RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/CSS/W/118/Add.1 
16 April 2010 
 (10-1946) 
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session  
 
 
 
ECONOMIC NEEDS TESTS 
 
Note by the Secretariat1 
 
Addendum  
  1. The Committee on Specific Commitments, at its meeting on 8 October 2009, requested the 
Secretariat to update its previous Note on econom ic needs tests (ENTs), which was contained in 
document S/CSS/W/118, dated 30 November 2001.  It was agreed that the update should examine 
only the schedules of those Members that acceded to the WTO after 30 November 2001.  This Note 
has been prepared in response to  the request as an addendum to document S/CSS/W/118.  A list of 
ENTs scheduled by the concerned Me mbers is attached to this Note. 
I. GENERAL REMARKS 
2. Out of the 11 Members that acceded to the WTO after 30 November 2001, four have 
inscribed a total of eight ENTs in their schedules.  Of these entries, seven are inscribed in the sectoral 
part of the schedule under mode 3 as market access limitations, and one is in  the horizontal section 
under mode 4.   
3. Only two of the new entries provide some indi cations as to the criteria on which the test is 
based.  One states that the test is  based on the ratio of total p opulation to the number of travel 
agencies;  the other indicates that the main criteri a of the ENT include the number of existing service 
suppliers in a particular geographic area, th e stability of market and geographic scale.   
4. The new entries bring the total number of ENTs inscribed in schedules to 261 (instead of 253 
in 2001) by 94 Members (90 in 2001).  Of the 261 entries, 50 are inscribed in the horizontal section 
(with 39 under Mode 4 and 10 under Mode 3), while  211 tests are sector-sp ecific with the vast 
majority (153) scheduled under mode 3. 
 
  
 
   
                                                     
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
  S/CSS/W/118/Add.1 
Page 2  
Schedule Mode Sector Economic Needs Test and criteria mentioned 
 
Cap Verde 3 TOURISM AND RELATED 
SERVICES  
A. Hotels and restaurants  Operation of hotels may optionally seek to take advantage of the investment incentives under the Tourism Utility 
Law; Restaurants that want to take advantage of tour ism incentives under the Tourism Utility Law are subject to 
an economic needs test (ENT) . 
 
China 3 BUSINESS SERVICES  
A. Professional Services (h) Medical and dental services 
(CPC 9312) 
 Foreign service suppliers are permitted to establish joint ve nture hospitals or clinics w ith Chinese partners with 
quantitative limitations in line with China's needs , with foreign majority ownership permitted.  
 
 3 CONSTRUCTION SERVICES  
(CPC 511, 512, 513, 514, 515, 
516, 517, 519) ( original footnotes 
omitted) Wholly foreign-owned enterprises can only undertake the following four types of construction projects: 
... 
3. ... Chinese-foreign jointly constructed projects with foreign investment less than 50 percent but technically 
difficult to be implemented by Chinese construction enterprises alone . 
4. Chinese invested construction projects which are difficult to be implemented by Chinese construction 
enterprises alone  can be jointly undertaken by Chinese and foreign construction enterprises with the approval of 
provincial government. 
 
 3 TRANSPORT SERVICES  
C. Air Transport Services 
(d) Aircraft repair and 
maintenance services (CPC 8868)  Licenses for the establishments of joint ve ntures are subject to economic needs test
. 
Saudi Arabia 3 TOURISM AND TRAVEL 
RELATED SERVICES  
B. Travel agencies and tour 
operators services 
  (CPC 7471) (excluding for 
Umra and Hajj) 
 None, except economic needs test  applied to travel agencies only, based on the ratio of total population to the 
number of travel agencies.  
   S/CSS/W/118/Add.1
 Page 3Schedule Mode Sector Economic Needs Test and criteria mentioned 
 
Viet Nam 4 Horizontal (b) Other personnel  
Managers, executives and specialists, as defined in (a) above, who cannot be substituted by Vietnamese  and who 
are employed outside Viet Nam's territory by a foreign en terprise which has established a commercial presence in 
the territory of Viet Nam with a view to participating in  the foreign enterprise's activities in Viet Nam, shall be 
granted entry and a stay permit in conformity with the te rm of the concerned employment contract or for an initial 
period of three years whichever is shorter, which may be extended subject to the employment contract between 
them and the commercial presence. 
 
 3 BUSINESS SERVICES  
A. Professional services 
(c) taxation services 
 The Ministry of Finance will decide on a case by case basis the number of service providers subject to the need  
and development scope of Viet Nam's market.  
 
 
 3 DISTRIBUTION SERVICES  
C. Retailing services 
(CPC 631 + 632, 61112, 6113, 6121) ( original footnote omitted)  
 The establishment of outlets for retail services (beyond the first one) shall be allowed on the basis of an Economic 
Needs Test  (ENT).  (Applications to establish more than on e outlet shall be subject to pre-established publicly 
available procedures, and approval shall be based on objec tive criteria.  The main crite ria of the ENT include the 
number of existing service supp liers in a particular geographic area, the stability of market and geographic scale.) 
 
   
 
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