  The co-
sponsors believed that more intensive work was needed, and looked forward to improvements in 
future revised offers. 
21. The delegation of Hong Kong, China , as coordinator of the plurilateral request on logistics 
and related services , said it would report on behalf of the co-sponsors (Australia, Chile, Hong Kong 
China, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland and Chinese Taipei).  
22. The collective request sought new or improve d commitments across a comprehensive range 
of services related to the logisti cs chain, to facilitate the smooth conduct of logistics services.  The 
collective request had been tendered to 41 recipien ts, including the co-sponsors.  About half of the 
recipients had given positive signals, in respect of certain logistics services as covered by the requests, TN/S/M/35 
Page 4  
 
  at the Signalling Conference.  While there were rela tively more positive signals in the area of “other 
related services”, few had been given in “core frei ght logistics services” and “management consulting 
and related services”.  In these two sectors, only three recipients had indicated improvement, and there had been only a few positive indications in rail a nd road freight transportation.  Compared to the 
progress report that Hong Kong, China had made in December 2007 (JOB(07)/201), there had been 
some indicated improvements in some aspects, but at the same time signs of backtracking in others. 
23. If the signals reflected the extent of how far Me mbers were ready to go, significant gaps still 
remained between recipients' offers or indications  and the collective request.  Logistics services were 
backbone infrastructure services vital to the expans ion of global trade and economic development.  
More work was needed to verify th e signals, to intensify the negotiations to bridge the gaps, and for 
recipients to continue positively to assess their fl exibility in making further commitments on logistics 
and related services. 
24. The delegation of Hong Kong, China, as coor dinator of the plurilateral requests on MFN 
exemptions , said it would report on behalf of co-sponsor s, comprising Australia, China, Hong Kong 
China, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Pakistan, Switzerland and Chinese Taipei for th e main request; China, 
Hong Kong China, Japan, Korea, Switzerland a nd Chinese Taipei on a request specifically on 
financial services; and China, Hong Kong China, Japan, Mexico and Chinese Taipei on a request 
specifically on audiovisual services. 
25. The collective requests targeted a total of 165 specific MFN exemptions maintained by 
Members.  The requests call for removal, reduction or clarification of the exemptions by 38 recipients, including the co-sponsors.  Members had made little response to the collective requests.  Including 
signals from the Signalling Conference, there had b een very limited positive indications from only six 
recipients, to improve a total of eleven targeted  MFN exemptions.  Compared to the progress report 
made by Hong Kong, China in December 2007 (JOB (07)/212), the current state of play represented 
only one additional indicated improvement. 
26. These signals reflected a huge gap between recipi ents' offers or indications and the collective 
requests.  Of particular concern was the lack of response from Members with a relatively large 
number of MFN exemptions in their lists.  The MF N principle was one of the cornerstones of the 
multilateral trading system, and enshrined in Article II of the GATS.  In principle, all MFN exemptions should not exceed a period of ten years.   Far more work was needed to intensify the 
negotiations to bridge the existing gap, and for recipients to continue  positively to assess their 
flexibility in meeting these requests.   
27. The delegation of New Zealand
, as coordinator of the plurilateral request on private 
education , said it would report on behalf of co-sponsors (New Zealand, Australia, the United States, 
Chinese Taipei and Malaysia). 
28. The state of play had changed little since the submission of a progress report in December 
2007 (JOB(07)/197)).  At the July 2008 Signalling Conference, there had been no positive indications 
made on education, except by two co-sponsors.  Th e major gap continued to be coverage, wherein 
seven of 21 recipients (excluding co-sponsors w ho had all scheduled obligations) continued to 
indicate no firm commitments in any education sub sector, either in their offers or subsequent 
discussions.  A further three Members offered or indi cated coverage in only one of the two requested 
subsectors. 
29. Consequently, education continued to be one  of the least-committed sectors, despite the 
prevalence and success of private education services tr aded internationally, and their undeniable link 
to development.   One could only conclude that, despite some prog ress achieved in 2008, significant  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 5 
 
 
  gaps remained and more work was needed across the negotiation, and in the education sector in 
particular. 
30. The delegation of Australia , as coordinator of the plurilateral request on legal services , said it 
would report on behalf of co-spons ors (Australia, Canada, Chile, EU , Japan, New Zealand, Norway, 
US). 
31. Legal services formed an essential pillar of business and trade infrastructure that supported 
and facilitated commercial transactions in both goo ds and services.  A market open to world-class 
legal services was better able to integrate into the global economy.  The primary objective of the 
request was to liberalise international trade in lega l services, to facilitate the supply of comprehensive 
legal services covering multiple (foreign, domestic, and international) jurisdictions.  The focus of the 
request was therefore not on domestic law, but hom e country, third country and international law. 
32. The state of play had changed little since the submission of a progress report in December 
2007 (JOB(07)/198)).  During the plurilateral negot iating request/offer process, only two of the 16 
recipients had indicated possible minor improvement s.  At the Signalling Conference in July 2008, 
neither of these two Members had included legal se rvices in their signalled improvements, and only 
one other Member had made a signal of unspecifi ed improvements in legal services.  Since the 
Signalling Conference, no further positive indications  had been made in bilateral meetings between 
co-sponsors and recipients.  A majority of cospon sors met all or most of the elements of the 
plurilateral request. 
33. The major gap continued to be coverage.  Fo r example, seven of the sixteen recipient 
Members had not made any commitments or offers in the sector.  Further effort to meet the level of 
ambition of the plurilateral request was required, and cosponsors looked forward to improvements in 
revised offers. 
34. The delegation of Australia, as coordinator of  a proposed plurilateral request on accounting 
services , said it would report on this matter on behalf of the co-sponsors (Australia, Canada, Japan, 
New Zealand and Japan). 
35. Accounting was one of the most widely-traded business services, growing in tandem with the 
globalization of world markets.  Accounting services formed an essential pillar of business 
infrastructure that supported business transactions of both goods and services.  In  addition to financial 
reporting, accountants and accounting firms provided a wide range of services for businesses that 
might include bookkeeping, merger audits, insolven cy services, commercial strategy consulting, or 
management consulting.  Access to worl d class accounting services underpinned an economy's 
international competitiveness and facilitated foreig n investment.  The proposed request would seek 
new and improved commitments that reflected me aningful progress toward full market access and 
national treatment for accounting services.   
36. The proposed plurilateral request had been under discussion since March 2009, and at three 
subsequent services clusters.  The participating Me mbers were now ready to seek other co-sponsors, 
and to submit the request to identified recipien t Members at an appropriate juncture in the 
negotiations.  The plurilateral request on accounting se rvices would complete the suite of plurilateral 
requests on professional services.  Analysis by the participating Members revealed a large number of 
gaps, lack of commitments and widespread market access and national treatment limitations in Members' Uruguay Round commitments and Doha Round offers.  The gaps were indicative of those 
which remained across professional services more generally. 
37. WTO Members, recognising the important role dom estic regulation played in giving effect to 
Members' specific market access commitments, ha d adopted disciplines on domestic regulation for TN/S/M/35 
Page 6  
 
  the accounting sector in 1998.  These disciplines atte mpted to guide Members on measures relating to 
licensing requirements and procedures, technical  standards and qualification requirements and 
procedures.  Accounting was the only professional service where the WTO had adopted disciplines.  
These disciplines would be legally binding fo llowing conclusion of the Doha Round.  
38. The delegation of Chile
, as coordinator of the plurilateral request on computer and related 
services  (CRS), said it would report on behalf of  co-sponsors (Australia , Canada, Chile, EU, 
Colombia, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norw ay, Hong Kong China, 
Pakistan, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, United States and Chinese Taipei). 
39. The collective request sought meaningful commi tments for the activities contained within 
CPC 84 (CPC 841, 842, 843, 844, 84 5 and 849) in all four modes of s upply.  In addition, the request 
sought commitments at the highest level possible (t wo digit CPC 84).  The aim was, to the greatest 
extent possible, to reduce or eliminate limitations , such as unbound entries in Mode 1, foreign equity 
limits, residency requirements and establishment prerequisites.  Since the submission of a progress report in December 2007 (JOB(07)/196), recipien ts and co-sponsors had maintained the positive 
signals they had expressed in the past.  Both at  the Signaling Conference in July 2008 and in the 
bilateral meetings held by dele gations involved in the request, th e general evaluation still showed 
constructive engagement and promising results. 
40. Gaps in coverage remained however.  For ex ample, out of the 14 recipients and all co-
sponsors, three recipients with large gaps in covera ge had included none or marginal elements of the 
request in their signals for the next offer.  Most of  the recipients had indicated their intent to take 
further commitments in terms of new subsectors and m odes of supply.   Work needed to continue to 
verify signals, and to intensify the negotiations to br idge the gaps.  Recipients needed to continue to 
review positively their flexibility in making further commitments on CRS. 
41. The delegation of the United States
, as coordinator of the plurilateral request on postal and 
courier services, including express delivery , said that it would report on behalf of co-sponsors (EU, 
Japan, United States and New Zealand).  The report c overed progress made thus far, and  remaining 
gaps between the plurilateral request and offers and/ or indications made by the recipients (including 
co-sponsors). 
42. Less than half of the 20 targeted recipients ha d indicated at the Signalling Conference or in 
plurilateral meetings that they were willing to u ndertake improved commitments in this sector.  Of 
those that did make positive indications, the scope  of improvements was modest, addressing only one 
or a few areas of the request.  Five of the targeted recipients had no commitments at all in this sector, 
and of these only two had indicated a willingness to ma ke an offer.  Although a few recipients had 
indicated in bilateral meetings a willingness to c onsider the additional commitments aspect of the 
request, none had made concrete i ndications.  Only one targeted recipient had indicated willingness to 
bind current levels of market access or significantly augment its existing commitments in this sector.  The four co-sponsors, also deemed recipients, ha d all made offers based on the request, including 
broad sectoral coverage with clear definitions of covered activities.  In addition, two of the co-
sponsors had also indicated in their offers their w illingness to adopt further commitments if others did 
the same. 
43. Although in bilateral meetings some recipients  had indicated some level of flexibility in 
responding to some elements of the request, few had made concrete statements in any detail at the 
Signalling Conference or in plurilateral meetings.  Th e majority of recipients had not signalled any 
improvement in sector coverage or the removal of  existing limitations.  Consequently, both the level 
and quality of response to the request had not yet met the co-sponsors' expectations and co-sponsors 
believed that significantly more work needed to be  done to achieve a meaningful outcome for this 
sector.  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 7 
 
 
  44. As coordinator of the plurilate ral request on telecommunications , the United States said it also 
would report on behalf of the co-sponsors (Austra lia, Canada, EU, Hong Kong China, Japan, Korea, 
Norway, Singapore, United States and Chinese Taip ei).  Since December 2007, when a progress 
report had last been presented in this sector, very  little had been achieved in  terms of positive signals 
in meeting the plurilateral request.  Indeed, the Signalling Conference had yielded little evidence that 
commercially meaningful results would be achieved in this critical service sector. 
45. Key aspects of the plurilateral request remained unmet by most of the 22 recipients.  For 
example, out of the ten recipients giving signals  at the Signalling Conference, only two were positive 
about meeting the majority of the request;  six fell well short of the request;  and the other two made 
signals that were too vague to qualify as meeting much of the request.  The most prominent 
shortcomings in meeting the request were lack of  full sectoral coverage, and highly restrictive FDI 
levels, primarily in basic telecommunications.  On  the other hand, most of the co-sponsors had met 
the majority of the request, and most of those that have not yet met the request had signalled a 
willingness to improve their commitments in this sector. 
46. It was well documented how vital a robust telecommunications sector was for economic 
development and advancement, yet it oddly remained a sector plague d by weak trade obligations, and 
unfortunately weaker signals for improvement.  So, while many countries continued to open up 
telecommunications for their own good, many Members fa iled to reflect that trend in their own offers.  
The most effective way to correct that mismatched  reality was through a sustained effort to bring 
negotiators together and empower them to bridge any shortcomings.  The co-sponsors believed that 
more intensive work needed to be done and looked forward to improvements in the next revised 
offers. 
47. The delegation of the European Union , as coordinator of the plurilateral request on mode 3 , 
said it would provide an oral report on behalf of co-sponsors (EU, Hong Kong China, Japan, New 
Zealand, Switzerland and the United States). The plurilateral request on mode 3 complemented the various sectoral requests by focusing exclusively on the removal of horizontal limitations.  These 
included limitations on foreign equity participation, economic needs tests, limitations on the type of 
commercial presence (subsidiary, branch, represe ntative office), joint venture requirements and 
limitations on foreign excha nge and profit repatriation. 
48. Since the submission of a progress report in D ecember 2007 (JOB(07)/209)), five of the 13 
recipient Members had made some positive signals that, although sometimes vague, could be counted 
towards the collective request.  While welcoming these signals, co-sponsors wanted to see further 
progress toward removing scheduled limitations, as well as in clarifying and simplifying scheduling 
language. In the final stage of services market access negotiations, it would be important to assess 
improvements in horizontal commitments together with improvements in sectoral commitments under 
mode 3.  
49.  As co-ordinator of the collectiv e request on energy related services
, the European Union said 
also it would report on behalf of co-sponsors (Aus tralia, Canada, EU, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Saudi 
Arabia, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, and the United States). The collective request, which had 
been put forward in 2006, covered a range of ser vices considered to be essential to the chain of 
activities relating to the supply of energy services. It was important to note that the absence of certain 
elements of the request in a country's commitments  might, due to their interrelatedness, undermine the 
overall value of those commitments. 
50. The response thus far had unfortunately been disappointing. No targeted recipient of the 
request had made an offer or signalled a substan tial set of new commitments concerning the energy-
related services sector, and signals had also gene rally not addressed the request in its entirety. 
 Although the co-sponsors had welcomed indications  of important improvements in some areas that TN/S/M/35 
Page 8  
 
  were covered by the request, major gaps still existe d.  Few Members other than co-sponsors currently 
came close to satisfying the entire request. All mode s of supply were important for this sector, but the 
co-sponsors particularly welcomed improvements rega rding the removal of restrictions on mode 3, 
notably concerning foreign equity limitations.  
51. In general, since there was a growing rec ognition of the importance and benefits of 
liberalisation in this sector, and while there was a ppreciation for the positive indications that had been 
received from recipients, this limited progress still n eeded to be translated into firm commitments. 
Moving forward, much work therefore remained to be done in order to meet the plurilateral request. 
52. As coordinator of the plurilatera l request on environmental services
, the European Union said 
also that it would report on behalf of the eleven  co-sponsors (Australia, Canada, EU, Japan, Korea, 
New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Chinese Taipei and the United States). The request covered all subsectors, and a ll four modes of supply.  
53. The state of play had changed little sin ce the submission of a progress report on 
environmental services in December 2007 (JOB(07)/210) even if, since then, and most notably at the July 2008 Signalling Conference, 19 of the recipient Members and co-sponsors had indicated some 
potential improvements. With regard to the indicati ons of recipient Members, the co-sponsors had yet 
to hear further details of what precisely those im provements would look like, or been able to assess 
how they might respond to the overall plurilateral request. 
54. While welcoming these signals, the co-sponsors wa nted to see further flexibility to remove 
limitations, as well as to clarify and simplify sch eduling language.  In particular, the co-sponsors 
reminded recipients that environmental services we re predominantly supplied via mode 3, and thus 
the request highlighted the need for ambitious co mmitments across subsectors under this mode.  Co-
sponsors in particular wanted to urge movement fr om five recipients with  neither commitments nor 
offers, who so far have not given any indications. It  was clear that the gap between the existing level 
of openness in this sector and the potential opening i ndicated by recipients remained very large, as 
already noted in the 2007 progress report.  More work  needed to be done in view of the growing 
importance of the sector, and the potential for a ‘t riple win' outcome – for trade, environment and 
development. 
55. As coordinator of the plurilateral request on distribution services
, the European Union said 
also that it would report on behalf of co-sponsor s (EU, Chile, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, 
Chinese Taipei and the United States).  
56. The state of play had changed little since the submission of a progress report in December 
2007 (JOB(07)/207)). At the July 2008 Signalling C onference, only one of 19 recipients made a 
positive indication about meeting the majority of the request.  Of the remainder, seven made signals 
that either fell short of the full request or were very vague, while eleven made no indications, 
including two who had made no commitments or offers in this sector.  Since the Signalling 
Conference, no further indications had b een made in bilateral meetings.   
57. The major shortcomings continued to be poor sector coverage and prod uct exclusions.  The 
eight co-sponsors largely met the majority of  the request, and in most cases had signalled a 
willingness to offer improvements where there were ga ps. However, in light of the significant gaps 
that remained, more work was needed to en sure more progress in this important sector.  
58. As coordinator of the plurilateral request on air transport services , the European Union said it 
would provide an oral report on behalf of co-s ponsors (Australia, Chile, EU, Norway, New Zealand 
and Switzerland).   TN/S/M/35 
 Page 9 
 
 
  59. Limited progress had been made since the submission of a progress report in December 2007, 
JOB(07)/211.  Some signals had been given at the Signalling Conference in July 2008.  While 
welcoming the signals received, further clarificati on was needed in terms of more precise scheduling 
language, as some of the signals were vague.  Gaps  still remained between the collective request for 
meaningful commitments on aircraft repair and maintenance services; selling and marketing services; 
Computer Reservation Systems (CRS); ground ha ndling services and air operation services, and the 
offers tabled and signals given. Co-sponsors therefore wanted to s ee further flexibility from recipient 
Members in meeting the collective request on Air Transport Services. 
60. Air transport auxiliary services provided many j obs worldwide. In Europe, these services for 
example provided jobs for more than  a million people. Further liberali zation of air transport auxiliary 
services could create new employment and business opportunities.  
61. The delegation of Canada , as coordinator of the plurilateral request on architecture, 
engineering and integrated engineering  services, said it would re port on behalf of co-sponsors 
(Australia, Canada, Chile, Colomb ia, the EU, India, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, 
Peru, Switzerland and the United States). 
62. The plurilateral request in this sector sought meaningful commitments across all modes of 
supply, including the elimination of commercial presence requirements and restrictions on foreign capital.  Overall, there had been limited progress in this sector since services negotiations had been 
launched in 2000. More specifically, there had been  few potential improvements of offers provided 
since the last written progress report of 2007 contained in document JOB(07)/204. 
 
63. Of the 24 recipients (excluding co-sponsors), a third had no existing commitments in the 
sector and had not included commitments in this sector in their initial or revised offer. There were two 
cases where recipients had made commendable progress, offering improved commitments since the 
Uruguay Round and continuing to indicate signals of fl exibility for further liberalization.  At the July 
2008 Signalling Conference, less than half of these 24 recipients had indicated signals of planned improvements to their current offe r.  In cases where signals were made, none of them went far enough 
to fully meet the request.   As a collective group,  however, recipients excluding co-sponsors were far 
from meeting the request and significant gaps remained .  Many maintained strict mode 3 limitations, 
were unwilling to bind modes 1 and 2, or had failed to  include any type of commitments for integrated 
engineering services.  In addition, there also continue d to be a large gap between recipients' offers and 
signals and actual market access. This was a key negotiating objective outlined in Annex C of the 
Hong Kong ministerial declaration.  Co-sponsors of  the plurilateral request either fully or very 
substantially met the collective request.  As a gr oup, co-sponsors had made significant progress in 
their commitments since the servi ces negotiations began; 12 of th e 14 co-sponsors had since improved 
their offers in the sector.  
64. Now more than ever, the architectural, engineer ing and integrated engineering services sector 
had become one of the strongest and most intern ationally-competitive service industries.  Further 
liberalization would allow governments to achieve enhanced results on their public infrastructure 
projects, would increase private companies' access to new knowledge and technology through 
partnerships, and increase synergies with other sect ors such as construction and energy services.   
Moving forward, there was still a long way to go in terms of meeting the plurilateral request, and 
much work remained to be done. 
65. As coordinator of the plurilate ral request on financial services
, Canada said also that it would 
report on behalf of ten co-spons ors (Australia, Canada, the EU, Hong Kong China, Japan, Korea, 
Norway, Panama, Chinese Taipei, and the United Stat es).   The report covered progress made to date, TN/S/M/35 
Page 10  
 
  and identified remaining gaps between the plur ilateral request and progress made by both the 
recipients and co-sponsors of the plur ilateral request on financial services. 
66. While the financial services plur ilateral request was aimed at a ll financial services subsectors 
across modes 1 to 3, removing impediments in m ode 3 (establishment) was considered vitally 
important, as in most jurisdictions establishment was central to most forms of doing business.  In 
particular, co-sponsors had underlined the importanc e of removing foreign equity caps, and providing 
greater flexibility on forms of establishment.   
67. In the lead-up to the 2008 Ministerial Signalling Conference, seven of 21 targeted recipients 
had indicated that they would consider further improvement to their offers in response to the 
plurilateral request.  These Members indicated that th ey might respond to certain parts of the request, 
including both commercial presence (certain insuran ce and reinsurance activities) and cross-border 
activities (asset management).  There were no commitments to relax or remove key barriers in respect of foreign equity limitations.  The 2008 Ministeria l Conference resulted in signalled improvements by 
several recipients.  In terms of commercial presen ce, there were indications that thresholds on 
juridical form would be relaxed, and impedime nts to reinsurance and insurance intermediation 
activities eased.  There was very limited respon se to the request to remove or ease commercial 
presence limitations, on foreign equity caps, juridical  form or quantitative restrictions on commercial 
presence.  In terms of cross-border trade, the impr ovements related to reinsurance, securities, asset 
management, financial advisory services and financial information services.   
68.  Overall, the state of play had changed little since the July 2008 Signalling Conference.  A 
very sizable gap remained between the level of ope nness that recipients targeted by the request had 
committed to, relative to that of co-sponsors.  On the key commercial presence requests for the 
removal or easing of foreign equity caps, juridical  form, quantitative/numerical restrictions, economic 
needs tests and regulatory restrictions on banking, there had been only a few indications since the 2008 Ministerial that restrictions would be relaxe d.  These indications related to a commitment to 
further consult stakeholders on economic needs tests and foreign equity caps.  Regarding cross-border 
trade, of particular interest to co-sponsors was th e removal or easing of restrictions on reinsurance, 
large risk insurance, and asset management for sophi sticated investors/consumers.  While there were 
indications that commitments would be made in these areas by several Members in 2008, there had 
only been a few indications in recent clusters th at removal or easing of restrictions would be 
considered in the area of asset management.  Th e major shortcomings of priority countries' 
commitments was that they often fell well below thei r current levels of liberalization, and failed to 
remove or ease significant restrictions on the juridical form of establishment, foreign equity 
participation, and on cross-border activity.    
69. In sum, significant gaps remained unchanged for pr iority recipients, particularly in the area of 
mode 3.  Co-sponsors believed that financial ser vices liberalization was a necessary and important 
part of any successful Doha Round package, and noted that current offers of greatest interest did not 
bind current practice, much less provide for new access.  Co-sponsors believed that such offers 
needed substantial improvement, a nd co-sponsors remain committed to working with recipients to 
achieve improved offers. 
70. The delegation of India
, as coordinator of the plurilateral request on cross-border services , 
said it would report on behalf of the co-sponsors (Chile, Hong Kong China, India, Mexico, New 
Zealand, Pakistan, Switzerland, Singapore and Thailand).  
71. In the plurilateral request on cross-border ser vices, Members had been asked to consider 
taking full market access and national treatment commitm ents in specified sectors/ subsectors for both 
modes 1 and 2.  Specifically Members were reque sted to consider taking full national treatment 
commitments and removing requirements of commercial presence, citizenship and residency that they  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 11 
 
 
  maintained in the market  access column.  There were 20 target  countries to whom these requests had 
been made.   
72. Since September 2009, the plurilateral group had met twice, once in November 2009 and 
again in February 2010.  The group had closely evaluated and reviewed the offers.  Concerns 
continued on several fronts such as mode 1 offers  linked to commercial presence and residency, 
geographical and regional carve outs, and covera ge.  Since the Signalling Conference no fresh 
improvements had been indicated.  As a plurilateral gr oup, there had  been no direct meetings with all 
recipients.  There was some concern that co-spon sors had also not moved ahead in meeting the 
plurilateral requests.  Overall, progress had been li mited and significant amount of work still remained 
to be done. 
73. As coordinator of the plurilateral request on mode 4 , India said also that it would report on 
behalf of the co-sponsors (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, Pakistan, 
Peru and Thailand).   
74. Mode 4 was one of the key modes of delivery of services.  Freer access of natural persons to 
markets was an essential supplement to other mod es of delivery, given the growing integration 
between different modes of supply.  One of the most critical issues rela ting to mode 4 was the 
categories of natural persons for whom commitment s were being sought.  The group's request to nine 
recipients involved the following parameters: co mmitments under mode 4 in all categories of 
Professionals such as BV, ICT, CSS and IP; commitments in CSS and IP de-linked from the requirement of commercial presence; commitments in all sectors and sub sectors as per the plurilateral request under Mode 4; elimination of economic n eeds tests and labour market test limitations; 
relaxation in restrictions on the duration of stay  of service suppliers; doing away with numerical 
quotas and removal of residency requirements loca l training requirements for professional services 
such as engineering services.  In several cases countries had failed to recognize the CSS and IP 
categories; required employer sponsorship; did not list specific sectors; maintained ENT, LMT and 
wage parity conditions; had not made any improveme nt in duration of stay; imposed quotas; and had 
in some cases incorporated residency requireme nts in the form of visa requirements supposedly 
beyond the scope of the GATS.  In view of all th is, the overall assessment was that very limited 
progress had been made, and there was still a signifi cant amount of work which remained to be done. 
75. The delegation of  Colombia
, as coordinator of the plurilateral request on tourism services , 
said that it would report on behalf of co-sponsor s (Ecuador, Mauritius, Morocco, Panama, Peru, and 
Thailand).  The report would briefly describe the sco pe of the request, and then make an assessment 
of the current state of play with respect to the responses and the signals received from recipients. 
76. The plurilateral request covered tourism and tr avel-related services as defined by the services 
sectoral classification list (W120) and referred to market access, national treatment and additional 
GATS Article VIII elements relate d to domestic regulation issues, procedures for the issuance of 
travel warnings and the prevention of anti-compe titive practices.  It was addressed to 15 Members 
who belonged to the World Bank's high-income eco nomies category.  Two such Members had not 
made their initial offers yet.  Co-s ponsors were not deemed recipients. 
77. With respect to modes, the percentage of reci pients with no current or offered commitments 
was significantly higher for mode 1 than for othe r modes, posing potential difficulties, especially for 
the supply of travel agency and tour operato rs' services via e-commerce, a significant export 
opportunity for many developing countries.  With re spect to mode 4, many tourism industries were 
highly labour intensive, thus providing opportuniti es to services suppliers, including from developing 
countries, and creating the potential for econom ic development and poverty alleviation. TN/S/M/35 
Page 12  
 
  78. Turning to sub-sectors, most recipients had included commitments on hotels and restaurants, 
although not for all the sub-sectors of this category, or  for all of a Member's territory.  Two-thirds of 
the recipients were offering commitments under tr avel agencies, tour operator services and tourist 
guide services.  Only one recipient incl uded offers under the "Other" category. 
79. Restrictions listed in recipients' offers in cluded commercial presence, economic needs test, 
foreign equity caps and citizenship and residency re quirements.  Mode 1 and national treatment were 
unbound for some sub-sectors.  No offers regarding the issue of travel warnings, prevention of anti-
competitive practices and domestic regulation issues had been made, this being the major gap and one 
of the critical aspects of the current state of play in this sector. 
80. The report of the Signalling Conference indicated that few participants had signalled scope 
for further improvements in revised offers, incl uding extensions in the geographic coverage of 
commitments and elimination of national treatment limitations.  There had be en no further indication 
either plurilaterally or bilaterally of intentions to  positively respond to the request.  Even though there 
was a perception that the level of current commitment s in this sector were grea ter than for any other, 
recipients were far from full liberalization as appeared from a review of the scope and restrictions 
reflected in the offers. 
81. Co-sponsors were disappointed that the state of  play had changed almost nothing since the 
submission of a progress report in December 2007 (JOB(07)202).  Significant gaps between the 
request and offers remained, and very few signals ha d been received so as to allow a more positive 
assessment.  Even though not deemed recipients, co-sponsors would be in a position to include in 
their offers the elements of the request, as re quired to enhance competitiveness in their domestic 
environments.  Members could and should intensify technical work and political efforts in order to 
achieve higher levels of liberalization of this  sector in line with the plurilateral request. 
82. The delegation of Mexico
, as coordinator of the plurilateral request on audiovisual services , 
said it would report on behalf of co-sponsors (Hong  Kong China, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Singapore, 
and the United States).  
83. Audiovisual services had enjoyed substantial economic and trade growth during the last 
decade. Technological advances, including low-cost digital technologies, had lowered costs, expanded 
the number of services and suppliers in the sector, a nd ushered in the rise of audiovisual services as a 
critical component of business communications.  Commitments in audiovisual services reflected neither the degree of liberalization nor the new realiti es in this sector.  In addition, as the Secretariat 
had noted in the recent update to its sectoral note, this was the sector with the largest number of MFN 
exemptions.  
84. During the Signaling Conference in July 2008, only one participant had signaled new or 
improved commitments, on film projection and pr oduction services, and a nother expressed general 
interest in improved commitments in audiovisual se rvices.  These two were both co-sponsors of the 
plurilateral request.  Regrettably, there had been  no new signals by the recipients of the request. 
85. In bilateral negotiations since the Signaling Conference, no significant progress had been 
made in reducing the gap between the plurilateral re quest and potential commitments of the recipients.  
In fact, the gap was even greater between these co mmitments and the actual level of market access. 
Similarly, only two Members had indicated in their revised offers an intention to modify their MFN exemptions.   
86. In sum, there had been no significant progress to ward achieving the goals of the plurilateral 
request.  The co-sponsors looked forward to working with recipient Members anew in finding ways to 
close these gaps.  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 13 
 
 
  87. The delegation of Chinese Taipei  said that for the purposed of  the stocktaking exercise, the 
annex to the Chairman's Report of July 2008 (TN/S/34) served as a useful 'laundry list' for Members to reflect on.  
88.   On market access, Chinese Taip ei shared most of the views expressed by the coordinators of 
the 13 plurilateral requests in which it had particip ated.  In general, limited progress had been made 
since the landmark Signalling Conference.  Signifi cant gaps still remained between the market-
opening signals and the requests, not to mention the fact that signals did not substantially reflect the 
current level of liberalization.  In addition, the 'a pr iori exclusions' in some sectors, and more than 150 
targeted MFN exemptions showed no signs of impr ovement.  More work absolutely needed to be 
done in the near future. 
89.  On domestic regulation, constructive work had been done by Members, despite their 
differing positions.  The Chair's Annotated Text w as to be welcomed, and Members needed to carry 
over their spirit of constructive engagement into fi nalizing the text for adoption.  On GATS rules, 
although little substantial progress had been made in  the three areas covered by the mandates, some 
support seemed to have emerged from Members fo r engaging in technical discussions.  Chinese 
Taipei could go along with the Chair's  “subsid y information sharing exercise.” However, it was 
important that all Members be encouraged to particip ate in order to ensure the success of this exercise.  
On LDC modalities, Chinese Taipei was pleased that a draft had been  circulated to the Members.  
This draft could serve as a basis for further negotiations.  
90. Lastly, Chinese Taipei appreciated the recognition by Members of the special situation of the 
recently-acceded Members (RAMs), who had undertaken  extensive market access commitments at the 
time of their accessions, and that these would be take n into account in the DDA negotiations.  In fact, 
according to the Secretariat's recently-updated sect oral reports, a large proportion of the commitments 
made in the various sectors had been contributed by the RAMs. 
91. The delegation of Norway
 said that the Chairman's July 2008 roadmap, covering the four 
areas of the services negotiations, could serve as the basis for his progress report to the TNC.   In 
Norway's view, the report could include the follo wing elements.  Negotiations in the rule-making 
areas had developed positively over the last year, al beit slowly.  The compromise reached to use the 
WPDR Chair's annotated text on domestic regulations  as a basis for further work in this area was a 
constructive and realistic approach with regard to moving these nego tiations forward, and could help 
facilitate the discussions.  There has been steady pr ogress in the work on the LDC modalities.  A draft 
waiver was now being discussed in a multilateral fo rmat.  There has been very little progress in 
market access negotiations since Ju ly 2008.  Most of the signals gi ven were still on hold. However, 
the overall picture was that existing offers did not co ver current market access, and very little, if any, 
new market access. The statements from the plurila teral coordinators confirmed that progress had 
been modest.  
92. For Norway, it was especially important to see im provements in market access in maritime, 
energy related, telecom, and financial services. Norway's main interests in the maritime sector included: the entering into force of the MFN pr ovision, commitments reflecting the current open 
market situation in accordance with the maritime mo del schedule with focus on mode 1 international 
maritime transport, and as few MFN exemptions as possible.  Due to the inherent economic benefits 
of competitive international maritime transport services, most countries had an open trade regime in 
this area.  This situation had to be properly reflected in GATS schedules of Members.   
93. In financial services, additional improvement s in the cross-border supply of non-life 
insurance, in particular marine and energy insurance, were a key priority for Norway. A broad range 
of commitments by Members regarding energy relate d services, especially in upstream activities, was 
among Norway's most important priorities in the servi ces negotiations.  Such liberalization of trade in TN/S/M/35 
Page 14  
 
  services did not imply any limitation in states' ownership in their natural resources, nor in their right 
to regulate their energy sectors. A broad system  of rights to supply energy-related services 
internationally would contribute to efficient, co st-effective and environmentally-friendly energy 
activities, implying increased benefits to Members in  the longer term. In the telecom sector, Norway 
encouraged Members to take strong mode 3 comm itments and fully commit to the WTO reference 
paper. 
94. Norway had already taken substantial commit ments in the services negotiations.  It had 
indicated improved commitments in mode 4, recogni zing the importance of this mode of supply for 
developing countries' export interests. 
95. Overall, much more work was needed to r each a successful conclusion of the negotiations, 
especially in the market access negotiations.  Considering the clear picture being drawn that Members 
had not come as far as they would like in the ser vices negotiations, and that more work was needed, 
Norway was prepared to continue negotiating bilate rally. Norway would also be ready to consider 
other approaches that could help move matters fo rward in the negotiations. Norway hoped that the 
stocktaking would help focus energy in order to move forward in the services negotiations, and 
overall into the concluding phase of the Doha Round.  
96. The delegation of Japan
 said that the services negotiations were one of the three market 
access pillars, and an appropriate outcome in servi ces was indispensable to reach an ambitious and 
balanced conclusion of the DDA.  In Japan, services  industries were keen for an early conclusion of 
the DDA, with tangible new market access in services .  To meet their expectations, Japan wanted an 
accelerated discussion in services to reach a deal. 
97. The overall reality of the DDA, however, did not present a bright picture.  In this regard, 
some might consider that the stagnation in agri culture and NAMA would make it legitimate to delay 
the discussion in services.  Japan, as a proponent of services, had a strong doubts about this view, and considered that a delay in services could hamper  advancement of the DDA negotiation as a whole.  
Japan's firm belief was that Members should c onstructively and positively move forward in the 
services negotiations, while making best effort s to advance in agriculture and NAMA. 
98. At the stock taking, a strong emphasis needed  to be placed on the continued commitment of 
Members to moving forward in services.  Efforts ha d to focus on how to bridge the gaps between 
requests and current levels of offers.  To find a way to bridge those gaps, there was a need to intensify 
the negotiations.  
99. Japan considered that the Chair's Report of July 2008 was an important step.  With regard to 
market access, while technical work had continued since the Signalling Conference, Members' offers 
and signals did not yet indicate an appropriate refl ection of current levels of liberalization or new 
market access.  Members needed to intensify work in both areas. 
100. On market access, Japan had offered and signalled in mode 4 or cross-border where 
developing Members had significant interests.  However, in the sectors of main interest to Japan, such 
as CRS, telecom, construction, distribution, financ ial services and maritime services, positive offers 
were few and the whole picture left much to be desired.  The gaps were obvious between sectoral 
plurilateral requests, and the offers  and signals those recipients had indicated.  Also, even in areas 
where Japan saw positive signs, various limitations su ch as foreign equity caps or limitations on forms 
of commercial presence were often left untouched. 
101. Against this backdrop, Japan thought that more work was needed, with a continued 
commitment to pave the way for further liberalization in trade in services.  Deciding the date for final 
offers was not sufficient to conclude the negotiati on.  What was needed by the time Members decided  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 15 
 
 
  on the date was to engage seriously in both bilate ral and plurilateral negotia tions, in order to make 
offers and signals more concrete, as well as to seek more market access. 
102. On LDC modalities, Japan recognized that their implementation was an important element in 
the single undertaking.  Japan welcomed the comme ncement of open discussion on the draft text, and 
believed that the creation of a reliable and trustwor thy framework would eventually benefit LDCs.  To 
this end, more discussion was needed on important issues, including the scope of LDC modalities, the 
definition of LDC service suppliers  and the consultation mechanism. 
103. On domestic regulation, Japan attached great importance to the negotiation, as it ensured 
secure market access without the possibly trade-distor tive interference of domestic regulation.  Japan 
appreciated the increased and constructive engageme nt of Members on this negotiation over the past 
year, and welcomed the recently-issued annotated te xt.  However, many important gaps still existed, 
and Members needed to aim to find a possible point of convergence by the end of the DDA.   
104. With regard to GATS rules, Japan  was of the view that none of the three issues discussed in 
the Working Party had matured enough to identify ga ps to be addressed at the stock-taking meeting. 
105. Japan observed that balance was needed overall in the negotiations.  In services, the main 
elements needed to achieve the balance were ma rket access, LDC modalities and domestic regulation.  
In comparing these three elements, it was Japan's view  that there was a particular need to intensify 
negotiation on market access. 
106. The delegation of New Zealand  said that it would addresses each of the four elements of the 
negotiation the Chairman had outlined.  Overall, an d referring to the Chairman's July 2008 text with 
its reference to Annex C, performan ce to date had fallen short of what ministers had agreed to in 
Hong Kong, and of what Members subsequently sub scribed to as being ‘the elements required to 
complete the services negotiation'.  More flexibility n eeded to be exercised if Members were to reach 
even the modest outcome of bindings of existing regimes, let alone meaningful new market access. 
107. Turning specifically to market access, previ ous interventions by the plurilateral request 
coordinators had identified a modest but insuffici ent degree of progress.  The same could be said 
across the breadth of the services market access nego tiation, including bilaterals.  The most recent 
positive step was seen at the July 2008 Signalling Co nference, in the context of a possible agreement 
on agriculture and NAMA modalities.   The Signalling Conference however did not, and was never intended to, represent the sum total of market access improvements required to conclude the negotiation satisfactorily.  Important aspects of Memb ers' bilateral and plurila teral requests were not, 
and have remained, unaddressed.  As the education plurilateral request  coordinator, New Zealand had 
a particular interest in this sector, and wanted to see more offers that at least reflected current practice. 
108. On domestic regulation, New Zealand appreciated  the increased engagement but nevertheless 
cautioned that the existing Chair's draft did not me et the Working Party's negotiating mandate, let 
alone the ambition of the friends of domestic regulation.  An acceptable compromise remained elusive, but the recently-circulated annotated text  would be a useful tool for future discussions. 
109. On GATS rules, there had been slow, albeit welcome progress in the area of subsidies, but 
less so in the other two areas – ESM and government procurement.  It was to be hoped that Members 
would follow through with their support of the ma ndated subsidies information sharing exercise, and 
submit information in the timeframe outlined by the Chair.  For its part, New Zealand was looking to 
update and resubmit the information initi ally provided almost 13 years ago. 
110. On LDC modalities, New Zealand appreciated the efforts of the Norway-led group to produce 
a draft text, and recent efforts by LDCs to address so me of the fundamental issues raised by Members.  TN/S/M/35 
Page 16  
 
  New Zealand looked forward to continued e ngagement on LDC modalities, including Chair-led 
discussion on the text, but noted that progress should not be expected that outpaced progress elsewhere in the negotiation. 
111. The delegation of the Philippines
 said that a delicate horizontal balance had been struck by 
Members in Hong Kong. While neither the Minist erial Declaration nor Annex C embodied any new 
commitments or obligations, aside from those alr eady provided for in the GATS and the Negotiating 
Guidelines, Members had been enjoin ed to further their work on the basis of the letter and spirit of 
those documents.  The Philippines remained committed  to the meaningful and successful conclusion 
of the Doha Development Round.  Four years af ter Hong Kong seemed to be an opportune time to 
step back and take stock of the DDA negotiations in  services.  Certain points deserved highlighting. 
112. First, the issue of development. Members needed  to remain faithful to the shared vision to 
facilitate the participation of de veloping countries in international trade in services, while taking 
account of their economic situation and level of development. These were the fundamental principles 
on which the negotiations rested.   GATS Article IV was an important provision, which provided for 
the strengthening of domestic services capacity of developing countries, and their efficiency and 
competitiveness.  An important sub-paragraph in this  article that the Philippines wished to highlight 
was the call for liberalization of market access in sect ors and modes of supply of export interest to 
developing countries. 
113. Some delegations had suggested there was a lack  of ambition, among developing countries in 
particular.  The Philippines, together with many developing Members, wanted an ambitious outcome 
in services, particularly in modes and sectors of interest to developing Members. The Philippines did 
not therefore share the unjustified assessment that there was an absence of ambition among 
developing countries.  But at the end of the day this ambition, which all appeared to share, had to be 
tempered by realism and by the flexibilities enjoyed,  particularly by developing Members, under the 
GATS.  That ambition could not be imposed by some Members on the many. 
114. The Philippines had some reservations about th e statements of plurilateral coordinators 
focusing on the statistics and number of Members purportedly meeting the plurilateral requests.  
Members had the right to make such factual ob servations.  However, the Philippines would have 
strong reservations if these numbers were used to assess the quality of offers, which could not be done 
solely on the basis of the number of sectors or subsectors offered by a Member. These numbers could not be used to 'benchmark' the services negotiations , as this idea had been soundly rejected in Hong 
Kong. 
115. A number of plurilateral coordinators had also  referred to the JOB documents issued in 
December 2007 by plurilateral groups.  The minutes of  the CTS Special Session meeting in December 
2007 (TN/S/M/28) clearly underscored, however, the controversy generated by those documents. No 
coordinator had asked the Chairman to use those docum ents as the basis for his report, but if he were 
inclined to examine them, the Philippines would strong ly urge him also to closely review the debates 
that ensued in the CTS Special Session. 
116. Second, paragraph 4 of Annex C provided for an intensification of efforts to conclude the 
negotiations on rules making.  The Philippines con tinued to believe in the need for emergency 
safeguards in the services sector.  It was an issue of fundamental economic and political importance to 
proponents.  Market access and rules needed to go together.  Members had to shape the safety nets 
required to build and facilitate the confidence of dom estic constituencies. It was true that there were 
complex regulatory issues, and divergent views on  desirability and feasibility.  However, through 
cooperation and constructive engagement, most of the technical, le gal or policy issues raised were not 
as impossible as they seemed.  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 17 
 
 
  117. Third, paragraph 5 of Annex C provided for the development of disciplines in domestic 
regulation before the end of the cu rrent round of negotiations.  This pa rticular mandate needed to be 
read in the light of paragraph 25 of the Ministeria l Declaration that reaffirms the right of Members to 
regulate. The Philippines would look, therefore, to  ensure that the domestic regulation negotiations 
resulted in the optimal balance between the right to regulate (on a broad, horizontal basis), and 
providing for necessary disciplines, particularly on qualification requirements and procedures to 
reduce unnecessary regulatory barriers to trade in m ode 4, which is of importance to developing 
Members.  Solid work had been undertaken under the previous and current Chairs of the WPDR, 
including the March 2009 text, and the recently-cir culated annotated text, which constituted a good 
basis for negotiations. 
118. On the LDC waiver, the Philippines welcomed th e draft that had been circulated, and looked 
forward to more intensive discussions in the near fu ture with a view to finding a mutually acceptable 
solution to this issue.  
119. Finally, it was important to recognize that some one needed to exercise  leadership in the 
negotiations. The Philippines expected that the dema ndeurs on the market access side of the services 
negotiations to exercise this leadership, particular ly vis-à-vis their expectations from other Members, 
by giving genuine market access to developing countries in sectors of interest to them.  The delicate balance in Annex C that was so painfully negotia ted in Hong Kong needed to be fully respected. 
120. The delegation of Zambia
, on behalf of the LDC group , said that it was optimistic that the 
stocktaking exercise would set the pace for contin ued and intensified negotiations on the remaining 
outstanding issues.  
121. The LDC group had organized a series of consul tations in various formats since the last 
formal meeting held on 9 February 2010.  The l ast consultations were he ld on 12 March 2010 with a 
number of delegations, and the group's assessment w as that substantial progress had been made in 
identifying where major gaps were, and in clarifyi ng the content of the waiver.  It was the group's 
expectation that Members would cont inue to engage positively in these consultations so that work on 
the waiver could be finalized as soon as possible. 
122. The LDC group highlighted the importance of fina lizing consultations on the waiver so that 
the outcome could serve as an important input into  the stocktaking exercise. The LDC looked forward 
to having this as one of the issues for considera tion during the stocktaking exercise, as well as post-
stocktaking. 
123. The delegation of Switzerland r ecalled the importance of the mandate and the objectives set 
out in the Annex C of the Hongkong Ministerial Decl aration. This was reaffirmed at the services 
Special Session in July 2008, as referenced in the Chairman's Report (TN/S/34).  Switzerland 
requested that these documents be referenced in  the Chairman's report for the stocktaking. 
124. The main objective of the services negotiations was to achieve progressively higher 
liberalization of trade in services by making new and improved commitments (paragraph 1 of 
Annex C).  Plurilateral requests were to be pursued  in addition to bilateral negotiations (paragraph 7 
of Annex C, and paragraph 2 of the Chairman's Repo rt.  There were to be no a priori exclusions of 
any sector or mode of supply (paragraph 4 of the Chairman's Report).  
125. Switzerland was concerned by the fact that the reports made by the sector coordinators only 
covered progress made with respect to plurilateral requests. This did not reflect the progress made on 
all the aspects and objectives of the round.  Delegati ons needed to be very careful, in providing input 
for the stocktaking report, not to limit the informat ion provided to progress in plurilateral requests, 
which were only in addition to the bilateral negotiations. TN/S/M/35 
Page 18  
 
  126. All the negotiating objectives identified by Me mbers had been listed in Annex B of the 
Chairman's Report to the TNC in 2005 (TN/S/23), and also reported by the Chairman of the TNC after the Signalling Conference (JOB(08)93).  Switzerland's objectives and priorities were: 
(a) financial services:  commitments on modes 1 and 2 in appropriate sub-sectors like 
financial services to sophisticated cust omers, asset management, securities and 
underwriting (paragraph 13 of TN/S/23); 
(b) mode 4: commitments on installers and ma intainers and the extension of permitted 
period of stay for intra-corporate transferees (paragraph 22 of TN/S/23); 
(c) distribution services: commitments on commission agents' services (paragraph 9 of 
TN/S/23); 
(d) logistic services:  (paragraph 19 of TN/S/23).  
127. The signals given at the Signalling Conference in response to Swiss requests were set out in 
paragraphs 22, 37 and 46 of the Chairman's Re port (JOB(08)93). The Swiss revised offer was the 
response to bilateral requests and negotiation objectives. 
128. Annex C also set out the objectives for the negotiations on GATS rules, domestic regulation 
and LDC modalities, pursuant to their respective manda tes and timelines. Reference to these elements 
also needed to be made in the report for the stocktaking. 
129. The delegation of Argentina
 said that the achievements of the negotiations also needed to be 
included in the stocktaking report.  The reality w as that the services negotiations had made a great 
deal of progress – more than in other areas, part icularly NAMA and agriculture.  Progress had been 
registered notably by means of Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration, and a proposed legal text on 
LDC modalities.  There had been two rounds of requ ests and offers, and ministers had shown a great 
deal of flexibility in the 2008 Signalling Conferen ce.  This progress was perhaps not enough for some 
Members, but was significant when compared to th e progress made in the rest of the round.  This 
needed to be reflected in the stocktaking report. 
130. Members had asked for more information on certain sectors in terms of plurilateral market 
access.  Argentina didn't fully agree with that, and it  needed to be clarified that various developing 
countries didn't make a positive response.  Argentin a was a co-sponsor of the plurilateral requests on 
services related to agriculture, and mode 4.  Progress in both sectors did not encourage Argentina to show more flexibility in areas of interest to other Members. 
131. On GATS rules, Argentina acknowledged the work  that had led to an extended information 
programme on subsidies.  Neverthe less, this was the second effort at an initiative first started 13 years 
previously.  In reality, the disciplines on subsidies were not satisfactory.  On domestic regulation, 
Argentina wished to congratulate th e chair of the WPDR for the qualit y and quantity of work that had 
been carried out.  Discussions in this area had clarified positions, but there were significant remaining differences, as evidenced by the recently-circulated annotated text, where differences in positions 
appeared throughout.  Discussions on disciplines for domestic regulation seem to have exceeded their 
mandate whereas, in GATS rules, there was still progr ess to be made.  For Argentina, the negotiations 
on rules, subsidies and a safeguard mechanism formed a package, and needed to be balanced and take 
into account the interests of all Members.  Finally , the stocktaking report needed to include a clear 
reference to progress made on LDC modalities, wh ere there were now only a few differences in 
position, relating mainly to scope, dur ation and deadlines for information.  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 19 
 
 
  132. The delegation of Chile  said that evaluating market access negotiations meant dealing with 
several points.  There was a need to assess the differences that remain ed, and to look at ideas on future 
work.  With regard to the current state of work, since the July 2008  Ministerial Conference, only very 
modest progress had been made.  It had not been possible to concretize the signals given as new offers, and no new commitments had been made.  This  situation had got worse during the latest series 
of meetings.  This of course applied to the sectors that  were of interest to Chile.  With regard to the 
differences, Chile was very aware that these were very  wide-ranging, and that there was a risk that the 
positive signals heard in the past might well be lost.  There was an unfortunate lack of negotiating will 
from some delegations, and it was wrong to suppo se that the services negotiations had made good 
progress.  Chile did not agree with delegations th at attempted to limit the elements on which the 
stocktaking report should be based.  The figures that the coordinators of plurilateral groups had given 
were indications of the current situation in each of the request/offer groups. 
133. In the view of Chile, there was a great deal of work left to do on negotiations in market 
access, and is was therefore important to come up with ideas for future work.  In the past, the 
plurilateral process had become a very significant tool, and was an important complement to the 
bilateral process.  Delegations now needed to thin k of new ways to make progress.  One possibility 
was to reformulate the sequence of services negotiati ons with regard to NAMA and agriculture.  That 
was one way of thinking.  The important thing was to intensify the negotiations with the objective of 
achieving the objectives set out in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration and the 
Chairman's Report of July 2008. 
134. The delegation of Turkey
  said that in stock-taking Members were requested to identify gaps, 
evaluate their importance, and reflect on how to address them.  Since the last Ministerial Conference, 
engagement had been very limited am ong Members in terms of market acces s. It was clear that in this 
area the main gap related to the level of ambition, and that work in services was tied to the progress in 
other areas of DDA. Yet there was a need to intens ify negotiations and provi de clarity on possible 
offers, with a view to preparing the ground for the si ngle undertaking.  In this regard, it was inevitable 
to continue bilaterals. This, at least, would provide engagement and some clarity.  In this respect, 
Turkey wished to underline the importance of high qu ality offers, particularly in sectors and modes of 
supply interest to developing countries. 
135. With respect to rule-making, Members needed to continue ch air-driven technical work, which 
had up to now achieved e ngagement and progress.  The annotated draft text of the WPDR Chair, the 
work program on information exchange in subsid ies of the WPGR Chair, and written inputs for a 
possible protocol on the relationship between new and old commitments proposed by Members in 
response to the guidance of CSC Chair, were all encouraging. 
136. The draft decision on implementing LDC modalities, developed by a group of Members led 
by Norway, was also a welcome development.  It was clear that much work  needed to be done to 
finalize it.  Turkey was committed to granting pr eferential treatment to LDCs, and was willing to 
engage comprehensively in these negotiations. 
137. Finally, with respect to future work, Turkey  observed that the Guidelines and Procedures for 
the Negotiations on Trade in Services directed the Special Session to carry out an assessment of trade 
in services in overall terms, and on a sectoral basis,  with reference to the objectives of the GATS, and 
of Article IV in particular.  This was an ongoing activ ity, and negotiations were to be adjusted in light 
of the results of this assessment.  Several sector al analyses were being conducted in the regular 
meetings of the Council for Trade in Services, and Turkey believed that recent work there provided a 
sound basis for the Special Session to do assess ments within the context of DDA services 
negotiations.  At the last regular meeting of the Council for Trade in Services, the Secretariat had 
informed the Council that the Special Session in th e past had become involved with such a work.  TN/S/M/35 
Page 20  
 
  Turkey believed that engaging the Special Session w ith overall or sectoral assessments of trade in 
services would contribute to reinvigorating the services negotiations. 
138. The delegation of China
 said that, on the stocktaking, it hoped that a factual report genuinely 
reflecting the state of play of the negotiations would be prepared and submitted to the TNC. The report needed to cover the achievements so fa r, as well as the difficulties and challenges ahead. 
Members had to admit that progress made so far was limited, while the gaps and challenges were 
quite serious, especially taking into account of th e mandate of completing the negotiations of DDA 
before the end of 2010. 
139. For the purpose of stocktaking, one question that needed answering by Members was why 
progress made was so limited in market access.  The answer of course had to be seen in the broader 
context of the overall situation of the DDA negotiati ons, in which there was currently little vitality.  
As to how to move forward on the negotiations in  market access, China wished to highlight two 
issues. One was the Hong Kong sequence, which had struck the right balance among the three market 
access pillars within the single undertaking of th e DDA.  Second, China believed the asymmetry of 
offers in different sectors and modes of supply in  services had to be addressed.  China agreed with 
statement made by the Philippines that it was not the developing country Members who lacked 
ambition in the service negotiations.  Rather, it was the developed country Me mbers who had failed to 
respond to priority requests from the developing co untry Members. So far, China had conditionally 
made offers and signals in one new sector and 11 new subsectors. The overall services commitments and offers of China now covered 10 sectors and 111 subsectors, with only two MFN exemptions. 
Many of them met the key requests from developed Members, especially in the sectors of 
environmental services, energy services and pr ofessional services. China was ready to work 
substantially on these areas, as far as the issue of asymmetry could be addressed. 
140. On the negotiations on GATS rules and domestic  regulation, China recognized the positive 
steps that had been achieved, although gaps and di fficulties remained. On domestic regulation, China 
was ready to work with other Me mbers on the basis of the annotated text, and hoped that balanced 
results could be achieved through the negotiations . On GATS rules, China was pleased to note the 
work program on exchange of information on subsidies, and hoped that all Members would 
participate in the process.  As for the implementati on of LDC modalities, China regarded this topic as 
an indispensable part of the outcome of DDA.  It  welcomed the draft waiver text, and hoped that 
convergence on it would be soon achieved among Members. 
141. The delegation of Canada
 noted that the Chair of the Trade Negotiations Committee had 
recently said in an intervention in the General Counc il that, with respect to services, 'little if any 
substantive progress has been made'. Canada coul d not agree more with that assessment.  From 
Canada's perspective, the reason for the lack of progress was simple: there were no real negotiations 
taking place. 
142. Canada had been encouraged when Members ag reed to “re-engage” in services negotiations 
last fall.  Following this agreement, good bilate ral discussions had taken place in November, and 
again in February with a number of Members.  Delegations had been able to obtain confirmation 
and/or clarification on previous signals of flexibilit y.  But these were not negotiations and, even more 
disappointing, a number of Members had either declin ed to confirm their previous signals, or noted 
that some signals might no longer be on the table.  By  and large, this seemed to be a function of a lack 
of willingness rather than absence of flexibility, c ontingent almost exclusively on linkages made to 
other areas of the round, notably agriculture a nd NAMA.  However, from Canada's perspective, 
Members could not afford to sit and wait until ther e was movement elsewhere in the negotiations – 
services being a key pillar of the DDA, there was a need  to arrive at a sufficient level of clarity and 
certainty on the central elements of a final outcome before modalities on AG and NAMA were agreed.   TN/S/M/35 
 Page 21 
 
 
  143. In terms of market access, there were two kinds of shortcoming.  First, there was a significant 
gap between Members' offers or signals and both bilateral and plur ilateral requests.  Second, there 
was cause for concern regarding the gap between Me mbers' offers or signals and current market 
access.  On the gaps with Members' sectoral and modal requests, Canada wa s a co-sponsor of nine 
plurilateral requests, and in all nine groups, the assessment was the same: there was still a long way to 
go in the negotiations in order to achieve a satisfact ory outcome, as indicated by the coordinators of 
each group.  Beyond the plurilateral requests, many  of Canada's bilateral requests had also gone 
largely unmet.  Canada was also seeing a substantia l and disappointing gap between offers and current 
policies and market access, which had been conf irmed through recent bilateral meetings, where 
several Members had indicated that, in practice, certain modes and/or sectors were open or less 
restrictive in practice, but that no consideration was being given to bind this in a future offer.  This 
was a troubling situation, as predictability and legal cer tainty in international trade were key to allow 
business and services suppliers to thrive. 
144. From Canada's perspective, more progress was needed in the following sectoral and modal 
areas in order to be satisfied with a potential services outcome: 
(a) Financial services:  removal of Mode 3 limitations for banking and insurance, as well 
as cross-border commitments for sophisticated consumers; 
(b) Architectural and Engineering Services:  fu ll sectoral coverage, binding of Mode 1, 
and removal of Mode 3 fo reign equity limitations; 
(c) Energy and Mining:  further commitments for services incidental to mining, technical 
testing and analysis, and related scien tific and technical consulting services, 
particularly for Mode 3;  
(d) Environmental Services:  new commitments for this sector, particularly for Mode 1 
(advisory and monitoring services), Mode 3 and Mode 4;  
(e) Mode 3: removal of foreign equity and le gal entity limitations, greater transparency 
and limitation of foreign investment review mechanisms; 
(f) Mode 4: commitments for professionals (i.e. for Contract Service Suppliers and 
Independent Professionals), removal of economic needs tests and other barriers such as quotas and proportionality requirements, and the use of commonly accepted categories of business persons. 
145. With respect to the dynamics ne cessary to address the gaps, Canada's suggestion was simple 
and had been stated previously:  Members needed to negotiate. 
146. On the other areas of the services negotiations , Canada welcomed the recent agreement in the 
WPGR to move forward with an information exch ange on subsidies, which was a good first step in 
the discussion on the development of potential di sciplines. Canada had undertaken internal 
consultations in order to develop Canada's contribution to this pro cess.  Beyond subsidies, however, 
Canada remained unclear about potential progress in discussions on government procurement and an 
emergency safeguard mechanism during the round.  On domestic regulations, Canada would continue 
to work constructively with Members towards possi ble future disciplines.  Regarding LDC modalities, 
Canada welcomed the sharing of a draft waiver te xt by proponents and would work in collaboration 
with other Members on the issue.  Recent m ovement in discussions on GATS rules and domestic 
regulation demonstrated that Members could, ind eed, work together to find mutually agreeable 
outcomes. Canada hoped this would also translate in to the market access negotia tions in the very near 
future.  TN/S/M/35 
Page 22  
 
  147. The delegation of Korea
 said that, with respect to market access negotiations, it was 
concerned that the negotiation might be concluded unsatisfactorily as a 'dragon head with a snake's 
tail'.  Previous clusters had not given full satis faction, because of lukewarm responses from some 
trading partners.  Evidently, gaps among Members ha d remained in terms of ambitions for market 
access negotiations.  Korea, who had a key interest in five major services – maritime, construction, 
financial, distribution and telecom services – had yet to see substantial offers from its trading partners.  
Korea was therefore of the view that the stockt aking in March should not be limited to simple 
description of the negotiations.  It should catalyse or facilitate future  negotiations by highlighting the 
existence of the gaps to be filled.  
148. The stock-taking exercise needed also to give  services industries a positive expectation for the 
expansion of their business opportunities, by co ncretizing what had been achieved since the 
Signalling Conference in 2008.  In this respect, Kor ea referred to the mid-term report made by the 
plurilateral friends groups coordinato rs.  Regarding the form of the stocktaking report, Korea was of 
the view that the report should aim at going through all the elements and principles contained in the July 2008 text, including market access negotia tions, domestic regulati on, GATS rules and LDC 
modalities.  The report needed also to aim at sayi ng how far Members had come in reference to those 
elements and the principles. 
149. Regarding the LDC modalities, this was one  of the essential elements in the single 
undertaking negotiations.  The draft text circulated al so needed to be included in the Chair's report, 
together with the comments and feedback offered by  Members.  Regarding domestic regulation, the 
most desirable form of the stocktaking would have been a bracketed text, but this was presently 
beyond Members' reach.  In the current situation, th e annotated text was the best alternative for the 
stock-taking.  Regarding GATS rules, the WPGR Chair's suggestion on information exchange was a 
reasonable first step without constituting a big burde n for Members.  Korea hoped that subsequently 
Members would be able to fulfil the GATS mandate .  The most important elements would be about 
the guidance for future negotiations.  In his stocktak ing report, the Chairman needed to identify what 
Members should do in order to seek much more liber alized market access in trade in services.  This 
was all the more important to maintain the mome ntum of market access negotiations, even after the 
stock-taking exercise. 
150. The delegation of Hong Kong, China
  recalled that the services negotiation was an integral 
part of the DDA.  The stocktaking therefore need ed to devote sufficient attention to services, in 
tandem with agriculture and NAMA, so that it c ould go some way towards achieving the additional 
clarity and certainty for the services package at around the time of modalities in agriculture and 
NAMA, against the backdrop of Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
151. A common theme across the reports on the progress of the plurilateral requests on market 
access heard earlier, was that, while some progress be observed, very significant gaps still remained 
between requests made and commitments offered.  Th e current state of play did not represent a very 
big advance from the situation expressed in July 20 08 at the Signalling Conference.  Insofar as the 
stocktaking was concerned, it was perhaps more realistic to focus on the aspects of clarity and 
certainty of signals provided by Members, so that delegations could outline the gaps more clearly, and 
better focus future work in order to narrow them dow n.  In terms of the format of the market access 
negotiations beyond the stocktaking, Hong Kong China was open to all ideas that sought to take 
forward the negotiations whether in bilate ral, multilateral or plurilateral modes. 
152. For Hong Kong China, there was relatively more progress on the horizontal rule-making 
front.  In this respect, rule-making issues were  of no less importance than the market access 
negotiations.  On domestic regulation,  the Chair of the WPDR had just issued the annotated text.  This 
was an informative document that formed a good b asis to carry on the negotiations.  On domestic 
regulation, Members had in the past year ventured  into confronting some fundamental issues.  These  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 23 
 
 
  included the 'necessity test' language, the right level of ambition for the discipline that would fulfil the 
mandate, and the perceived tension between potentia l disciplines and Members' right to regulate.  
They were all difficult issues, the discussion of th em had been substantive and constructive.  While 
noting that Members had yet to arrive at more c onvergent views, Hong Kong China considered that 
the annotated text could lead to more focused ne gotiations beyond the stocktaking.  On GATS rules, 
Hong Kong China was pleased to note the progress made, particularly  on the information exchange 
exercise on subsidies.  The stocktaking report woul d need to register the effort which Members had 
put into this process.  On LDC modalities, thanks to the initial work of the LDCs and other Members, 
the production of the draft waiver was already a tangible achievement, though Members needed to 
look further at some of the details.  The recent consultation sessions had been useful in affording 
delegations a better understanding of  the rationale and considerati ons behind the drafting of the 
waiver.  The stocktaking report needed to cap ture the positive momentum on this front also. 
153. The  delegation of Singapore  observed that the services negotiations were undeniably linked 
to the other areas of the DDA negotiations.  An  agreement on agriculture and NAMA was no doubt 
necessary for further progress in services.  While mo dalities and subsequent scheduling in agriculture 
and NAMA were necessary to facilitate progress in th e negotiations, they were not sufficient for the 
conclusion of the overall negotiations.  The expecta tion of a good outcome on services was integral to 
the final package.  In the context of the single unde rtaking, all three issues we re related.  Since the 
issuance of the Chairman's Report in July 2008 (TN/S/34) on elements required for the completion of the services negotiations, Members had undertaken  several rounds of negotiations in services, 
including the landmark Ministerial Signalling Conf erence.  These sessions had been useful for better 
understanding Members' approaches and constraint s in services.  Notably, the indications and 
responses that Members made in the negotiations had been helpful in providin g a general idea of the 
broad contours of future offers.  Singapore also agre ed with most Members that more work needed to 
be done, while recognizing that some progress ha d been achieved on domestic regulation, GATS 
rules, and LDC modalities.  The coming stocktaking w as a means to an end, not an end in itself.  
While Singapore could see that much flexibilit y was needed for positive movement on the 
negotiations, the Chairman's Report (TN/S/34) provid ed the elements required for the completion of 
the services negotiations.  Singapore looked forwar d to a stocktaking report containing a factual 
reflection of the progress achieved – a frank assessment  of where Members currently stood, as well as 
further guidance to facilitate progress.  Memb ers had made scant progress since the Signalling 
Conference of 2008.  They would need all the gui dance possible to arrive at a good and balanced 
outcome in services for all. 
154. The delegation of Australia
 said the Chair's elements paper of July 2008 provided an 
appropriate framework for measuring the progress of the services negotiations.  Delegations knew that 
Australia wanted a strong and ambitious outcome on services in the round, and its commitment to this 
end had been demonstrated by an ambitious services offer.  Every sector included in Australia's offer 
would be bound at the existing level of market openness. 
155. In addition to its strong offer, Australia 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.   Australia had, for example, signalled an offer on 
mode 4 for nurses and midwives, and offered to bind its existing market openness in cross-border 
services trade (mode 1) access across all services sectors in its schedule.  These improvements would 
make a real commercial difference. 
156. In terms of assessing where Members were for the purposes of the stocktaking, Australia had 
already provided the Chairman with evidence of the size of the gap in legal services, and also in 
accounting services, that would need to be filled if the Doha Round were to be  concluded.  Australia 
associated itself with statements by plurilateral coordi nators in a range of other sectors which led to a TN/S/M/35 
Page 24  
 
  similar conclusion:  the overall gap was significan t.  Addressing such a gap would take time, and 
Members would not wish to run out of time at the end of the Round on services negotiations. 
157. How could the gap and the lack of momentum in the services market access negotiations best 
be remedied?  Most Members would agree that the best way to do this would be to make progress on agriculture and NAMA.  That was a given.  But Memb ers could not allow this to be a barrier to any 
constructive engagement on services.  Those Member s who had engaged with Australia knew that it 
was looking for ways to move forward – and for so me that has meant moving outside their comfort 
zone.  But it was Australia's view that all Members needed to move outside their comfort zones if the benefits of the Doha Round were to  be maximized.  Australia was prepared to engage in market 
access negotiation at all levels, including by revita lising plurilateral appro aches to the negotiations. 
158. On LDC modalities, Australia welcomed the discussion of the text of a draft waiver 
mechanism, and thought this a significant step which needed to be referenced in the stocktaking.  It 
would take some time to work through the text , and to create a universal understanding of the 
mechanism, but it was an excellent basis for discussion.   
159. On domestic regulation, Australia looked forwar d to real progress.  Australia welcomed the 
annotated text, and acknowledged that it reflected an improved consistency in engagement over the 
last twelve months.  In terms of future work, Au stralia thought that taking a more strategic approach 
to organising work, for example along thematic  lines to maximise cross-cutting analysis and 
negotiation of the issues, could provide efficiencies and lead to greater convergence.     
160. Australia was looking for creative approaches to old issues from all sides of the triangle in the 
negotiation.  It supported a strong outcome on services.  It knew that services played an important role 
in delivering outcomes on agriculture and NAMA – you could not secure gains in agriculture and 
NAMA without competitive, efficient services markets. 
161. Likewise, you could not secure the developmen t dimension of the Round without a strong 
services outcome.  If delegations were in any d oubt about the importance of services in facilitating 
development and delivering the development compone nt of the Doha Round, Australia wished to 
point to a publication issued by Australia's Parl iamentary Secretary for International Development 
Assistance on 10 March.  It highlighted the way in which greater access to financial services helps 
poor people.  Entitled 'Financial Services for the Poor', the document outlines a framework strategy 
for assisting governments to create policy and regulat ory environments while protecting consumers, 
using innovative models such as mobile phone banking to reach under-served groups, and helping 
people to set up small businesses, insure against crop losses, save in case of illness or disaster and 
send their children to school for longer.  This was just one example of how services were integral to 
economic development and well-being.  An ambiti ous outcome on services in the Doha Round could 
help to deliver those worthwhile goals. 
162. The delegation of Brazil
 observed that the services negotiations, as one of the pillars of the 
Doha Round, constituted an importa nt element of the stocktaking exercise. Since the round was 
launched, mandates had been established concer ning negotiations for market access, domestic 
regulation, GATS rules and LDCs modalities. Brazil wa s of the view that those multilaterally-agreed 
mandates and related  timelines had been met, which led it to maintain its position that the services 
negotiations were not lagging behind in respect of the other negotiating areas. 
163.  Brazil did not question the merits of the servi ces negotiations. It did believe, however, that 
services could not be seen in isolation from the ot her pillars of the DDA. This is what the single 
undertaking implied.  Therefore, the lack of progr ess or backsliding in one pillar of the Round would 
inevitably affect the work in another pillar. And all were aware of the setbacks in agriculture and 
NAMA.  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 25 
 
 
  164. In this context, it was difficult to see the justif ication for additional market access negotiations 
in services.  It was difficult to see why developing countries should put more on the table, while possible gains to be derived from the negotiations  in agriculture might be reduced, and when 
developed countries were not making any moves in the services negotiations themselves.  Lack of 
recognition of the efforts already made by developing  countries in their offers, which had resulted in a 
greater contribution than that provided by develo ped countries, did not encourage additional effort. 
On the contrary, it could lead to a reassessment of the negotiations.  The crucial factor was that the 
requests of developing countries had received an insu fficient response. All th ese elements needed to 
be included in the stocktaking report. 
165.  On domestic regulation, Brazil was glad that fruitful discussions had been taking place, and 
that a useful contribution to the stocktaking exer cise was being made through the Chair's annotated 
text.  Brazil understood that much work was still re quired if Members were to  achieve a higher level 
of convergence. Brazil remained engaged in the di scussions, and would continue fighting for a final 
text that preserved the right of Members to regulate in  order to meet national policy objectives.  Brazil 
wished also to stress that it re garded the Chair's text of March 2009 as a fundamental tool for the work 
of the WPDR. 
166. On GATS rules, Brazil thought that the technical discussions in all three areas had been very 
useful and should continue.  On subsidies, Braz il believed that the right path was being followed 
through the Chair's work program on informati on exchange.  Hopefully it would help create 
momentum to allow the next steps to be taken. 
167.  Finally, on the issue of LDCs modalities, Brazil welcomed the fruitful exchange of ideas 
regarding the draft waiver text recently circulated to Members.  Brazil was confident that delegations 
would be able to bridge the exis ting gaps in order to reach an agreement as soon as possible.  Brazil 
remained committed to this objective.  
168. The delegation of India
 said that the main deliverable in the negotiation was an outcome that 
did justice to the development promise of the Round.  In this context, India was disappointed that the 
mandate of GATS Article IV to facilitate the incr easing participation of de veloping country Members 
in world trade through liberalization of market access in sectors and modes of supply of export 
interest to them, was not being fulfilled.  During the last Enchilada meeting on 16 February, India had 
extensively elaborated on the quality of market access  offers made by the developed countries.  These 
offers, to say the least, compared very poorly w ith the offers placed on the table by developing 
countries.  India's submission was a matter of record, but at the risk of repetition, it would restate that 
the outcome for market access did not currently present a happy picture. 
169. India's analysis of the percentage increase in commitments (on a subsector basis) for the Doha 
Round over the Uruguay Round indicated that, while developing countries had offered a substantial 
increase in coverage, developed countries on the cont rary had little to show.  Developing countries 
like India were always being asked to do more.  However, a look at Members' contributions in the 
Doha Round showed that devel oping countries were contributing a disproportionate share already. 
India had shown willingness to add more than 50 s ectors to its Uruguay Round commitments, this 
constituting up to 55 per cent of the sub-sectors offe red in the Doha Round.  Comparable figures 
were:  Brazil - 31 subsectors (35 per cent), Mexico  - 49 subsectors (31.4 per cent), South Africa - 32 
subsectors (27 per cent).  China had offered a number of sectors in its accession process.  In comparison, the United States had added only 5 sub-sectors between the Uruguay Round and the 
Doha Round, which translated to a mere 4 per cen t of total coverage in the Doha Round. Other 
comparable figures were:  EU - 7 subsectors (5 per cent), Canada - 0 subsectors (0 per cent), Japan - 7 
subsectors (5.7 per cent) and Australia - 8 subsectors (7.2 per cent).  TN/S/M/35 
Page 26  
 
  170. The responses to developing country requests had also been poor. Further, developed 
countries had themselves not met the plurilateral requ ests in which they were co-sponsors and deemed 
recipients.  The simple point of India's anal ysis was this: developing countries were already 
contributing a disproportionate share in services liberalisation.  
171. India had already placed an ambitious revised offer on the table, which was well above its 
Uruguay Round commitments. India wished to see similar market openings in developed country 
markets in sectors and modes of interest to de veloping countries.  India had repeatedly drawn 
attention to the unsatisfactory quality of offers  in general, particularly in modes 1 and 4. 
Unfortunately, the situation remained the same and there were no indications of any movement 
forward in mode 4, particularly by some Members.  Similarly, in cross border supply, significant gaps 
remained in the offers of many Members.  
172. India wished to make clear for its major trading partners that they should not hope for India to 
stand by even the current revised offer, let al one improvements signalled, if it did not get any 
indication of a positive response to its requests a nd concerns in respect of modes 1 and 4, and 
domestic regulation. 
173. Turning to domestic regulation, India believed that  the annotated text should be an element of 
the stocktaking report.  While much effort had gone into the preparation of the annotated text, India was nonetheless disappointed at not having been give n adequate time to examine and consult on it. 
India believed that Members were coming around to  the view that the overall political outcome was 
linked to disciplines in domestic regulation. This  was a positive development.  There was finally a 
growing recognition and acknowledgement of the f act that market access was a mirage without 
domestic regulation disciplines.  For India, the issu e of domestic regulation was not an abstract one.  
According to a study carried out by the World Bank, in the period 1995-2000, it cost Indian professionals US$614-768 million annually on account of  domestic regulatory barriers in one of its 
major developed-country markets. Effective market  access was negated very often due to a web of 
domestic regulations.  The asymmetry of regulator y development meant that developing countries 
with a regulatory vacuum offered their whole markets without impediment, whereas developed 
countries with sophisticated regulations offered im peded market access, notwithstanding their market 
access commitments.   
174. With respect to the level of ambition in domes tic regulation, India wanted stronger disciplines 
than those reflected in the Chair's text of March 2009.  India could not go belo w that level of ambition 
– it preferred no disciplines rather than weak ones.  Absence of consensus to achieve at least a level of 
ambition as reflected in the Chair's text of March 2009 would surely impact on India's offers of 
market access.  To achieve a balanced completion of  the round, an outcome in market access had to 
be complemented by an effective outcome on dom estic regulation, particularly with respect to 
qualification requirements and procedures.  There ne eded also to be meaningful S&D provisions to 
address the concerns of developing countries.  I ndia strongly opposed the idea of linking transition 
periods with the size of the economy. 
175. India wished to make a few preliminary comments  on the format of the annotated text.  There 
had previously been Chair's texts and bracketed te xts in the context of the WTO negotiations.  Now 
there was an annotated text.  The annotations were  a useful guide, possibly indicating which questions 
to ask, or possible directions for the debate.  But Members needed to realize that many of the 
innocuously-termed language proposals could in fact result in a dilution in the level of ambition of the 
Chair's text.  Lastly, the question before Members wa s this:  now that the annotated text was in hand, 
how long would it take to agree on the need for a br acketed text to replace the Chair's text of March 
2009 as the new negotiating document?  The annotated text was an exercise which might be considered necessary, but it represented a trajectory distinct from the negotiating one.  It was more  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 27 
 
 
  representative of a Secretariat function, not a nego tiating function of which only Members could take 
charge. 
176. On GATS rules, India was particularly satisfied with the progress made in respect of 
subsidies.  The work programme on information exch ange in subsidies, which had been adopted by 
the Working Party, constituted substantive progress.   However it was important that all Members 
participate in the work programme.  If develope d countries, which accounted for 80 per cent of the 
global services trade decided to stay away from the work programme, the exercise would be a non-starter. 
177. On LDC modalities, India strongly supported the current exercise involving extensive 
consultations.  During a previous meeting, ther e had been a detailed and elaborate discussion of 
several issues.  India supported all efforts that would give the LDCs their due.  Consultations, such as 
the one held during the previous week, would go a long way toward dispelling concerns about the 
lack of transparency bedevilling the LDC modalities negotiations.  
178. The delegation of Ecuador
 agreed with the report presented by Colombia as coordinator of the 
plurilateral group on tourism.  Importantly, the c oordinator had noted the lack of a positive response 
from the recipient Members in achieving greater liberalization of a sector that was extremely 
important for many developing Members.  Progress in the negotiations in this sector had to reflect a 
development dimension, an element that was of paramount importance.  If that were done, Members 
would be able to close existing gaps  in positions.  This point needed to  be reflected in the stocktaking 
report.  
179. On domestic regulation, the global financial cris is that has lasted since 2008 was caused, in 
Ecuador's view, by excessive financial deregulation at  the global level.  The negative effects of this 
deregulation still persisted, and this  was an important element that needed to be taken into account in 
Members' discussions.  In this sense, Ecuador would not support compromises in services that 
undermined Members' capacity for domestic regulati on within their public policy spaces.  It was only 
by preserving these competencies that Members in general, and developing Members in particular, 
could prevent future crises.  Finally, Ecuador wi shed to thank the Secret ariat for the voluminous 
annotated text received the previous day.  To en sure enough time for analysis in capital, Ecuador 
requested that in the future such docum ents be distributed earlier to Members. 
180. The delegation of the European Union  said that, in light of the statements made by the 
coordinators of the plurilateral groups, it would come as no surprise that it judged that Members had made no significant headway since the Signalling Confer ence of July 2008.  Bilateral talks since then 
had served only to clarify some of the signals.  Although these clarifications revealed some limited 
cases of backtracking, the EU assessment of the le vel of progress overall was much the same as it was 
20 months ago.  
181. In July 2008, the EU thought that the signals  contained some important signs of progress, 
including in key sectors of interest to the EU such as financial services and telecoms.  The EU 
appreciated, in particular, the efforts that some la rge developing country partners had made at that 
time.  However, it was regretted that their willi ngness to engage in market access negotiations had 
decreased after the Signalling Conference.  
182. The EU was not fully satisfied with what was on the table on services. While the EU thought 
that the progress made in services had provided a so und basis to agree to the modalities package of 
July 2008, the EU was clear that it still wanted to see improvements in services commitments at the 
stage of final offers.  In this regard, the EU str essed that its revised offers and signals were very 
ambitious and contained important el ements of interest for developing countries, including on mode 4.  
For the time being, the EU's assessment of the ove rall DDA package remained the same.  However, if TN/S/M/35 
Page 28  
 
  the current framework were to change, the EU w ould be ready to reassess the balance between the 
individual market access pillars. 
183. On LDC modalities, the EU remained strongly committed to working towards solutions to 
facilitate the integration of LDCs into global tr ade. The implementation of LDC modalities was an 
important element of the DDA services package.  There was a need however to carefully consider 
which was the best way to implement LDC modal ities. If Members wanted to create an effective 
mechanism, this needed to match the desired objec tives. The EU welcomed the draft text proposed by 
the LDCs, as it gave a concrete basis for the discu ssions.   As pointed out in previous discussions, a 
number of technical questions needed to be addr essed. The EU would continue its efforts to create 
solutions to match the interests and needs of LDCs.  Naturally, Members had to be clear that the EU 
would be seeking progress across the board in services,  in the spirit of the single undertaking, and 
would not be favourable to early implementation of specific items, as this would necessarily affect the 
capacity to conclude the wider DDA package. 
184. On domestic regulation, the EU welcomed the Chair report and annotated text as a useful 
platform to continue the negotiations.  Given th e distance between Members' positions, more work 
needed to be done. The EU encouraged the incoming Chair to look for new methods to allow for more 
focused negotiations, for instance, by holding cro ss-cutting discussions on issues. Members needed to 
avoid turning in circles. The Wo rking Party needed to be able to address as a minimum a number of 
outstanding technical and drafting issues.  In some  of these issues the discrepancies were important, 
and differences might have to be sorted out based on political choices to be taken in conjunction with 
the progress in market access, to which the domestic  regulation negotiations were closely linked.  
185. The negotiations on subsidies, safeguards and government procurement continued to lag 
behind the other elements of the services negotiati ons.  In the area of government procurement, 
however, the EU had made a concrete text pr oposal for an Annex to the GATS on Government 
Procurement, which had been the subject of useful  technical discussions at the WPGR, and that the 
EU expected would lead to concrete results. On the other hand, the overall lack of progress reflected 
the fact that timelines were different for GATS rule s. In all three areas, informal discussions had 
facilitated Members efforts to 'engage in more fo cused discussions', as mandated by the Hong Kong 
declaration. 
186. In conclusion, the EU regretted the slow progress of the DDA overall, and the missed 
opportunities this entailed.  It was clear that what  was on the table on market access on services would 
need to be improved at the stage of final offers.  
187. The delegation of Colombia
 recalled that, while the DDA negotiations were over eight years 
old, the services negotiations were now over 10 y ears old.  There had been no celebration to 
commemorate this event, perhaps because there had been no reason fo r such a celebration.  In those 
ten years much water had flowed under the bridge, but the objectives devised by the founders of the WTO had yet to be achieved. 
188. Article XIX provided that each successive r ound of services negotiations should be conducted 
with a view to achieving a progressively higher le vel of liberalization, through the reduction or 
elimination of the adverse effects on trade in servi ces of measures, as a means of providing effective 
market access. This process was to take place with a view to promoting the interests of all participants 
on a mutually advantageous basis, and to securing an overall balance of rights and obligations. GATS 
Article IV added that the increasing participati on of developing country Members in world trade 
should be facilitated through ne gotiated specific commitments, among others relating to the 
liberalization of market access in sectors and modes of supply of services of export interest to them. 
The guidelines or modalities for the negotiations of services agreed upon in 2001 reiterated these 
objectives.  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 29 
 
 
  189. The process to fulfill the mandate and objectives of the negotiation of trade in Services had 
been altered when the negotiation became part of the Doha Development Agenda, and its balance and 
procedure were changed.  From its inclusion in the DDA, the balance of the negotiation was measured 
vis-à-vis the outcome of the trade in goods negotia tions, with its two facets of agriculture and NAMA. 
There had been a change also in the procedures for the services negotiations, in principle organized 
under a request and offer approach, and subject to  the modalities (guidelines) agreed at the outset. 
These procedures had been altered by seeking an equivalency with the procedures and modalities for 
the agriculture and NAMA negotiations, in the 2008 Chair's report.  Such modifications had only 
brought uncertainty about the result of the servi ces negotiations, thereby altering the negotiating 
climate in the other areas of the DDA.  
190.  It was essential to overcome the uncertainty and to make progress in the services 
negotiations.  Colombia had just listened to the information of the outgoing chairpersons of the 
Working Parties on Domestic Regulation and GATS Rules, as well as of the representatives of the 
plurilateral market access requests.  The information did not indicate much progr ess.  There were still 
no market access offers commensurate with the GATS objectives and Member-agreed guidelines. 
Inadequate mode 4 offers, for wh ich Colombia had submitted both bila teral and plurilateral requests, 
were still without a satisfactory response,  which was disappointing for Colombia.  
191. With regard to domestic regulation, another of Colombia's substantial interests, and for which 
it had submitted proposals, the current discussion had not achieved an agreement in keeping with the 
criteria indicated in Article VI:4.  Colombia welcom ed the chairperson's annotated text. It would be 
an important input for the negotiation, but not the only one. Colombia hoped that the new chairperson 
would promote the interests of all, under the mandate  and parameters set by ministers, Members and 
the GATS itself. Colombia expected the new chai r to organize the discussions with a thematic 
approach, to facilitate the horizontal discussion of the draft text of the disciplines. Colombia emphasized that this area of the negotiations was im portant to ensure access to the markets of other 
Members.   
192. In the view of Colombia, there was still an ocean to cross in the negotiations.  For the 
stocktaking exercise, each Member need ed to reflect on the following questions: 
(a) What was the Member's domestic level of liberalization of trade in services? 
(b) What was the Member's domestic development policy based on trade in services? 
(c) What was the overlap among the level of lib eralization, the development policy based 
on trade in services, and the requests that it had received to improve its WTO services 
commitments? 
193. Each Member needed to recognize that, although it had its own national interest, it also had 
an important commitment toward the WTO.  Colombia  also thought that, in the future organization of 
work, the Chair needed to promote agreement by th e membership of an approach that granted more 
certainty to Members and their service suppliers about  the offers that trade partners were willing to 
make, either by resetting the sequencing, or by some other appropriate means. 
194. The delegation of the United States
 thought it was fair to say there had been no real progress 
in the services negotiations since July 2008.  Meetings  had been held, but positions had not changed.  
If anything, there had been some modest backtracking. 
195. Looking at the situation in 2008, coming out of the Signalling Conference, the United States 
considered that Members had achieved some progress  toward obtaining commitments that would bind 
some current practice, but that there was still a lot of ‘water' and little, if any, new market access.  TN/S/M/35 
Page 30  
 
  Here, it was useful to engage with India and ot hers in a comparison of numbers; India had started 
from a low base in the Uruguay Round (covering only 36 of 156 sectors), that meant that, even by 
adding new commitments in 50 sectors, the sectoral total rose only to 55 per cent.  By comparison, the US offer covered 71 per cent of possible sectors. 
196. In the view of the United States, there was broad dissatisfaction with the degree of progress in 
the Round.  This conclusion was supported by th e reports of the 21 plurilateral groups, which 
indicated little progress in closing the gap between requ ests and offers (or signals).  So in taking stock 
of the services negotiations, the obvious conclusion was that more work needed to be done to reach a 
successful conclusion.  The United States believe d that this work should address the following: 
(a) Members needed to close the gap between bindings and current practice.  Currently 
this gap was quite wide.  If Members could ensure that commitments more closely 
corresponded to actual policies, the value of  the GATS would be enhanced as a legal 
instrument. 
(b) Members needed to achieve new market access by removing actual limitations on 
trade.  This was the only way to produce real economic gains that would support the 
global economic recovery.  In order to  win the necessary political support, these 
negotiations had to produce tangible results.   
(c) Despite some Members' views that services were somehow more advanced than other 
areas, Members needed to accept the reality that achieving the objectives of the 
services negotiations would require a sustained effort, over time.  After such a long hiatus, it would take time to restart the machinery, re-engage with the various 
ministries responsible for services, and have a true negotiation.  This could not be 
accomplished in just a few months. 
197. In the US view, Members needed to get to work.  If Members were unable to proceed to 
revised offers, then another approach was needed  that would enable Members to re-engage in a 
meaningful way.  For example, perhaps Members could gain greater clarity as to the contours of a 
final package by focusing on specific elements of  the plurilateral requests.  There were undoubtedly 
many other ideas for moving the negotiations forw ard.  The United States remained committed to 
working with other Members to pursue these ideas in order to achieve a successful conclusion of the 
DDA. 
198. On domestic regulation, the United States be lieved that there had been worthwhile 
engagement and some degree of progress over the preceding several months.  New negotiating 
proposals had been put forward, and Members had been working constructively together.  The 
annotated draft produced by the Chair had been a helpful contribution to the negotiations.  Recent 
suggestions for a thematic approach to the issues seemed to be worth pursuing.  By contrast, there had 
been no movement in market access.  While the United States had ambitions for a good outcome in 
domestic regulation, its ability to engage fully towa rd that end would be constrained if the market 
access negotiations had not advanced.  This reinfo rced the US view that Members needed to find 
ways to move forward on market access as soon as possible.  
199. With respect to GATS rules, the United States ha d yet to see evidence that the development of 
new rules was necessary or feasible in any of the three areas.  Thus, the United States was not 
persuaded that there was a need for new rules, but  would remain engaged in the ongoing discussions.   
200. Concerning LDC modalities, there was now a draft waiver for all Members to consider, and 
this was a sign of progress.  The United States belie ved that agreeing to the final contours of the  TN/S/M/35 
 Page 31 
 
 
  waiver would take some time in order to capture the views of Members, and the United States would 
continue to support and participate in that effort. 
201. The delegation of South Africa  said that it would not repeat its position on GATS rules and 
the LDC waiver, which had been made clear in the preceding meeting.  On do mestic regulation, South 
Africa welcomed the Chair's annotated text, an d believed it could help guide the discussions.  
However, it cautioned very strongly that the annotated  text could not replace the previous Chair's.  
Doing so would likely lead Members down the same road as four years ago, and all the painstaking 
work that culminated in the previous Chairs text.   
202. On market access, South African shared the poi nt raised by the Philippines in terms of the 
source documents that should be used for the stockt aking report.  The reports that the Philippines had 
referred to were not objective – they reflected rather  the views of the co-sponsors of those plurilateral 
requests.  South Africa agreed with India that many of the co-sponsors had not themselves met the 
plurilateral requests.  In fact, there was at least one plurilateral request where a co-sponsor had taken 
no commitments whatsoever.  South Africa woul d not accept finger-pointing arising from such a 
report, particularly in a sector which South Africa kept open.  South Africa shared the view of the 
Philippines that the stocktaking report should be fact ual and objective, but believed that it should also 
take into account both views in terms of existing le vels of commitments.  Lastly, South Africa sensed 
that there was a prevailing sentiment, particularly  among co-sponsors, that if you were a co-sponsor 
then it was deemed that you had met the demands of th e request.  In fact, this was far from so.  It was 
something that had to be borne in mind in terms of the stocktaking exercise. 
203. The delegation of Egypt  believed that the stocktaking exercise should be an opportunity to 
come out with a plan that provided guidance for c ontinuing negotiations in the future.  Above all, 
future work had to be built upon progress achieved so  far, that is, that Members should refrain from 
revisiting agreed issues or jeopardizing stabilized issues. 
204. It was of paramount importance to Egypt that Me mbers bridge gaps in technically contentious 
issues. In doing so, it was important to respect the development component in each negotiating track.  
In this regard, Egypt wished to reiterate its co mmitment towards devising the necessary horizontal 
disciplines that would not hamper the market acces s conditions of service suppliers, but at the same 
time protect a Member's right to regulate.  Egypt welc omed in this regard the annotated text prepared 
by the chair of WPDR, and this would be studied thoroughly. Additionally, the debate on whether to 
adopt a thematic or cross-cutting approach need ed to be settled in order to move forward. 
205. Concerning the GATS rule-making negotiations , Egypt reaffirmed its support of the 
information exchange on subsidies, in order to reach a definition on subsidies that was based upon 
practical and updated information. Egypt also st ressed the importance of limiting commitments in 
government procurement to transparency issues only. 
206. During the Signalling Conference, Egypt had made signals on market access.  These signals 
were conditional however on reaching an agreement on modalities in agriculture and NAMA.  From a 
political perspective, all Members needed to show the will to attain a balanced outcome based upon a 
clear and shared understanding of the various trade in services issues. 
207. The delegation of Barbados , on behalf of the SVE  group,  wished to make four main points on 
the review of progress and input to the stocktaking: 
(a) Any substantive consideration of progress a nd desire for intensification of movement 
within the services market access negotiations could only be fairly assessed by 
reviewing the progress and degree of movement in the other market access areas of TN/S/M/35 
Page 32  
 
  the DDA. This was the political reality that framed the services negotiations and 
represented a starting point of an assessment. 
(b) Notwithstanding that Members still had some way to go to conclude the market 
access negotiations, at the multilateral level th ey had reached a considerable degree of 
agreement towards the elements for completion through a text-based outcome. A 
significant number of SVE delegations remained  of the view that the text as contained 
in the Chairman's Report (TN/S/34) continued to serve as an appropriate and adequate basis on which work in the servi ces negotiations should be guided.  The 
SVEs continued to attach particular im portance to their specific trade-related 
concerns being considered by Members. 
(c) It was important to SVE delegations that the services component in the stocktaking 
exercise include references to both the market access and GATS rule-making negotiations on equal terms.  In domes tic regulation, SVE delegations had 
appreciated the comprehensive consultation process that had taken place over the past year, and welcomed the production of an annotated text as a useful instrument of 
direct relevance to the stocktaking process, and which could further serve as a basis to 
continue future discussions.  In GATS Rules, while recognising the three areas of the mandate enjoyed different levels of e ngagement, it was nonetheless important that 
technical work be advanced taking into account the concerns and sensitivities of all 
Members.  In seeking credibly to fulfil the mandate for the rule-making negotiations, as set by Ministers in Hong Kong, SVEs could not await the full resumption of 
market access negotiations in order to full y engage in rule-making.  This principle 
was also relevant to considering the draf t waiver mechanism for LDCs. A steady and 
consistent pace of work was needed to  direct efforts in all those areas. 
(d) The stocktaking report needed to be constr uctive and fact-based, and seek to identify 
where gaps remained, in order that Memb ers could determine how best to move 
forward. Most importantly, within this exercise there had to be no attempts to 
undermine progress achieved thus far, where broad levels of agreement had been 
reached, particularly in relation to the Chair's Report of July 2008 or the WPDR Chair's text of March 2009. 
 
208. The Chairman
 thanked the Chairs of the Working Par ties for their reports, and delegations for 
their contributions.  He said that he would be reflect ing the views that he had heard in the meeting in 
his written report to the TNC.  His report would be concise and  factual, and for that reason could not 
capture the full detail of the views advanced at the meeting.  However, his report would aim to 
summarize faithfully the current situ ation in the services negotiations. 
209. The Chairman suggested that the Council take not e of the reports and statements made.  It 
was so agreed . 
B. OTHER BUSINESS  
210. A representative of the Secretariat informed Me mber of the availabilit y of a French-language 
version of the E-Training module in services. 
211. Since there was no other business, the Chair  adjourned the meeting. 
__________