RESTRICTED  
S/C/M/82 
24 April 2006  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
 (06-1918)  
  
Council for Trade in Services  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 11 APRIL 2006 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. On 11 April 2006, the Council for Trade in Services held a meeting chaired by 
Ambassador François ROUX (Belgium).  The agenda was contained in document WTO/AIR/2797.   
2. The Chairman
 proposed that the Council adopt the agenda as circulated. 
3. The Council so agreed . 
A. NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO ARTICLES III:3  AND V:7 OF THE GATS 
4. The Chairperson  drew the Council's attention to a notification received from Honduras 
(S/C/N/364) pursuant to Article III (Transparency).   
5. The Council took note  of this notification. 
6. The Chairperson  then drew Members' attention to two joint notifications pursuant to 
Article V:7 (Economic Integration):  document  S/C/N/363 from Korea and Singapore, and document 
S/C/N/365 from the United States and El Salvador. 
7. The representative of El Salvador  said that the Free Trade Agreement between the United 
States and El Salvador entered into force on 1 March 2006.  This Agreement included services 
commitments negotiated under Article V of the GATS.   United States and El Salvador hoped to be 
able to provide more details on this Agreement during the review which would to take place in the 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA). 
8. The representative of the United States  thanked the representative of El Salvador for 
introducing the Free Trade Agreement between their two countries.  The United States looked forward 
to fostering their enhanced trade relationship throug h implementation of the Agreement.  Some of the 
highlights of this Agreement included computer -related services, tourism, telecommunication 
services, financial services, audiovisual services, a dvertising services, construction, engineering, 
express delivery, professional services, distributio n, adult education and training services, and 
environmental services.  The Agreement also incl uded provisions on transparency relevant to 
services.  The United States also looked forward to further discussion in the CRTA. 
9. The representative of Korea  said that the Free Trade Agreement between Korea and 
Singapore was signed on 4 August 2005 and entered into  force on 2 March 2006.  It was notified to 
the CTS pursuant to Article V:7 of the GATS.  The text of the Agreement c ould be found in document 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. S/C/M/82 
Page 2 
 
 
  WT/REG210/1.  His delegation was ready to contribu te to the process of examination in accordance 
with the procedures agreed upon in the CRTA. 
10. The representative of Singapore  said that the Agreement between his country and Korea was 
comprehensive, covering goods and services.  The cove rage of services was exte nsive, in accordance 
with GATS Article V.  Singapore was glad to ha ve this significantly "GATS plus" Free Trade 
Agreement examined in accordance with the procedures agreed in the CRTA. 
11. The Chairperson  proposed that the Council take note  of these notifications, and that the 
Agreements notified be referred to the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements for examination.   
12. The Council so agreed.  
B. REOPENING OF THE FOURTH PROTOCOL FOR ACCEPTANCE BY THE PHILIPPINES  
13. The Chairperson  drew Members' attention to document S/C/W/268, containing a 
communication from the Philippines.  The Philipp ines was requesting the Council to reopen the 
Fourth Protocol to allow its government to depos it the instrument of accep tance which would give 
legal effect to the commitments by the Philippines a nnexed to the Protocol.  As usual in such cases, a 
draft decision, contained in document S/C/W/269, had been prepared by the Secretariat for adoption 
by the Council, according to the standard format followed in such situations.   
14. The representative of the Philippines  said that he was pleased to confirm that, as stated in the 
communication from his delegation circulated in document S/C/W/268, his government was in a 
position to accept the GATS Fourth Protocol on basi c telecommunications after having completed the 
domestic process required by the Constitution of the Ph ilippines.  His delegation wished, therefore, to 
request the CTS to reopen the Fourth Protocol for acceptance in order to allow his government to 
deposit its instrument of acceptance and, thus, gi ve legal effect to Philippines' commitments. 
15. The representative of the United States  welcomed the Philippines' adoption of the Fourth 
Protocol.  In the eight years since the conclusi on of the negotiations on basic telecommunications, 
technological developments and i nnovations had ushered in a new er a of telecommunications and a 
new round of trade negotiations.  The United States wi shed to encourage the Philippines to build upon 
the adoption of the Fourth Protocol and e ngage further in the current negotiations. 
16. The Council took note  of the statements made and agreed  to re-open the Fourth Protocol for 
acceptance until 10 May 2006.  
C. REQUEST FOR AD HOC OBSERVER STATUS BY THE UNIVERSAL POSTAL UNION (UPU) 
17. The Chairperson  drew attention to a request for ad hoc  observer status received from the 
Universal Postal Union (UPU), circulated as JO B(06)/72.  The UPU was an intergovernmental 
organization and a special agency of the United Nations System. Its mission was to secure the 
organization and improvement of postal services a nd promote development of postal services among 
190 member countries.  Regarding observer status in the WTO, the CTS was still awaiting guidance 
from the General Council concerning the granting of full observer status to universal and regional 
organizations.  However, pending a decision from the General Council on this matter, and in order to 
facilitate substantive cooperation on subjects of co mmon interest, the Council for Trade in Services 
had granted ad hoc  observer status to certain universal orga nizations, such as the International Civil 
Aviation Organization (ICAO), the World Tourism Organization (UN-WTO) and the World Health 
Organization (WHO).  Ad hoc  observer status implied that th ese organizations were invited to 
meetings of the Council when the agenda contained an item of interest to them and on which they  S/C/M/82 
 Page 3 
 
 
  might be in a position to provide useful information to Members.  He proposed that, following 
previous practice, the Council grant ad hoc  observer status to the Universal Postal Union. 
18. The Council so agreed . 
D. OTHER BUSINESS  
19. The representative of Ecuador  congratulated the Chairperson on his appointment.  She 
recalled that, at the last meeting, some Members ha d referred, under "Other Business", to Article XXI 
negotiations with the European Communities under S/SECRET/9.  She wondered whether there had 
been reactions from the EC on this subject. 
20. The Chairperson  said that the delegations concerned were  still consulting informally.  So far, 
there had been no formal request to put th is subject on the agenda of the Council.  
21. The representative of Ecuador  understood that the negotiations under S/SECRET/9 had 
concluded on the EC side, but her delegation was not aware that anything had been sent to the 
Secretariat to inform Members of the outcome of these negotiations. 
22. The Chairperson  confirmed that nothing had been received by the Secretariat. 
23. The representative of Ecuador  requested that this item be inscr ibed on the agenda of the next 
meeting because it was an important precedent under Article XXI.  For a developing country, it was 
important to know what kind of precedent was bei ng set in negotiations regarding withdrawal or 
modification of commitments. 
24. The Chairperson  took note of the request by Ecuador to inscribe this item on the agenda of the 
next Council meeting.  He suggested that the Counc il take note of the statements made and adjourn 
the meeting. 
25. The Council so agreed.  
__________