WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/36 
21 April 2011  
 
(11-2078) 
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session  
 
 
 
NEGOTIATIONS ON TRADE IN SERVICES 
 
Report by the Chairman, Ambassador Fernando de  Mateo, to the Trade Negotiations Committee  
 
 
1. The purpose of this report is to provide th e Trade Negotiations Committee with the current 
state of play in the services negotiations.  It covers the four major areas:  market access, domestic regulation, GATS rules, and the implementation of LDC modalities.  In each area, the report indicates 
what has been achieved, which major gaps remain to be filled and, overall, possible ways forward.  To 
ensure that my report is factual, fair and balanced , I have based it on the views of Members, including 
coordinators of plurilateral requ est/offer groups, expressed at the meeting of the Special Session held 
on 15 April 2011.  The views of coordinators of plurilateral request/offer groups are based on their 
written statements which will be fully reflected in the minutes of the meeting.  With respect to the 
negotiations on domestic regulati on and GATS rules, I have drawn heavily on, and append, the 
reports of the Chairs of the respective negotiating bodies.  I emphasize, however, that this report is 
made entirely under my own responsibility. 
2. While Members have intensified their engageme nt in the negotiations as of January 2011, 
gaps remain.  Limited progress has been achieved in  the market access negotiations since July 2008.  
On domestic regulation, recent intensification of negotiations has produced notable progress, even if 
disagreement persists on important a nd basic issues.  On GATS rules, while technical work continues, 
there does not seem to be any convergence regard ing the expected outcome in any of the three 
negotiating subjects (safeguards, government procur ement and subsidies). On the implementation of 
LDC modalities, while Members support a waiver  permitting preferential treatment to LDCs, 
disagreements continue, mainly rega rding the scope of the waiver, and rules of origin for services and 
service suppliers.   
3. An ambitious outcome in the services negotia tions would be consistent with the overall 
direction of policy and regulatory reforms alrea dy undertaken by WTO Members.  Bilateral and 
regional agreements on services very often reflect si gnificant liberalization and openness.  In the DDA 
negotiations, however, progress in the services negotiati ons is inextricably linked to progress in other 
areas, in particular market access negotiations in agriculture and NAMA.  
I. MARKET ACCESS 
A. S
TATE OF PLAY 
4. Members have continued, on the basis of Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, 
to pursue bilateral and plurilateral negotiations in ma rket access.  A significant  intensification of the 
negotiations has taken place since the beginning of the year, with three one-week clusters (weeks of 
14 February, 14 March and 11 April) focused on diff erent service sectors and modes.  Members agree 
that much more work is needed to conclude the market access negotiations, although their views 
differ on the current state of play. TN/S/36 
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  5. Some Members have expressed concern over the state of the market access negotiations, 
indicating that no progress has occurred since the 2010 stocktaking, and little or none since the July 2008 Signalling Conference.  They stated that the remaining gaps between offers or signals and 
bilateral and plurilateral requests or applied regimes were still substantial, and that they had difficulty 
in obtaining clarity from recipient Members about r eal difficulties faced in meeting requests.  They 
expressed the need for an ambitious outcome from th e services negotiations, which in their view were 
lagging behind others in the Doha Round.  Areas  in which further progress on market access was 
needed included, for some Members, the binding  of autonomous liberalization where possible, 
improved levels of access under mode 3 (including restrictions on foreign equity participation and 
forms of commercial presence), as well as a robust and satisfactory outcome in mode 4. 
6. The status of the market access negotiations was viewed in a different light by others.  For 
some Members, there was an imbalance in the market access negotiations, resulting from developing 
country flexibilities not being taken into account in  other Members' requests, and sectors of export 
interest not being fully reflected in their offers .  One Member noted that there was a substantial 
'acquis' in the services negotiations to which de veloping countries had already made a significant 
contribution.  For several Members, there were  plurilateral requests and recent proposals that 
embodied a level of ambition going beyond that agr eed in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial 
Declaration.  One Member, speaking on behalf of th e group of recently-acceded Members, stated that 
these Members had taken on extensive market acc ess commitments at the time of accession that 
needed to be taken fully into account.  Another Me mber, speaking on behalf of the group of small and 
vulnerable economies, stated that special SVE concer ns needed to be carefully considered in any 
market access discussions. 
B. S
ECTORAL AND MODAL ASSESSMENTS ON THE BASIS OF PLURILATERAL NEGOTIATIONS  
7. This section is based on written statements submit ted by the coordinators of the plurilateral 
request/offer groups at the Special Session of th e Council for Trade in Services on 15 April 2011 
These groups were established to  conduct plurilateral request/offer negotiations (in addition to 
bilaterals) pursuant to Annex C of the Hong Kong Mi nisterial Declaration.  The views expressed in 
these statements are those of the coordinators and do  not reflect the full range of views in each group, 
nor are they necessarily shared by all Members participating in the negotiations. 
1. Accounting Services 
8. Following two plurilateral meetings since N ovember 2010, the co-sponsors of the request 
reported that two of the 20 recipients intended to increase the existing foreign equity limitations in 
mode 3, and to make binding commitments in mode  1, in addition to new commitments on taxation 
services.  The remainder of recipients referred to the improvements in their Doha Round offers as the 
extent of their ability to meet the request.  Two reci pients generally met the majority of the request.  
Further, a number of recipients did not a ttend one or both of the plurilateral meetings. 
9. The eight co-sponsors generally met most of th e request and two had offered improvements.  
One, to remove remaining provi nce-based commercial presence limitations for auditing services, and 
the other to bind autonomous liberalisation in a ll services covered by the request, including binding 
modes 1 and 2. 
10. Coverage continued to be the major gap.  For example, six of the 20 recipients had not made 
any commitments or offers in any of the subsector s covered by the request, and seven recipients only 
had partial sectoral coverage.  For the co-sponsors, fu rther effort to meet the level of ambition of this 
request was required.  TN/S/36 
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  2. Air Transport Services 
11. The co-sponsors reported that some improvements of  existing offers had been indicated at the 
plurilateral meeting in Ma rch 2011, notably in the sub-sectors of  aircraft maintenance and repair, 
selling and marketing, and computer reservation se rvices.  Two Members signalled that they would 
make new mode 1 commitments in ai rcraft maintenance and repair.  
12. On ground handling services and airport operation services, some Members indicated that 
they would take commitments.  Two Members considered that legal clarity was needed on the status of ground handling services and airport operation se rvices in the Annex on Air Transport and that 
such clarity should be sought in the context of th e review of the Annex.  Some Members considered 
that these two sub-sectors were not covered by the Annex and, therefore, th ey would not consider 
offering any commitments.  In sum, gaps still remain ed between the request and the offers tabled and 
signals given.   
3. Architecture, Engineering, and Integrated Engineering Services 
13. Following a plurilateral meeting held in Ma rch 2011, the co-sponsors believed that no 
recipients fully met the request.  However, recipi ents had made varying degrees of progress in terms 
of enhanced commitments.  Recipients could be divi ded into three categories.  First, some had made 
considerable progress in improving their existing co mmitments, but a lack of robust commitments in 
mode 3 and on integrated engineering meant that  further commitments from this group was required 
to reach a satisfactory outcome. 
14. Second, some Members had made only minimal progress towards meeting the request.  While 
these recipients had made small improvements over their existing commitments, modes 1 and 2 
remained largely unbound and substantial mode 3 limitations persisted.  The current level of 
commitments in this group was weak and required substantial improvement.  Third, some Members 
had yet to make any commitments in the sector.  Signals from this group, when there were any, 
remained weak and vague, making it impossi ble to consider them as improvements. 
15. Overall, the co-sponsors felt that progress fell si gnificantly short of what would be required to 
conclude negotiations on this sector.  
4. Audiovisual Services 
16. At a plurilateral meeting in February 2011, the co-sponsors had stressed the importance of 
new signals in view of the lack of positive indi cations since the Signalling Conference in 2008, where 
there were no potential commitments expressed by recipients in any sub-sector.  Current 
commitments on audiovisual services did not reflect ma rket realities or autonomous liberalization, and 
the sector was also the one with the largest number of MFN exemptions.  
17. Only two out of the 29 recipients had expressed  some positive indications regarding potential 
commitments to be introduced in their next offers , and one recipient Member indicated its compliance 
with almost the totality of the request.  The re mainder of the recipient Members expressed their 
cultural and political sensitivities in this sector.  These Members were not in a position to schedule 
any additional commitment or to eliminate MFN exemptions, even though they recognized the 
openness of their markets.  Other Members with sch eduled commitments expressed their cautiousness 
to include new commitments.   
18. Co-sponsors wished to bridge the significant ga ps existing between the current legal regimes 
and the existing practice in Members' markets.  Identifying differences in the level of sensitivity 
within this sector would have to be considered by each recipient.    TN/S/36 
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  5. Computer-Related Services 
19. For the co-sponsors, plurilateral discussions in this sector, as indicated at the 2010 stocktaking 
exercise, had showed constructive engageme nt and yielded promising results.    
20. However, co-sponsors believed that gaps in cove rage remained.  For example, out of the 14 
recipients and all co-sponsors, three recipients with  large gaps in coverage had reflected none or only 
marginal elements of the request in their signals for the next offer.  Most of the recipients indicated 
their intent to take further commitments in term s of new sub-sectors and modes of supply.  The co-
sponsors believed that additional efforts were requ ired in order to bridge these gaps and make 
substantive commitments in this sector.   
6. Construction Services 
21. The co-sponsors indicated that no further positiv e indications had been made in bilateral 
meetings between co-sponsors and recipients sin ce the 2008 Signalling Conference.  Although some 
encouraging statements had been given during th e plurilateral meeting held in April 2011, no new 
significant improvement to current offers was signalle d.  Hence, the situation remained the same as 
had been reported during the 2010 stocktaking exercise.  
22. About three quarters of the recipients did not cover all sub-sectors and about one third had not 
offered nor had indicated satisfactory commitments in the two most important sub-sectors, namely general construction work for buildings (CPC 512) and general construction work for civil 
engineering (CPC 513).  About one half of the recipients had not indicated a willingness to eliminate existing restrictions in mode 3.  In addition, some  recipients had neither commitments nor offers in 
any construction service.  
23. The co-sponsors were also deemed  recipients and reportedly had all made efforts to meet the 
plurilateral request.  In addition, some co-sponsor s had also indicated their willingness to undertake 
further commitments. 
7. Distribution Services 
24. The co-sponsors recalled that in the lead-up to  the 2008 Signalling Conference, 12 of the 27 
recipients (including the eight co-sponsors) had indicated that they would consider further 
improvement to their offers in response to the re quest.  At subsequent plurilateral meetings, 11 
Members signalled improvements, including sev en Members who had not initially tabled 
improvements in offers.  Further, four Members indi cated that they were consulting on possibilities to 
improve their offers.  However, so me Members subsequently indicated that they might withdraw their 
offers or signals due to changed circumstances from 2008.  
25. A sizable gap remained between the requ est's ambition as well as autonomous market 
openings and the offers and signals of recipients.  On ly five recipients would, if offers and signals 
were bound, have commitments in all sub-sectors ac ross all modes of supply, with four additional 
Members having commitments in all sub-sectors but not across all modes of supply.  Five recipients neither had commitments nor made any offer or pr ovided signals in any sub-sector of distribution 
services.  Furthermore, no recipient had offered commitments for all sub-sectors included in the 
request.  Regarding the specific request for the re moval or easing of foreign equity caps, only 12 
recipients had indicated not to have any equity caps and only one recipient signalled easing of existing 
caps.  While welcoming progress, co-sponsors believed that it was important to at least bind current autonomous liberalisation.      TN/S/36 
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  8. Energy Services 
26. The co-sponsors considered that the overall respons e to the plurilateral request had thus far 
been disappointing.  Although some indications of  new commitments and important improvements in 
some areas covered by the request had been provide d, major gaps still existed.  Few Members other 
than co-sponsors currently came close to satisfying the entire request.  All modes of supply were 
important for this sector, but the co-sponsors were in particular seeking improvements with regard to 
the removal of restrictions on mode 3,  notably foreign equity limitations.  
27. In general, while the positive indications r eceived from recipients were appreciated, this 
limited progress still needed to be translated into fi rm commitments.  Much work therefore remained 
to be done in order to meet the request.  
9. Environmental Services 
28. The co-sponsors felt that the state of play had changed little since the submission of a 
progress report on environmental services during the st ocktaking of March 2010.  In addition to the 
indications of improvements made until then, mo stly at the 2008 Signalling Conference, some 
recipient Members and co-sponsors indicated further improvements in bilatera l negotiations and at a 
plurilateral meeting he ld in April 2011.  
29. While welcoming these signals, co-sponsors wi shed to see further flexibility to remove 
limitations, increase sectoral coverage, and simp lify scheduling language.  They also urged those 
recipients that had not yet offered any commitments  to reconsider committing environmental services.  
Co-sponsors recalled the negotiating mandate to li beralize environmental services under Article 
31(iii) of the Doha Declaration; commitments made  in the services negotiations would contribute to 
the fulfilment of that mandate.  
10. Financial Services 
30. At the 2010 stocktaking, the co-sponsors had identified limited a ffirmative responses 
concerning the removal or easing of significant restrictions on mode 3, including with respect to foreign equity participation, juridical form, and economic needs tests.  In addition, the offers 
submitted fell well below current levels  of liberalization.  The scope of coverage also continued to be 
problematic.  A sizeable gap remained between the level of openness signalled by targeted recipients 
and that of co-sponsors. 
31. At the plurilateral meeting held in April 2011, three Members confirmed their 2008 signals, 
two Members offered new flexibilities, and two Me mbers signalled that while liberalization was 
occurring in practice, they would not be able to bi nd this autonomous libera lization in their revised 
offers.  
32. To date, most recipients had signalled no flexibil ity to remove foreign equity caps, juridical 
form restrictions, quantitative/numer ical restrictions, or economic n eeds test requirements.  Only a 
few recipients had signalled some flexibility rega rding the cross-border supply of reinsurance and 
large-scale commercial risk insura nce services.  Co-sponsors believed th at offers from recipients were 
in need of substantial improvement to achieve the request's liberalization objectives.      
11. Legal Services  
33. The co-sponsors considered that the state of pl ay had changed little since the submission of a 
progress report in December 2007.  During the plurilat eral negotiations in the lead-up to that report, 
only two of the 16 recipients had indicated possible minor improvements.  At the Signalling TN/S/36 
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  Conference in July 2008, neither of these two Members had included legal services in their signalled 
improvements, and only one other Member had fo reshadowed unspecified improvements in legal 
services. 
34. Since the Signalling Conference, no further pos itive indications were made in bilateral 
meetings between co-sponsors and recipients.  At the plurilateral meeting he ld in March 2011, one 
Member indicated that it would make an offer meeti ng part of the request.  A co-sponsor also offered 
to bind its liberalization in the sector, th ereby moving to fully meet the request.  
35. Coverage continued to be the major gap.  For ex ample, four of the 16 recipients had not made 
any commitments or offers in the sector.  Further e ffort to meet the level of ambition of this request 
would be required.  A majority of co-sponsors me t all or most of the elements of the request. 
12. Logistics and Related Services 
36. The co-sponsors considered that about one half of  the 41 recipients of the request (including 
co-sponsors) had given positive signals in respect of certain logistics services at the Signalling Conference in 2008.  While there were relatively more positive signals on "other related services", 
few were given in "core freight logistics services"  and "management consulting and related services", 
and only a few positive indications were provided regarding rail and road freight transportation 
services.  Some signals lacked the necessary clarity, which impeded constructive dialogue between 
the co-sponsors and recipients.   
37. The situation remained unchanged from that pr evailing at the time of the 2010 stocktaking 
exercise.  Significant gaps persisted between r ecipients' offers or indications and the request. 
13. Maritime Transport Services 
38. The co-sponsors indicated that 13 of the 25 recipients had made positive indications at the 
Signalling Conference or during bilateral and plurilate ral meetings, but no recipient had fully met the 
plurilateral request.   
39. Some indications were vague, with wording like "s ubject to domestic law".  In addition, while 
international freight transport (less cabotage) under mode 1 was emphasized in the request, 16 
recipients had made no offers nor expressed positive  indications.  Moreover, eight recipients had 
neither commitments nor offers at all in maritime transport services, and four  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-s ponsors had indicated at the Signalling Conference or 
in bilateral and plurilateral mee tings their willingness to make further commitments.  Many of the 
recently-acceded Members also had undertaken comp rehensive commitments on maritime transport. 
40. Although some recipients and co-sponsors ha d taken positive steps towards meeting the 
plurilateral request, it was felt that significant gaps re mained and further efforts to meet the level of 
ambition of the request were needed.   
14. Postal and Courier Services, including Express Delivery 
41. The co-sponsors indicated that, at the time of th e 2010 stocktaking exercise, less than one half 
of the 20 recipients of the request had indicat ed a willingness to undertake improved commitments.  
The scope of these improvements was modest, addressing only one or a few areas of the request.  Five of the recipients had no commitments at all in this sector, and of these only two had indicated a 
willingness to make an offer.  Only one targeted  recipient had expressed willingness to bind current 
levels of market access or significantl y augment its existing commitments.   TN/S/36 
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  42. The four co-sponsors had all made offers based on the request.  In addition, two of the co-
sponsors had also indicated in their offers their willingness to adopt additional commitments if others 
did the same.  Thus far, none of the recipients ha d clearly indicated that they would offer additional 
commitments. 
43. At the plurilateral meeting held in Ma rch 2011, co-sponsors received confirmation of 
previous signals.  Five recipients were consid ering expanding or clarifying the scope of their 
commitments.  One recipient was willing to bind current levels of liberalization.  However, co-
sponsors were disappointed to see no movement si nce 2008 from others, and one recipient appeared 
to walk back from prior positive signals. 
44. In sum, the majority of recipients had not si gnalled any improvement.  In a number of cases, 
offers did not correspond to current levels of libera lization.  Consequently, both the level and quality 
of response to the request had yet to meet the co-s ponsors' expectations.  In their view, significantly 
more work needed to be done to achieve a meaningful outcome. 
15. Private Education Services 
45. Co-sponsors considered that the state of pl ay had changed only incrementally since the 
submission of a progress report in 2007 and the stocktaking of March 2010.  Since the stocktaking, 
one Member had indicated its intention to move fro m having neither commitments nor an offer in the 
sector to binding its current level of liberalization in all of the sub-sectors covered by the request.  
Two Members indicated or confirmed their willingness to further improve their offers by removing 
limitations in modes 1 or 2, three Members by rem oving or clarifying the scope  of mode 3 limitations, 
and two Members by expanding or clarifying thei r coverage of the sub-sector "other education 
services" (CPC 929).  On the other hand, three Members indicated that they would not go beyond 
their current offer.   
46. Coverage was still considered to be the major gap,  with six of the 21 recipients (excluding the 
co-sponsors, which all had offered or scheduled commitments) continuing to indicate no firm 
intention to take commitments in any education s ub-sector.  A further three Members had offered or 
indicated commitments in only one of the two requested sub-sectors. 
47. Overall, five Members were assessed as fully or substantially meeting the scope of the 
request.  A further 15 partially met the scope, wh ile six Members did not meet any aspect of the 
request.  Despite some progress, it was felt that signi ficant gaps remained and more work was needed 
before Members' schedules began to reflect current market realities.   
16. Services Related to Agriculture 
48. As a result of the plurilateral meeting held in April 2011, the co-sponsors reported that two 
Members had confirmed that they were consid ering undertaking commitments going beyond their 
current offers.   
49. In general, although with some exceptions, the expectations of the co-sponsors regarding the 
fulfilment of the request had not been met.  Fo r example, recipients had not committed fully and 
without limitations in the sub-sector of services rela ted to agriculture, hunting and forestry (CPC 881).  
Moreover, in general, no commitment had been offered on veterinary services nor on research and 
development services on natural sciences.  Also, several of the commitments offered included exclusions for certain products or regions.  Co-spons ors stressed that a positive response to the request 
would contribute to the implementation of Article IV of the GATS.   TN/S/36 
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  17. Telecommunication Services 
50. Co-sponsors believed that very little had been ac hieved since the 2010 stocktaking exercise in 
terms of positive signals towards meeting the plur ilateral request.  The Signalling Conference held in 
2008 had yielded little evidence that commercially m eaningful results would be reached in this 
service sector.   
51. Key aspects of the plurilateral request remained unmet by most of the 22 recipients.  For 
example, out of the ten recipients making signals  at the Signalling Conference, only two were positive 
about meeting the majority of the request;  six fe ll well short of the request;  and the remaining two 
made signals that were considered too vague to qualify as meeting much of the request.  The most 
prominent shortcomings were the lack of full sect oral coverage and the perpetuation of highly 
restrictive FDI levels, primarily in basic telecommunications.   
52. On the other hand, most of the co-sponsors had met the majority of the request and most of 
those that had not yet done so had signalled a willingness to improve their commitments.   
53. Despite its importance, the sector remained pl agued by weak commitments, and signals for 
improvement had been disappointing.  Many Member s had failed to reflect autonomous liberalization 
in their own offers.    
18. Tourism Services 
54. The co-sponsors felt that the discussions held si nce the submission of the request, including 
plurilateral meetings in 2007 a nd 2011, had not yielded a satisfactory response from recipients. 
55. Little had changed since the March 2010 stocktakin g.  Despite a perception that the level of 
current commitments in this sector was greater than for any other, recipients were still not offering the 
scope and liberalization sought by the request.  None of the recipients expressed its ability to 
completely meet the request, despite indications by so me that they too had offensive interests in this 
sector.  Much ground still needed to be covered in  order to reach a common understanding of the 
request and achieve significant impr ovements over existing offers.   
56. Regarding scope, some recipients excluded comp lete sub-sectors, especially travel agencies 
and tour operators services and tourist guides service s. Regarding levels of treatment, market access 
and national treatment restrictions c ould still be found in the offers of several recipients.  No recipient 
had offered additional commitments, even if this was an important component of the request.  This 
was probably the area that needed more work.   
19. Cross-Border Supply 
57. The co-sponsors felt that the plurilateral meeti ng held in March 2011 ha d showed constructive 
engagement and increasing recognition that libera lizing trade in cross-border supply was a win-win 
situation for both developing a nd developed countries.   
58. Since some services which previously had been  considered technologically infeasible were 
now traded commercially, participants agreed that it  should be possible to review and identify those 
services for improvements in offers.  It was also ag reed that in almost all sectors it was possible to 
provide consultancy and advisory services through m ode 1.  Participants did show interest in 
reviewing their commitments accordingly. Issues of  regulatory concern and consumer safety were 
expressed by certain Members, and some solutions were discussed.    TN/S/36 
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  59. Many of the co-sponsors and some of the recipients indicated that they were planning to 
improve their offers in the area.  However, on th e whole, the co-sponsors had not heard in concrete 
terms what improvements we re being planned, particularly from many of the key recipients that had 
major gaps vis-à-vis the plurilateral request.  The co -sponsors were concerned that the offers of many 
Members on mode 1 were still linked to commercial presence, nationality and residency requirements, 
along with geographical and regional carve-outs.  Ma ny of the sub-sectors were not covered and no 
new specific improvements had been indicated since the Signalling Conference.  Therefore, more work was needed in this area to furt her improve offers in specific terms. 
20. Mode 3  
60. The co-sponsors reported that only five of the 14 recipients had provided positive indications 
that, although sometimes vague, could be counted  towards meeting the objectives of the request.  
61. One Member indicated that it could raise its  limitation on foreign equity ownership and 
reduce other horizontal limitations.  Two Members were in a position to eliminate all horizontal 
economic needs tests.  One Member signalled that it could possibly align its offer with new legislation 
that was less restrictive than speci fied in its current offer.  Two Members signalled that unspecified 
improvements could be made in th eir horizontal mode 3 limitations. 
62. While welcoming these signals, the co-sponsors would have liked to see further progress 
towards removing horizontal mode 3 limitations as well as clarifying and simplifying scheduling 
language. 
21. Mode 4 
63. The co-sponsors had hosted two pl urilateral meetings in 2011.  Since many recipients had 
recently stressed the need for a robust outcome on m ode 4, the co-sponsors had expected some real 
movement forward.  However, despite constructiv e engagement, there were no concrete signals of 
improvements from many of the key recipients wh o still had major gaps vis-à-vis the plurilateral 
request.  In general, recipients ha d reiterated their existing positions.   
64. According to the co-sponsors, the sectoral covera ge of offers had remained insufficient.  
Many of the sub-sectors of interest to developi ng countries were still not covered and in many cases 
there were important geographical carve-outs from the sectors indicated horizontally.   The offers by many Members were still linked to commercia l presence and made subject to nationality and 
residency requirements.  Numerical ceilings and ec onomic needs tests remained a significant cause of 
concern.  
65. Another major issue for the co-sponsors was the st ability of commitments.  In some cases, the 
commitments had been linked to some domestic list, act or guidelines which diminished the 
predictability of commitments.  This was a majo r systemic concern, though one Member expressed 
willingness to address this issue.  
66. The co-sponsors' overall assessment was that mode  4 commitments and offers continued to be 
insufficient.  Much more work needed to be done to  bridge the gaps and reach a satisfactory outcome.  
The extent to which this request was met also constituted an indicator of the fulfilment of the 
development dimension of the Round.  A positive outco me in Mode 4 was very important to achieve a 
balance in market access negotiations in services.   TN/S/36 
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  22. Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) Exemptions 
67. The co-sponsors felt that recipien ts' response to their plurilatera l requests had been limited.  
These requests targeted a total of 165 specific MFN exemptions, and called for the removal, reduction 
or clarification of these exemptions by 38 recipients, including the co-sponsors. 
68. Taking into account the Signalling Conference of 2008, so far 6 recipients had provided very 
limited positive indications, translating into signa ls of improvements on a total of 11 targeted 
exemptions.   The situation had remained unchange d since the 2010 stocktaking exercise.  The Third 
MFN Exemption Review conducted by the Council for Trade in Services in November 2010 and March 2011 had similarly yielded no new indication of  removal or reduction of exemptions.   The 
situation reflected a significant gap between the re quests and recipients' offers and indications.   
C. P
ROPOSALS FOR THE WAY FORWARD  
69. Several Members have made proposals with resp ect to the way forward in the market access 
negotiations.  These proposals, or elements of them , were found useful by other Members.  A number 
of Members agreed with a proposal by Australia that would provide for a core group of Members 
(Signalling Conference participants plus others inte rested) to (i) bind current levels of market access 
in priority sectors; (ii) remove significant impediments to mode 3 trade (in particular limitations on 
foreign equity and forms of commercial presence); ( iii) enhance market access for mode 4; and (iv) 
achieve other objectives such as commitments to adhere  to the telecommunications reference paper.   
These elements would build on the objectives set out in  Annex C, and contain appropriate flexibilities, 
especially for developing countries.  The proposal also set out the means to provide greater clarity on progress toward these objectives, including:  frank  discussions on flexibilities, negotiations for 
determining the scope for exceptions, exchange of re sults of negotiations in illustrative written forms, 
and reporting to senior officials to assess progress in  services in parallel to that in agriculture and 
NAMA.  Some delegations criticized this proposal  as going beyond the level of ambition established 
in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration. 
70. A further proposal on the way forward was presente d by Mexico.   It would provide for a core 
group of Members (Signalling Conference participants  plus others interested) to undertake binding 
commitments of their applied levels of liberalizati on for the 119 subsectors covered by the plurilateral 
requests, except for an agreed number of sub-sectors.   A larger number of exceptions would be agreed 
for developing country Members.  Any Member wi shing to request a higher level of liberalization 
could do so provided the request was accompanied by a reciprocal concession of similar value within services, or across other market access areas.  Mexico  emphasized that a key benefit of this proposal 
would be the ability to negotiate trade-offs across all the market access areas of the Round. 
71. A proposal by Switzerland and Chinese Taipei re iterated the importance in the market access 
negotiations of reaffirming the basic negotia ting mandates; urged the 2008 Signalling Conference 
participants and others to improve their offers;  emphasized the negotiating gu ideline that there shall 
be no a priori exclusion of any service sector or mode  of supply; and recognized that special attention 
had to be given to sectors and modes of supply of export interest to developing country Members.   
The proposal also enabled Members to assess progr ess in the negotiations by encouraging them to 
(i) exchange possible wording to be included in draf t schedules; and (ii) report to the Special Session, 
which would provide the Membership with summa ries of the discussions and provide senior-level 
negotiators with necessary factual reports. 
72. A further proposal by Korea contained a road map for the completion of the services market 
access negotiations.  It suggested a timetable for further negotiating sessions, an allocation of 
negotiating topics for these meetings, and a stocktak ing and summary by the Special Session at the 
end of each session.  TN/S/36 
 Page 11 
 
 
  II. DOMESTIC REGULATION 
73. During the meeting of the Special Session held on 15 April, the Chairman of the Working 
Party on Domestic Regulation made a report aimed at registering progress, so far achieved, in the negotiation of disciplines on domestic regulation purs uant to GATS Article VI:4.  The Chairman's 
Progress Report, made entirely under his own respons ibility, to which the Chair's March 2009 text is 
attached, is contained in document S/WPDR/W/ 45.  I base my assessment largely on the Progress 
Report and the views expressed during the Special Session. 
74. Since the beginning of 2011, Members have b een engaged in intensive drafting sessions with 
the aim of producing a revised text by Easter this year.  Considerable efforts were made to reduce 
gaps, and where this was not yet possible, an atte mpt was made to isolate differences by introducing 
brackets into either the paragraphs of the Chair' s March 2009 text or in an alternative language 
proposal.  Language options were also reduced, wherev er possible.  However, by the end of the week 
of 4 April, it was evident that some distance still ne eded to be covered in order to produce a revised 
text.  More time was also needed, as not all the pr ovisions of the draft disciplines were given a final 
consideration during that week. 
75. The current situation, following the conclusi on of the drafting sessions, was characterised by 
the WPDR Chair as one where the various paragraphs of the draft disciplines could be said to be at 
different stages of progress.  There were paragra phs where agreement had been reached on an ad 
referendum basis;  paragraphs where there had be en no agreement but language proposals reduced to 
a single alternative with brackets, in addition to  the Chair's March 2009 text; and paragraphs where 
there was limited progress and multiple alternatives and language options remain.  In addition, the 
question of whether a normative standard in the form of a "necessity test" should  be included into the 
disciplines remained unresolved.  
76. In the discussion in the Special Session, Memb ers commended the hard work and engagement 
that went into the intensified phase of the dom estic regulation negotiations.  Members generally 
concurred with the Chairman's Progress Report that while there had been progress on some 
paragraphs, it had not been sufficient for a revised text to be issued.  Numerous Members called for 
continued work toward a revised bracketed text on domestic regulation disciplines by building on what had been achieved during the drafting sessions, and which, in their view, had been well and accurately reflected in the Chairman's Progress Re port.  Many Members were convinced of the 
importance of a satisfactory outcome on domestic regulation as a means of ensuring the effectiveness of scheduled commitments.  Several Members also observed that the progress on domestic regulation 
disciplines had to be balanced with advances on th e market access side of the services negotiations, 
and more broadly with progress in other areas of the DDA. 
77. Three Members expressed certain disagreement s with parts of the Chairman’s Progress 
Report.  One Member noted the second part of th e Report entitled "State of Play" did not, in its 
opinion, reflect all the viewpoints reflected during r ecent debates.  For example, in its view, under the 
single alternative category there were certain pa ragraphs for which there were other remaining 
language alternatives.  One other Member, while not objecting to the Chairman providing the progress 
report as he did in paragraphs 1 to 7, was deeply  disappointed that he chose to go further and 
incorporate in his report the working results of th e informal discussions, which that Member would 
not wish to have as a basis for future discussions.  Another Member was of the view that the "State of 
Play" part of the Report did not sufficiently reflect all positions and that the only way forward was to 
focus on the Chair's March 2009 text.  On a separate point, one other Member on behalf of a group of 
Members noted that as there had been insufficien t time during the drafting sessions to complete 
discussions on all provisions, it would have preferred having all language propo sals reflected for those 
areas and a more general report.  TN/S/36 
Page 12  
 
  78. On these points, let me recall that the WPDR Chairman had indicated, when introducing his 
Progress Report, that it would be presented and discussed at the next formal meeting of the Working Party.   It would seem to me that all of these poi nts, as well as any others, could be revisited then, as 
the Working Party considers its next steps.   
III. GATS RULES 
79. In preparation for the Special Session held on 15 April, the Chairperson of the Working Party 
on GATS Rules circulated a report (S/WPGR/21 – att ached to this report) summarizing the state of 
negotiations and recent work on emergency safegua rd measures (ESM), government procurement, 
and subsidies.   
80. While Members engaged in focused discussions  as mandated in Annex C of the Hong Kong 
Ministerial Declaration, the Chairperson's gene ral assessment was that the proponents had found it 
difficult to convince the Membership of the need for new disciplines in  any of the three areas.  Given 
the fundamental divergences over the objectives and expected outcome of these negotiations, 
discussions in the WPGR have not been ab le to move to a text-based process.  
81. In the discussion in the Special Session fo llowing the WPGR Chair's report, Members 
generally shared the Chair's assessment of the stat e of play in these negotiations and some of the 
proponents reiterated the importance of advancing discussions in the relevant areas.  On emergency 
safeguard measures, some Members indicated th eir willingness to continue the discussions on ESM-
related statistics.  On government procurement,  some Members looked forward to continuing the 
dedicated discussions on the economic importance of procurement in services as well as the examination of the proposal for an annex to the GATS.  On subsidies, some Members hoped to see 
continued discussions towards a better understanding of  any trade-distortive effects of subsidies and 
whether any multilateral disciplines to a ddress such effects were needed.   
82. I would also support the Chair's assessment of the negotiations and the suggested steps for 
future work mentioned in her report on each of the three areas.  
IV. IMPLEMENTATION OF LDC MODALITIES (LDC WAIVER) 
83. At the meeting of the Special Session on 15 April, the delegation of Norway reported on 
progress in the small group led by it on discussions  of a textual proposal by the LDC group for a 
waiver.  The discussions had been constructive, but for the moment not intensive.  Two main issues 
had arisen in the draft text.  Some Members stated that the types of preferences covered by the waiver, 
in order to be effective, needed to go beyond mark et access measures;  others stressed the importance 
of restricting the coverage of the waiver to market  access measures, or at least in having clarity as to 
what any additional covered measures might be.  Similarly, some Members emphasized the need for 
providing greater clarity on the rules of origin for services and service suppliers benefiting from the preferences.  A Member speaking on behalf of the LDC group emphasized the overall importance of a 
waiver mechanism for the implementation of LD C modalities, and expressed the need for a wide 
coverage of preferences granted.  Several Memb ers said that these differences over the remaining 
issues would be bridgeable under the right circumstances. 
  
_______________  TN/S/36 
 Page 13 
 
 
  ANNEX I 
 
RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/WPDR/W/45 
14 April 2011 
 (11-1931) 
Working Party on Domestic Regulation  
   
DISCIPLINES ON DOMESTIC REGULATION  PURSUANT TO GATS ARTICLE VI:4 
 
Chairman's Progress Report
 
  1. The purpose of this Report is to register the progress, so far achieved, in the negotiation of 
disciplines on domestic regulation pursuant to GATS Artic le VI:4.  It also serves as the Report of the 
Chairman of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation to the Council of Trade in Services in 
Special Session.  
2. Following the call by Members at the General Council meeting of December 2010 for 
renewed engagement across all areas of the Doha Development Agenda and in accordance with the 
wish expressed by Members for a Chair-driven "bot tom-up" process, the Working Party has been in 
an intensified drafting phase since the beginning of the year. 
3. A key point in the intensification of the pr ocess was the "sweeping exercise" of 10 and 
11 February 2011, in which Members undertook a pa ragraph by paragraph reading of the draft 
provisions contained in the Chair's March 2009 text
1 and related proposals, with the aim of identifying 
parts of the draft that were stabilized, and those on which further work is required.  Following the "sweeping exercise", which saw a reduction in the number of language options, three separate 
weeklong intensive drafting sessions were organised to further resolve differences regarding the 
content and levels of ambition of the various provisions.  The first session was held from 28 February to 4 March, the second session was held from 7 to 10 March and the third session from 4 to 
8 April 2011. 
4. In these sessions, Members discussed and explored  language options for all the disciplines 
envisaged in the Chair's March 2009 text.  Proposals have also been submitted to add new paragraphs 
to the Chair's March 2009 text.  These additional paragr aphs relate to: a definition of "authorization";  
insertion of a "necessity test" or related language; th e role of mutual recogn ition agreements; language 
examinations; and an additional provisio n under the chapter on development.  
5. Considerable efforts were made in the in tensive drafting sessions to identify areas where 
differences could be isolated by introducing brackets into either the paragra phs of the Chair's March 
2009 text or in an alternative language proposal.  It should be noted that all language proposals, 
                                                     
 
1 Second Revision, Draft Disciplines on Domestic Regulation Pursuant to GATS Article VI.4, Informal 
Note by the Chairman, Room Document, 20 March 2009. TN/S/36 
Page 14  
 
  submitted either in a written form or introduced or ally during the intensive phase of negotiations, are 
contained in the Chairman's Consultative Note.
2 
6. In the third and final drafting session of 4 to 8 April 2011, Members made a concerted effort 
to further reduce the language options contained in the Chairman's Consultative Note, with a view to 
agreeing on language that would capture any conve rgence achieved. In cases where the divergence 
could not be bridged, an attempt was made to c onsolidate the differences into a single alternative 
containing a select number of brackets. 
7. Overall, Members had constructive and engaged discussions but it was evident by the end of 
the week of 4 April that some dist ance still needed to be covered in order to produce a revised text.  
More time was also needed, as not all the provisi ons of the draft disciplines were given a final 
consideration during that week.  Those paragraphs th at were not revisited during the week of 4 April 
are those in the "introduction", the chapter on "tec hnical standards" and paragraphs 43 to 46, as well 
as the proposal for an additional paragraph in th e "development" chapter.   These chapters had, 
nevertheless, been discussed on previous occasions.  The Chapter XI on "instit utional provisions" has 
not been discussed as there have been no language proposals.  
8. In terms of the results from the intensifica tion of the process and without prejudice to the 
working assumption that nothing is agreed until ever ything is agreed, the draft disciplines can now be 
said to be at different stages of progress.  More sp ecifically, these stages can be characterised in terms 
of the following three broad categories: 
1. Agreement reached on an ad referendum  basis :  Captured in this category are those 
paragraphs on which agreement has been reached on an ad referendum  basis.  In 
these situations, the paragraph in the Ch air's March 2009 text has either been 
maintained or replaced by a corresponding paragraph.  In one instance there was ad 
referendum  agreement on including an additional paragraph.  In two other instances 
ad referendum  agreement was reached on deleting paragraphs from the Chair's March 
2009 text.  Included under this category are the following: 
Chapter I  – INTRODUCTION  
   Paragraph 3 
Chapter II  – DEFINITIONS   
   Paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 
  Chapter III – GENERAL PROVISIONS  
   Paragraph 10 
  Chapter IV – TRANSPARENCY  
    Paragraphs 13 and 14    Chapter V – LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
 
    Paragraph 16 
                                                      
2 RD/SERV/46/Rev.2.  This Note included language proposals up to 23 March 2011.   TN/S/36 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Chapter VII – QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS  
 Paragraph 29 
  Chapter VIII – QUALIFICATION PROCEDURES  
   An additional paragr aph on "mutual recognition"   
Chapter X – DEVELOPMENT  
Paragraph 46 
2. Single alternative : While this category reflects situ ations where agreement has not 
yet been reached, progress h as been achieved and alternative language proposals have 
been reduced to one single negotiating text  with remaining differences captured in 
brackets.  In some cases, language proposal s, which share the same basis but appear 
in the Chairman's Consultativ e Note as separate options, have been consolidated into 
a single alternative with brackets reflec ting the differences. Included under this 
category are proposals made under the following paragraphs.  
Chapter I  – INTRODUCTION  
   Paragraphs 1 and 4 
Chapter II  – DEFINITIONS  
Paragraph 9 
Chapter III – GENERAL PROVISIONS  
Paragraphs 11 and 12 
Chapter IV – TRANSPARENCY  
 Paragraph 15 
Chapter VI – LICENSING PROCEDURES  
 Paragraphs 18, 21, 22 and 26 Chapter VIII – QUALIFICATION PROCEDURES
 
 Paragraphs 34, 35, 36,37 and 39 Chapter X – DEVELOPMENT
 
 Paragraphs 44 and 45 TN/S/36 
Page 16  
 
  3. Multiple alternatives:
 This category reflects situations where progress has been 
limited, and multiple alternatives and langua ge options remain. Included in this 
category are proposals made under the following paragraphs: 
Chapter I  – INTRODUCTION  
Paragraph 2 
Chapter VI – LICENSING PROCEDURES  
Paragraphs 17, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25 
Chapter VII – QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS  
Paragraphs 27 and 28 
Chapter VIII – QUALIFICATION PROCEDURES  
Paragraphs 30, 31, 32, 33 and 38 
Chapter IX – TECHNICAL STANDARDS  
Paragraphs 40 and 41 
Chapter X – DEVELOPMENT  
Paragraphs 42 and 43 
9. All of the paragraphs agreed on an ad referendum  basis and the two other remaining 
categories of paragraphs have been included in th is progress report and represent the textual elements 
for a revised text.  The task ahead for the Working Party is to convert all the remaining paragraphs 
under category 3 into either category 2 or, better still, to category 1.  This would provide the basis for 
the formulation of a revised text with brackets.   
10. For category 2 paragraphs, the differences have b een consolidated into a single alternative, 
but there remains a significant number of brackets in some of the paragraphs, particularly in the 
chapters on licensing and qualification pr ocedures, and in general provisions.   
11. In terms of the paragraphs in category 3, there are many facets to the outstanding issues, 
which are both technical and policy-related in nature .  There are nevertheless some gateway issues 
that if resolved could help unblock the discussions.  For example, while not agreed to be included in 
the disciplines, the proposal on a definition of "autho rization" would have implications for the scope 
of the definitions and may thus determine the ap plication of the substantive provisions of the 
disciplines. Agreement on this issue could fac ilitate convergence throughout many parts of the 
disciplines.  It would also help tremendously if there could be some resolution to the fundamental 
difference on whether the disciplines in the licensing a nd qualification chapters should have similar or 
different levels of ambition.  Resolving this i ssue would facilitate agreement on the recurring problem 
of whether paragraphs under these chapters  should be merged or kept separate. 
12. It should be noted that the presentation of the paragraphs on licensing requirements and 
procedures, qualification requirements and procedures, in this report, is without prejudice to the final 
outcome on the structure of these chapters and whethe r certain paragraphs would be merged.  In some 
cases, through the discussions, Members arrived at a si ngle alternative with a merged paragraph.  In  TN/S/36 
 Page 17 
 
 
  other instances, there are multiple alternatives w ith language options based either on the separate 
paragraphs of the Chair's March 2009 text or on a proposal for a merged paragraph.  The important 
issue of the structure of these chapters would be bett er addressed in light of the final content of the 
respective paragraphs.   
13. With respect to technical standards, a key ques tion that remains to be resolved is whether 
voluntary standards fall within the scope of the di sciplines and if so, how can Members effectively 
discipline action by private actors outside the ov erall scope of the GATS.  For the development 
chapter, there are proposals for transition periods as  well as other development-oriented measures.  
These proposals have helped frame what is desired from this chapter, though the degree of flexibility 
needed is something that would usually be best a ddressed after it is clear what strength of obligation 
would be imposed by the disciplines.  While there are multiple alternatives to one paragraph of the 
introductory chapter, these are differences of a so mewhat different nature, since they relate to 
appropriate preambular language reflecting the conten t of the disciplines, rather than the operational 
provisions themselves.  
14. Apart from the differences reflected in these cate gories, one of the most difficult subjects in 
these negotiations has been the question of whether a normative standard in the form of a "necessity 
test" should be included into the disciplines.  On this subject, Members appear to have fundamental 
differences on the very principle of whether such  a normative standard is needed.  Dedicated 
consultations, including text-based discussions, have been held, and the language proposals for a 
"necessity test" have been included in the Chairman's  Consultative Note and in the textual elements 
contained in this progress report.  While the language has been reflected in the chapters in which they 
were proposed, such inclusion does not in any way indicate agreement on the principle and inclusion 
of this subject in the disciplines, rather these serve as a placeholder for the proposals. 
15. The state of play regarding the textual elements  for a revised text, which form part of this 
progress report have been compiled into their resp ective categories and follow below.  The Chair's 
March 2009 text has also been appended to this report.   
 
_______________ 
 
 
 
 
 
 TN/S/36 
Page 18  
 
  STATE OF PLAY 
   
CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Pursuant to Article VI:4 of the GATS, Memb ers have agreed to the following disciplines on 
domestic regulation. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
1. Having regard to the objectives in Article VI :4 of the GATS, Members have agreed to the 
following disciplines on domestic regulation.  TN/S/36 
 Page 19 
 
 
   
CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT  
 
2. The purpose of these disciplines is to facilitate  trade in services by ensuring that measures 
relating to licensing requirements and procedures,  qualification requirements and procedures, and 
technical standards are based on objective and transp arent criteria, such as competence and the ability 
to supply the service, and do not constitute di sguised restrictions on trade in services. 
 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES 
2. The purpose of these disciplines is to facilitate  trade in services by ensuring that measures 
relating to licensing requirements and procedures,  qualification requirements and procedures, and 
technical standards are based on objective and transp arent criteria, such as competence and the ability 
to supply the service, and do not constitute dis guised restrictions on trade in services, while 
guaranteeing the right of Members to regulate in  order to achieve public policy objectives. 
"Necessity test"-related proposals: 
2. The purpose of these disciplines is to facilitate  trade in services by ensuring that measures 
relating to licensing requirements and procedures,  qualification requirements and procedures, and 
technical standards are based on objective and transp arent criteria, such as competence and the ability 
to supply the service, and do not constitute unnecessary barriers to trade in services. 
2. The purpose of these disciplines is to facilitate  trade in services by en suring that measures 
relating to licensing requirements and procedures,  qualification requirements and procedures, and 
technical standards are, inter alia: 
 
(a) based on objective and transparent criteria , such as competence and the ability to 
supply the service; 
(b) not more burdensome than necessary to en sure the quality of the service;  and  
(c) in the case of licensing procedures, not in themselves a restriction on the supply of the 
service. TN/S/36 
Page 20  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
3. Members recognize the right to regulate, and to introduce new regulations, on the supply of 
services within their territories in order to meet  national policy objectives and, given asymmetries 
existing with respect to the degree of development of services regulations in different countries, the 
particular need of developing countries to exer cise this right.  These disciplines should not be 
construed to prescribe or impose particular regul atory approaches or any particular regulatory 
provisions in domestic regulation. 
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM BASIS 
Same as above.  TN/S/36 
 Page 21 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
4. Members recognize the difficulties which may be faced by individual developing country 
Members in implementing disciplines on domestic regula tion, particularly difficulties relating to level 
of development, size of the economy, and regulat ory and institutional capacity.  Members recognize 
the difficulties which may be faced by service supplie rs, particularly those of developing country 
Members, in complying with measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and procedures, a nd technical standards of other Members. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
4. Members recognize the difficulties which may be faced by individual developing country 
Members in implementing disciplines on domestic regula tion, particularly difficulties relating to level 
of development, [size of the economy,] and regulat ory and institutional capacity.  Members recognize 
the difficulties which may be faced by service supp liers, [particularly those of developing country 
Members,] in complying with measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and procedures, and technical  standards of other Members. In this context, 
Members take particular account of the specific difficulties which may be f aced by service suppliers 
from Least Developed Country Members. TN/S/36 
Page 22  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
II. DEFINITIONS 
5. "Licensing requirements" are substantive requi rements, other than qualification requirements, 
with which a natural or a juridical person is require d to comply in order to obtain, amend or renew 
authorization to supply a service. 
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM BASIS 
Same as above. 
 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 23 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
6. "Licensing procedures" are administrative or procedural rules that a natural or a juridical 
person, seeking authorization to supply a service, including the amendment or renewal of a licence, 
must adhere to in order to demonstrat e compliance with licensing requirements. 
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM BASIS 
Same as above. TN/S/36 
Page 24  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
7. "Qualification requirements" are substantive requirements relating to the competence of a 
natural person to supply a service, a nd which are required to be demons trated for the purpose of 
obtaining authorization to supply a service.  
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM  BASIS 
7. "Qualification requirements" are substantiv e requirements relating to the competence of a 
natural person in relation to the supply of a service,  and which are required to be demonstrated for the 
purpose of obtaining authorization to supply a service. 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 25 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
8. "Qualification procedures" are administrative or  procedural rules that a natural person must 
adhere to in order to demonstrate compliance w ith qualification requirements, for the purpose of 
obtaining authorization to supply a service. 
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM  BASIS 
Same as above. 
 TN/S/36 
Page 26  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
9. "Technical standards" are measures that lay down the characteristics of a service or the 
manner in which it is supplied.  Technical standa rds also include the procedures relating to the 
enforcement of such standards. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
9. "Technical standards" are measures [that pr escribe] the characteristics of a service or the 
manner in which it is supplied.  Technical standa rds also include the procedures relating to the 
enforcement of such standards. 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 27 
 
 
  PROPOSAL FOR A DEFINITI ON ON "AUTHORIZATION" 
One Member proposed to add the following definition of the word "authorization" to the Chapter on 
Definitions. 
 
"Authorization" is a measure permitting a natural or legal person to engage in  the supply of a service 
in the territory or a regional subdivision of a Member, and includes a license or a determination that such a person is qualified to supply a service.  "Authorization" does not include measures: 
 
(a)   governing the general conduct of a busin ess, including locations, times of operation and 
similar conditions; 
(b)   governing the safety or the impact on human, anim al or plant life or health of the service or of 
construction or engineering activities associated with the service;  or 
(c)   concerning government procurement. 
During consultations, it was proposed to split this  paragraph in two parts, one  part with a definition 
of "authorization" and another part that indicates measures that should not be included under the 
term and could be placed in either the c hapter on general provisions or paragraph 25.. 
 
For the purpose of these disciplines, "authorization" refe rs to the granting of pe rmission to a natural or 
legal person to supply a service in or into the te rritory or a regional subdivision of a Member, and 
includes a license or a determination that such a person is qualified to supply a service.    "Authorization" does not include measures:  
(a)   governing the general conduct of business,  including locations, times of operation and similar 
conditions; 
(b)   governing the safety or the impact on human, animal or plant life or health of the service or 
the physical structures associated with the service;  or 
(c)   concerning government procurement. TN/S/36 
Page 28  
 
   
CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
III. GENERAL PROVISIONS 
10. These disciplines apply to measures by Members relating to licensing requirements and 
procedures, qualification requireme nts and procedures, and technical  standards affecting trade in 
services where specific commitments are undertaken.  They do not apply to measures to the extent 
that they constitute limitations subject to  scheduling under Article XVI or XVII. 
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM BASIS 
Same as above.  TN/S/36 
 Page 29 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
11. Measures relating to licensing requirements a nd procedures, qualifi cation requirements and 
procedures, and technical standards shall be pr e-established, based on objective and transparent 
criteria and relevant to the supply of the services to which they apply. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
11. Measures relating to licensing requirements a nd procedures, qualifi cation requirements and 
procedures, and technical standards shall be: 
(a) based on objective[1] and transparent criteria[2] and 
(b) clearly related to the objectives of the measu re at issue and to the service being regulated. 
Applications for licensing and/or qualifications sha ll be examined under measures in force at the date 
of application. Where pending applications are to  be examined under amended or replaced measures, 
the Member shall promptly inform all applicants and provide reasonable time to such applicants to 
adapt their applications to such amended/new measures.  ________________ 
[
1 Members understand that objective criteria include cr iteria that may not be quantifiable, such as 
competence, ability to supply the service and e nvironmental, social and health effects.] 
[2 Members understand that in reaching decisions a competent authority may balance competing 
criteria. ] TN/S/36 
Page 30  
 
  "NECESSITY TEST"-RELATED PROPOSALS 
One Member proposed to add paragraph 11bis to the Chapter on General Provisions: 
[11bis. Members shall ensure that measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, 
technical standards and qualification requirement s and procedures are not prepared, adopted or 
applied with a view to or with the effect of cr eating unnecessary barriers to trade in services.  For this 
purpose, Members shall ensure that such measures are not more trade-restrictive than necessary to 
fulfil specific national policy objectives, incl uding to ensure the quality of a service.] 
Another Member proposed to add the following paragraph to the Chapter on General Provisions: 
[The content of the measures should be reasonable in light of ensuring the quality of the service, 
taking into account such elements as the views and needs of the service providers.] 
    
 
 
 
   
 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 31 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
12. Nothing in these disciplines prevents Member s from exercising the right to introduce or 
maintain regulations in order to ensure provision of  universal service, in a manner consistent with 
their obligations and commitments under the GATS. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
During consultations, a number of Members agreed that  the paragraph could be deleted. A number of 
other Members preferred to retain the paragraph for the time being. Some Members were willing to 
consider moving this paragraph to the introductory chapter. 
[12. Nothing in these disciplines prevents Memb ers from exercising the right to introduce or 
maintain regulations in order to ensure provision of  universal service, in a manner consistent with 
their obligations and commitments under the GATS.] TN/S/36 
Page 32  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
IV. TRANSPARENCY 
13.  Each Member sh all publish promptly, through printed or electronic means, measures of 
general application relating to licensing requireme nts and procedures, qualification requirements and 
procedures, and technical standards, as we ll as detailed information regarding thes e measures.  This 
information shall include, inter alia : 
(a) whether any authorization, including appli cation and/or renewal where applicable, is 
required for the supply of services;  
(b) the official titles, addresses and contact information of relevant competent authorities;  
(c) applicable licensing requirements and criteria, terms and conditions of licences, and 
licensing procedures and fees;  
(d) applicable qualification requirements, cr iteria and procedures for verification and 
assessment of qualifications including fe es; 
(e) applicable technical standards;  
(f) procedures relating to appeals or reviews of applications;  
(g) monitoring, compliance or enforcement pr ocedures including notification procedures 
for non -compliance;  
(h) where applicable, how public involvement in the licensin g process, such as hearings 
and opportunity for comment, is provided for;  
(i) exceptions, derogations or changes to measu res relating to licensing requirements and 
procedures, qualification requirements and pr ocedures, and technical standards; and  
(j) the normal timeframe for processing of an application.  
Where publication is not practicable, such informa tion shall be made otherwise publicly available.  
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM BASIS 
13. Each Member shall publish promptly, through printed or electronic means, all measures of 
general application relating to licensing requireme nts and procedures, qualification requirements and 
procedures, and technical standards.  This shall include the following information, where it exists, 
inter alia : 
(a) requirements for authorization, requirements for periodic renewal of such 
authorization, and generally applicable te rms and conditions of such authorization; 
(b) the official titles, addresses and contact inform ation of relevant competent authorities; 
(c) applicable licensing requirements and pro cedures (including requirements, criteria 
and procedures for appli cation and/or renewal, and applicable fees);   TN/S/36 
 Page 33 
 
 
  (d) applicable qualification requirements and pr ocedures (including requirements, criteria 
and procedures for appli cation and/or renewal, and applicable fees); 
(e) applicable technical standards;  
(f) applicable procedures relating to appeal s or reviews of decisions concerning 
applications for licenses and for the verification and assessment of qualifications; 
(g) applicable procedures for monitoring or en forcement of the terms and conditions of 
licenses and for the verification and assessment of qualifications;  
(h) where applicable, opportunity and associated procedures for  public involvement such 
as through hearings and opportunity for comment;  
(i) established timeframe for processing of an application. 
Where publication is not practicable, such information shall be made otherwise publicly available, and 
shall be provided to service suppliers upon request.  Nothing in this paragra ph shall be construed as 
requiring a Member to adopt or maintain any me asure not otherwise required by these disciplines. TN/S/36 
Page 34  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT  
14. Each Member shall maintain or establish appr opriate mechanisms for responding to enquiries 
from any service suppliers regarding any measures re lating to licensing requirements and procedures, 
qualification requirements and proce dures, and technical standards.  Such enquiries may be addressed 
through the enquiry and contact points established under Articles III and IV of the GATS or any other 
mechanisms as appropriate. 
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM BASIS 
Same as above.  TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
15. Each Member shall endeavour to ensure th at any measures of general application it proposes 
to adopt in relation to matters falling within the sco pe of these disciplines are published in advance.  
Each Member should endeavour to provide reasona ble opportunities for service suppliers to comment 
on such proposed measures.  Each Member should also endeavour to address collectively in writing 
substantive issues raised in comme nts received from service suppliers with respect to the proposed 
measures. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
15. Each Member shall endeavour to publish in advance any [measures] [r egulations] of general 
application it proposes to adopt in relation to matte rs falling within the scope of these disciplines.  
Each Member [should endeavour to] [shall to the ex tent practicable] provide reasonable opportunities 
for service suppliers [and other interested  parties] to comment on such proposed 
[measures][regulations] [prior to their entry into force].  [Each Member should also endeavour to 
address collectively in writing substantive issues rais ed in comments received from service suppliers 
[and other interested parties] with respec t to the proposed [measures][regulations].] 
 TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
V. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS 
16. Where residency requirements for licensing not subject to scheduling under Article XVII of 
the GATS exist, each Member shall consid er whether less trade restrictive mea ns could be employed 
to achieve the purposes for which these requirements were established.  
VII. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 
29. Residency requirements, other than those s ubject to scheduling under Article XVII of the 
GATS, shall not be a pre -requisite for assessing and verifying the competence of a service supplier of 
another Member.  
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM BASIS 
It was agreed on an ad referendum bas is to delete paragraphs 16 and 29. 
  TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
VI.  LICENSING PROCEDURES 
17. Each Member shall ensure that licensing pr ocedures, including application procedures and, 
where applicable, renewal procedures, are as simple  as possible and do not in themselves constitute a 
restriction on the supply of services.   
VIII. QUALIFICATION PROCEDURES 
31. Each Member shall ensure that qualification procedures are as simple as possible and do not 
in themselves constitute a restriction on the supply of services.  
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES 
Options for a merged paragraph:  Each Member shall ensure that licensing and qua lification procedures for the purpose of obtaining 
authorization to supply a service are [simple,] reas onable, clear and relevant [to the underlying policy 
objectives], [taking into account the nature of th e requirements to be met and the criteria to be 
assessed,] [and do not in themselves constitute a restri ction on the supply of services]. [Members shall 
ensure that such procedures do not in themselve s unduly impede fulfilment of requirements.] 
  Each Member shall ensure that licensing and qualification procedures are:  
(a) [simple] [as simple as possible][taking into  account the nature of the requirements to be 
met and the criteria to be assessed,] [as simple as  the nature of the requirements to be met and 
the criteria to be assessed permit] 
(b) [reasonable and clear] [reasonable, objective and transparent] (c) [based on objective and transparent criteria] [applied in an objective and impartial manner] 
and 
(d) [clearly] related to the objectives of the measu re at issue and to the service being regulated 
[and do not in themselves constitute a restriction on the supply of services.] 
"Necessity test"-related proposals: 
17. Each Member shall ensure that licensing pr ocedures, including application procedures and, 
where applicable, renewal procedures, are as simple  as possible and do not in themselves constitute a 
restriction on the supply of services.  Each Member  shall ensure that no procedures are imposed other 
than necessary to verify the compliance with th e licensing requirements by the applicant.  
31. Each Member shall ensure that qualification procedures are as simple as possible and do not 
in themselves constitute a restriction on the supply of services.  Each Member shall ensure that no 
procedures are imposed other than necessary to ve rify compliance with qualification requirements by 
the applicant. TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
18. Each Member shall ensure that the procedur es used by, and the decisions of, the competent 
authority in the licensing process are impartial with r espect to all applicants.  The competent authority 
should be operationally in dependent of and not accountable to an y supplier of the services for which 
the licence is required. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
18. Each Member shall ensure that the licensi ng and qualification procedures used by, and the 
related decisions of, any competent authority are im partial.  The competent authority should reach its 
decisions in an independent manner.[1]  
_______________________ 
[1 'Competent authorities' are, for purposes of these di sciplines, the authorities under Article I:3(a)(i) 
and (ii) charged with the establishment or enfo rcement of licensing requirements and procedures, 
qualification requirements and procedures and technical  standards with regard to a particular service 
within the territory of a WTO Member.] 
 
 
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19. An applicant shall, in principle, not be required to approach more than one competent 
authority in connection with an application for a licence.   
32. An applicant shall, in principle, not be required to approach more than one competent 
authority for qualification procedures. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES  
19. An applicant [shall, to the extent practicable ] [should] [should, in principle,] not be required 
to approach more than one competent authority in  connection with an application for a licence.   
32. An applicant [shall, to the extent practicab le] [should, in principle,] not be required to 
approach more than one competent authority for qualification procedures. 
Option for a merged paragraph: 
 
Each Member shall, to the extent practicable, avoi d requiring an applicant to approach more than one 
competent authority for each application required in order to obtain authorisation for the supply of a 
service. 
 
   TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
20. An applicant should be permitted to submit an application at any time, except where licenses 
are limited in numbers, including in public tenderi ng.  Where specific time periods for applications 
exist, an applicant shall be allowed a reasonable period for the submission of an application.  The 
competent authority shall initiate the processing of  an application without undue delay.  Where 
possible, applications should be accepted in electronic format under the same conditions of 
authenticity as paper submissions. 
33.  An applicant should be permitted to submit an application at any time.  The competent 
authority shall initiate the processing of an  application without undue delay.   
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES 
20. The competent authority [shall] [should] permit an applicant to submit an application at any 
time.  Where specific time periods for applications exist, an applicant shall be allowed a reasonable 
period for the submission of an application.  The competent authority shall initiate the processing of 
an application without undue delay. The competent au thority [shall, to the extent practicable][should] 
accept applications in electronic format under the equivalent conditions of authenticity as paper 
submissions. 
33. The competent authority [shall] [should] permit an applicant to submit an application at any 
time.  Where specific time periods for applications exist, an applicant shall be allowed a reasonable 
period for the submission of an application.  The competent authority shall initiate the processing of 
an application without undue delay. The competent au thority [shall, to the extent practicable][should] 
accept applications in electronic format under the equivalent conditions of authenticity as paper 
submissions. 
Option for a merged paragraph: 
The competent authority [shall] [should] permit an applicant to submit an application at any time.  
Where specific time periods for applications exist,  an applicant shall be allowed a reasonable period 
for the submission of an application.  The compet ent authority shall initiate the processing of an 
application without undue delay. To the extent  practicable, the competent authority shall accept 
applications in electronic format under the equivale nt conditions of authentic ity as paper submissions. 
 
  TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
21. The competent authority shall, within a reasonable period of time after receipt of an 
application which it considers incomplete, inform th e applicant, to the exte nt feasible identify the 
additional information required to complete the a pplication, and provide the opportunity to correct 
deficiencies.   
35. The competent authority shall, within a reasonable period of time after receipt of an 
application, which it considers incomplete, inform th e applicant, to the exte nt feasible, identify the 
additional information required to complete the a pplication, and provide the opportunity to correct 
deficiencies.  
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
Merged paragraph: 
Where the competent authority considers that an app lication is incomplete [and] [or] determines that it 
needs additional information [to reach a decision] [for  the application to be considered complete], it 
shall, within a reasonable period of time:  
 
(a) inform the applicant,  
(b) [to the extent practicable] identify the information required, and 
 (c) [to the extent practicable] provide the opportunity to correct deficiencies. 
  TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
22. Authenticated copies should be accepted, wher e possible, in place of original documents. 
36. Authenticated copies should be accepted, wher e possible, in place of original documents. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
 Merged paragraph: 
The competent authority shall, to the extent its domestic law permits, accept authenticated copies in 
place of original documents.   TN/S/36 
 Page 43 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
23. If an application for a licence is rejected by  the competent authority, the applicant shall be 
informed in writing and without undue delay.  In principle, the applicant shall, upon request, also be 
informed of the reasons for rejection of the applica tion and of the timeframe for an appeal against the 
decision.  An applicant should be permitted, within  reasonable time limits, to resubmit an application. 
37. If an application for verification and assessment  of qualification is rejected by the competent 
authority, the applicant shall be informed in wr iting and without undue delay.  In principle, the 
applicant shall, upon request, also be informed of the reasons for rejection of the application and of 
the timeframe for an appeal agains t the decision.  An applicant should be permitted, within reasonable 
time limits, to resubmit an application. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES 
23. If an application for a licence is rejected by the competent authority, the applicant [should] be 
informed in writing and without undue delay.  In principle, the applicant shall, upon request, also be informed of the reasons for rejection of the applica tion and of the timeframe for an appeal against the 
decision.  [Where applicable,] [subject to the availability of licences,] an applicant should be 
permitted, within reasonable time li mits, to resubmit an application. 
Option for a merged paragraph: 
 
If the competent authority rejects an application, it shall inform the applicant without undue delay, 
and to the extent practicable in writing.  It [sha ll] [should] inform the applicant, upon request, of the 
reasons for rejection of the application and where [applicable] [possible], any deficiencies that have 
been identified.  It [shall] [should] inform the a pplicant of the timeframe and of the procedures for 
[any available] appeal against the decision.  [It [shall] [should] permit an applicant to resubmit an 
application in accordance with the relevant aut hority's established procedures [, except where the 
relevant authority limits the number of licenses or qualification determinations].] [It shall permit an 
applicant to resubmit an application within reasonabl e time limits subject to fulfilment of prescribed 
requirements and procedures and availability and/or eligibility.]  TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
24. Each Member shall ensure that the pro cessing of an application for a license, including 
reaching a final decision, is completed within a reasonable timeframe from the submission of a 
complete application.  Each Member shall endea vour to establish the normal timeframe for processing 
of an application. 
38. Each Member shall ensure that the processing of an application, including verification and 
assessment of a qualification, is completed within a reasonable timeframe from the submission of a 
complete application.  Each Member shall endea vour to establish the normal timeframe for processing 
of an application. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES  
24. Each Member shall ensure that the pro cessing of an application for a license, including 
reaching a final decision, is completed within a reasonable timeframe from the submission of a complete application.  Each Member shall [e ndeavour to establish][indicate] the [generally 
applicable] timeframe for processing of an appli cation [or explain why such an estimation of a 
timeframe may not be possible]. 
38. Each Member shall ensure that the processing of an application, including verification and 
assessment of a qualification, is completed within a reasonable timeframe from the submission of a complete application.  Each Member shall [e ndeavour to establish][indicate] the [generally 
applicable] timeframe for processing of an application. 
Option for a merged paragraph: 
Each Member shall ensure that the processing of an application, including reaching a final decision, is 
completed within a reasonable timeframe from the submission of a complete application.  Each 
Member shall [provide an estimation of] [indicat e] [endeavour to establish] the timeframe for 
processing of an application [or, in case of licensing, explain why such an estimation of a timeframe may not be possible].   
  TN/S/36 
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  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
25. Each Member shall ensure that a licence, once granted, enters into effect without undue delay 
in accordance with the terms a nd conditions specified therein. 
30. Once qualification requirements and any app licable licensing requirements have been 
fulfilled, each Member shall ensure that a service supplier is allowed to supply the service without 
undue delay. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES  
25. Each Member shall ensure that a licence is  granted as soon as the conditions required for 
authorization have been met and, once granted, ente rs into effect without undue delay in accordance 
with [the] [its] terms and conditions specified therein. 
 
25. Each Member shall ensure that a licence, once granted, enters into effect without undue delay 
in accordance with the terms and conditions specifi ed therein. Among the reasons a service supplier 
may not be permitted to provide immediate or continu ous service is the need to comply with measures 
outside the scope of these disci plines. Such measures include inter alia  any requirement, not specified 
in a license itself,1 that relates to:  
(a)   the general conduct of a business, incl uding locations, times of operation and similar 
conditions; 
(b)   the safety or the impact on human, animal  or plant life or health of the service or of 
construction or engineering activities associated with the service;  or 
(c)   government procurement [subject to the out come of negotiations under GATS Article XIII]. 
_______________ 
1 Other than a general requirement of  adherence to applicable law. 
25. Each Member shall ensure that a licence, once granted, enters into effect without undue delay 
in accordance with the terms and c onditions specified therein. This is without prejudice to the need to 
attain permissions not directly related to the competence or abilities of the service provider or the 
quality of the service provided. Examples of such  permissions include: cons truction permits, permits 
related to the time and place of the supply of the service, and health and safety regulations. 
25. Each Member shall ensure that a licence, once granted, enters into effect without undue delay 
in accordance with the terms a nd conditions specified therein.1  
_______________ 
1This is without prejudice to the need  to comply with any other applicable laws and the need to obtain 
any ancillary approvals not directly related to the competence or abilities of the service provider or the 
quality of the service provided. 
30. Once qualification requirements and any applicab le licensing requirements have been fulfilled 
[and the competent authority grants permission to op erate], each Member shall ensure that a service 
supplier is allowed to supply the service without undue  delay in accordance with applicable terms and 
conditions. 
   TN/S/36 
Page 46  
 
   
Options for a merged paragraph: 
 
Each Member shall ensure that a licence, once granted, enters into effect without undue delay in 
accordance with its terms and conditions.  Each Memb er shall also ensure that, once qualification 
requirements and any applicable licensing requireme nts have been fulfilled, a service supplier is 
allowed to supply the service without undue delay.  Th is is without prejudice to the fulfilment of any 
requirements other than the applicable qualification and licensing requirements. 
 Each Member shall ensure that an authorization to supply a service [is granted] as soon as the 
[conditions required for authorization] [licensing or  qualification requirements] have been met and, 
once granted, enters into effect without undue delay in accordance with its terms and conditions.  
[This is without prejudice to the fulfilment of any requirements other than the applicable qualification 
and licensing requirements.]  
  TN/S/36 
 Page 47 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
26. Each Member shall ensure that licensing fees1 are reasonable in terms of the costs incurred by 
the competent authority, including those for activ ities related to regulation and supervision of the 
relevant service, and do not in themselv es restrict the supply of the service. 
_______________ 
1 Licensing fees do not include fees for the use of natural resources, payments for auction, tendering or 
other non-discriminatory means of awarding concessions, or mandated contributions to universal service 
provision. 
 
39. Each Member shall ensure that any fees relating to qualification procedures are 
commensurate with the costs incurred by the compet ent authorities and do not in themselves restrict 
the supply of the service. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE  
During consultations, an alternative for paragr aph 26 and an alternative for paragraph 39 was 
proposed: 
26.   Each Member shall ensure that fees related to licensing procedures1 charged by the competent 
authority are reasonable [and commensurate with the co st incurred]. Such fees may include the cost of 
activities related to regulation and s upervision of the relevant service,  but [may][do] not in themselves 
restrict the supply of the service. 
_______________ 
1 These fees do not include fees for the use of natural resources, payments for auction, 
[tendering or other non-discriminatory means of awar ding concessions,] or mandated contributions to 
universal service provision. Except in situations described in Article I: 3(a)(ii) of the GATS, such fees 
also do not include fees charged by private entities for assessments in support of applications such as 
fees for privately-administered examinati ons or privately-generated credit reports. 
 
39. Each Member shall ensure that fees related to qualification procedures1 charged by the 
competent authority are reasonable [and commensurate with the cost incurred]. Such fees may include 
the cost of activities related to regulation and superv ision of the relevant service, but [may][do] not in 
themselves restrict the supply of the service. 
_______________ 
1 Except in situations described in Article I:3(a )(ii) of the GATS, such fees do not include fees 
charged by private entities for asse ssments in support of applications such as fees for privately-
administered examinations or privately-generated credit reports. TN/S/36 
Page 48  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
VII.  QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 
27. Where a Member imposes qualification requi rements for the supply of a service, it shall 
ensure that adequate procedures exist for the veri fication and assessment of qualifications held by 
service suppliers of other Members.  In verify ing and assessing qualifications, where the competent 
authority finds it relevant, it shall give due consideration to releva nt professional experience of the 
applicant as a complement to educational qualifica tions.  Where the competent authority considers 
that membership in a relevant professional association in the territory of another Member is indicative 
of the level of competence or extent of experience  of the applicant, such membership shall also be 
given due consideration. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES  
27.  Where a Member imposes qualification requi rements for the supply of a service, it shall 
ensure that adequate procedures exist for the veri fication and assessment of qualifications held by 
service suppliers of other Members.  In verify ing and assessing qualifications, where the competent 
authority considers it relevant, it shall give due  consideration to professional experience[, as a 
complement to educational qualifications,] and to  membership in a professional association in the 
territory of another Member. 
27. Where a Member imposes licensing or qualifi cation requirements for the supply of a service, 
it shall ensure that adequate procedures exist for assessing an applicant's fulfilment of such 
requirements, including procedures for ve rification and assessment of qualifications. 
 
 
 
 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 49 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
28. Provided an applicant has presented all n ecessary supporting evidence of qualifications, the 
competent authority, in verifying and assessing qua lifications, shall identify any deficiency and 
inform the applicant of requirements to meet th e deficiency.  Such requirements may include, inter 
alia, course work, examinations, training, and work experience.  Where appropriate, each Member 
shall allow applicants to fulfil such requirement s in the home, host or any third jurisdiction. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES  
28. Provided an applic ant has presented all necessary supporting evidence of qualifications, the 
competent authority, in verifying and assessing qua lifications, shall identify any deficiency and 
inform the applicant of requirements to me et the deficiency.  Such requirements may  include, inter 
alia, course work, examinations, training, and work experience.  Where appropriate, each Member 
shall allow applicants to fulfil such requireme nts in the home, host or any third jurisdiction.  
28. Provided an applicant has presented all n ecessary supporting evidence of qualifications, the 
competent authority, in verifying and assessing qua lifications, [shall][may] identify any deficiency 
and inform the applicant of requirements to meet  the deficiency.  Such requirements may include, 
inter alia, course work, examinations, training, and work experience, each of which shall be based on 
criteria relevant for the supply of the service.  The possibility of fulfilling such requirements should not be restricted to host country institutions.  The possibility of meeting these requirements in the 
home country, including through electronic submissi ons, should also be provided for unless there are 
justifiable reasons to the contrary which should be  clearly stated.  Where appropriate, each Member 
shall also allow applicants to fulfil such  requirements in any third jurisdiction. 
 TN/S/36 
Page 50  
 
  PROPOSAL ON LANGUA GE EXAMINATIONS 
Proposal  to include a paragraph in between par agraph 29 and paragraph 30 of the Chair's March 
2009 text: 
[Members should not require passage of language examinations unless they are based on meeting 
legitimate public policy objectives su ch as the safety of the consumer, ensuring quality of the services 
or where working knowledge of the language is essential for practice.] 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 51 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
VIII.  QUALIFICATION PROCEDURES 
34. Where examinations are required, each Member  shall ensure that they are scheduled at 
reasonably frequent intervals.  Applicants for ex aminations shall be allowed a reasonable period to 
submit applications. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
34. Where examinations are required, each Member  shall [encourage] [to the extent practicable, 
ensure that] the relevant authority [to schedule]  [schedules] examinations at reasonably frequent 
intervals.  Applicants for examinations shall be  allowed a reasonable period to submit applications. 
Each Member [shall][should], [to the extent practi cable], having regard to the costs and administrative 
burden involved, [encourage the competent authorities to] use electronic means for conducting such 
examinations and [to] provide opportunities for c onducting such examinations from the home country 
of the applicant.   TN/S/36 
Page 52  
 
   AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM BASIS 
Members agreed on an ad referendum basis to in clude the following paragraph in the chapter on 
Qualification Procedures: 
Members note the role which mutual recognition agre ements can play in facilitating the process of 
verification of qualifications and/or in  establishing equivalency of education. 
 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 53 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
IX. TECHNICAL STANDARDS 
40. Members are encouraged to ensure maximum transparency of relevant processes relating to 
the development and application of  domestic and international sta ndards by non-governmental bodies. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES 
40. Members are encouraged to ensure transp arency of relevant processes relating to the 
development and application of domestic and international standa rds by non-governmental bodies. 
40. As a matter of good practice, Members invol ved in the development and application of 
measures relating to prudential sta ndards and standards developed a nd applied by non-governmental 
standardisation bodies, should ensure maximum tran sparency of relevant processes for the benefit of 
other Members. TN/S/36 
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  "NECESSITY TEST"-RELATED PROPOSAL 
A group of Members suggested adding under chapter IX a paragraph before Paragraph 40 : 
Each Member shall ensure that any measures rela ting to application, monitoring, compliance and 
enforcement of technical standards are not more bur densome than necessary to ensure that a service 
conforms with the relevant technical standards, ta king into account the risks that non-fulfilment would 
create.   
   TN/S/36 
 Page 55 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
41. Where technical standards are required and re levant international standards exist or their 
completion is imminent, Members should take them or the relevant parts of them into account in 
formulating their technical standards, except when such international standards or relevant parts 
would be an ineffective or inappropriate mean s for the fulfilment of national policy objectives. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES 
41. Where technical standards are require d and relevant inte rnational standards1 exist [or their 
completion is imminent ], Members [are encouraged to] [should] [s hall] take them or the relevant parts 
of them into account in formulating their tec hnical standards, except wh en such international 
standards or relevant parts would be an ineffec tive or inappropriate means for the fulfilment of 
national policy objectives. 
_________________ 
 
1International standards are standards developed by relevant international organizations whose 
membership is open to the relevant bodies of at least all Members of the WTO. 
 
41.  Each Member shall use, as a basis for its t echnical standards, relevant  international standards 
or international standards whose completion is im minent, except where such standards would be an 
ineffective or inappropriate means to fulfil its national policy objectives, for example because of 
fundamental climatic, geographical, technological or infrastructural factors. TN/S/36 
Page 56  
 
  "NECESSITY TEST"-RELATED PROPOSAL 
One Member proposed to add  the following paragraph to the Chapter on Technical Standards : 
No Member may prepare, adopt, maintain or apply an y technical standards with a view to or with the 
effect of creating an unnecessary obstacle to trade between the Members.  For this purpose, Members 
shall ensure that such measures are not more trade -restrictive than necessary to fulfil a national policy 
objective, taking account of the risks non-fulfilment would create.  Such national policy objectives are, inter alia: the protection of human health or safety, animal or plant life or health;  the protection of 
public morals and the maintenance of public order;   national security requirements; the access to 
essential services; the quality of the service;  professional competence; the integrity of the profession;  
or the prevention of deceptive and fraudulent prac tices.  Requirements should be based on objective 
and transparent criteria.   TN/S/36 
 Page 57 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
X. DEVELOPMENT 
42. A developing country Member  shall not be required to apply these disciplines for a period of 
[X] years from their date of entry in to force.  Before the end of th is transitional time period, upon 
request by a developing country Member, the Coun cil for Trade in Services may extend the time 
period to implement these disciplines, based on that  Member's level of development, size of the 
economy, and regulatory and institutional capacity. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES 
42. A developing country Member shall not be required to apply these disciplines as they pertain 
to qualification requirement, qualification pr ocedures, licensing requirements and licensing 
procedures as set forth in paragraphs [X through XX] for a period of 1 year from the date of entry into 
force of these disciplines.  All other provisions of these disciplines, including general provisions, and provisions relating to transparency, shall apply to a ll Members from their entry into force.  Before the 
end of this transitional time period, upon request by a developing country Member, the Council for 
Trade in Services may extend the time period to im plement these disciplines for up to two additional 
years.  Such request and grant of extension shall be made as follows: 
 
(a) A Member that maintains authorization practices not in compliance with paragraphs 
 [X through XX], and that wishes to make  use of these procedures (the "requesting 
 Member"), shall initiate consultations w ith the Council for Trade in Services in 
 respect of an extension for such authori zation practices, on the basis of documentation 
 to be submitted to the Council not later than  three months after entry into force of 
 these disciplines.  This documentation sha ll consist of (i) an identification by the 
 requesting Member of those authorizations  for which it is seeking an extension under 
 these procedures; (ii) a statement that th e extension is necessary in light of the 
 regulatory and institutional capacity of the requesting Member and the competent 
 authority; and (iii) a statement, for each  authorization for which it is seeking an 
 extension under these procedures, identifying the paragraphs of these disciplines with  which such authorization is not in compliance. 
 (b) Not later than six months after entry in to force of these disciplines, the requesting 
Member shall submit to the Council for Trade in Services a notification providing 
detailed information about the authoriza tion for which extension is being sought, 
including a detailed description of the manner in which that authorization is not in 
conformity with paragraphs [X through XX]. 
 (c) Following receipt of the notifications refe rred to in subparagraph (b), the Council for 
Trade in Services shall consider those notif ications, with an opportunity for Members 
to seek clarification of the notified informa tion and/or additional detail with a view to 
understanding the nature and operation of the notified authorizations.  Not later than 
one year from the date of entry into for ce of these disciplines, the Council for Trade 
in Services shall grant extensions for an additional two year period for those 
authorizations notified pursuant to the se procedures, where the Council concludes 
that the requesting Member has demonstrated a need for such extension in light of the 
regulatory and institutional capacity of the Member and the competent authority. 
 (d) One year following the grant of such extens ion, the requesting Member shall file with 
the Council an updating notification d escribing any changes in the extended TN/S/36 
Page 58  
 
  authorization, and steps being taken by the requesting Member to bring the 
authorization into full conformity with th ese disciplines.  Failure to file such an 
updating notification shall terminate the extension. 
 
42. (a)  A developing country Member shall not be  required to apply these disciplines for a period 
of [X] [5 to 7] years from their date of entry into force.   
 
[Graduating LDCs shall benefit from this transitiona l time period from the date that their graduation 
becomes effective.]  
 
(b)  A developing country Member may still face particular difficulties which impair its 
ability to implement these disciplines after the expiry of that period due to its special 
financial, trade and development needs, regulator y and institutional capacity or other factors, 
including in circumstances related to the intr oduction of any new, or any changes to existing 
laws or regulations.  
 
Before the end of the period referred to in paragraph (a), a developing country Member may 
notify the existence of those particular difficu lties to the Council for Trade in Services. In 
such cases, that developing country Member sh all be granted extensions of the period to 
implement these disciplines.  TN/S/36 
 Page 59 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
43. A Member may accord reduced administrativ e fees to service suppliers from developing 
country Members. 
MULTIPLE ALTERNATIVES 
43. A developed country Member  shall endeavour to accord re duced administrative fees to 
service suppliers from developing country Members. 
43. A Member may accord reduced administrativ e fees to service suppliers from developing 
country Members and in particular from LDCs. 
43. A Member may, to the extent feasible, accord  reduced administrative fees to service suppliers 
from developing country Members. 
43. A Member may accord reduced administrative fees to small and medium sized enterprises or 
natural persons, based on financial hardship. 
43. A Member may accord, to the extent feasible, reduced administrative fees to service suppliers 
from developing country Members and LDCs, in  accordance with Article II of the GATS. 
 
 
  TN/S/36 
Page 60  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
44. Where circumstances allow for the phased introduction of new licensing requirements and 
procedures, qualification requirements and proce dures, and technical standards, Members shall 
consider longer phase-in periods for such measures in service sectors and modes of supply of export 
interest to developing country Members. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
44. Where [regulatory constraints] [circumsta nces] allow for the phased introduction of new 
licensing requirements and procedures, qualificati on requirements and procedures, and technical 
standards, [and this is in the interest of th e developing country supplier,] [developed country] 
Members shall consider longer phase-in periods fo r such measures in service sectors and modes of 
supply of export interest to developing c ountry Members and in particular from LDCs.  TN/S/36 
 Page 61 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
45. Developed country Members, and to the ex tent possible other Members, shall provide 
technical assistance to developing country Memb ers and in particular least-developed country 
Members (LDCs), upon their request and on mutua lly agreed terms and conditions.  Technical 
assistance shall be aimed, inter alia  at: 
(j) developing and strengthening institutional and regulatory capacities to regulate the 
supply of services and to implement these disciplines; 
(k) assisting developing country and in partic ular LDC service suppliers to meet the 
relevant requirements and procedures in export markets; 
(l) facilitating the establishment of technical st andards and participa tion of developing 
country Members and in particular LDCs f acing resource constraints in the relevant 
international organizations; 
(m) assisting, through public or private bodies a nd relevant international organizations, 
service suppliers of developing country Me mbers in building their supply capacity 
and in complying with domestic regulation in their markets.  Such assistance may 
also be provided directly to the respective service suppliers. 
SINGLE ALTERNATIVE 
45. Developed country Members, and to the exte nt possible other Members, [may][shall] provide 
technical assistance to developing country Memb ers and in particular least-developed country 
Members (LDCs), upon their request and on mutua lly agreed terms and conditions.  Technical 
assistance shall be aimed, inter alia  at: 
(n) developing and strengthening institutional and regulatory capacities to regulate the 
supply of services and to implement these disciplines; 
(o) assisting developing country and in partic ular LDC service suppliers to meet the 
relevant requirements and procedures in export markets; 
(p) facilitating the establishment of technical st andards and participa tion of developing 
country Members and in particular LDCs f acing resource constraints in the relevant 
international organizations; 
(q) assisting, through public or private bodies a nd relevant international organizations, 
service suppliers of developing country Me mbers in building their supply capacity 
and in complying with domestic regulation in their markets.  Such assistance may 
also be provided directly to the respective service suppliers. 
 TN/S/36 
Page 62  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
46. LDCs shall not be required to apply these disciplines.  LDCs are nonetheless encouraged to 
apply these disciplines, to the extent compatible with their special economic situation and their 
development, trade and financial needs. 
AGREEMENT REACHED ON AN AD REFERENDUM  BASIS 
Same as above.  TN/S/36 
 Page 63 
 
 
   PROPOSAL FOR AN AD DITIONAL PARAGRAPH 
During consultations, two Members suggested incl uding the following language in the Chapter on 
Development: 
Nothing in these disciplines shall oblige a Member to take action or refrain from taking action, in a 
manner inconsistent w ith its Constitution. 
   TN/S/36 
Page 64  
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT 
XI.  INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS 
47. The Council for Trade in Services shall est ablish a Committee on Domestic Regulation to 
oversee the implementation of these disciplines and the operation of Article VI of the GATS including any further work under Article VI:4 of the GATS. 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 65 
 
 
  CHAIR'S MARCH 2009 TEXT  
48. The Council for Trade in Services shall, upon request from any Member, review the operation 
of these disciplines and make recommendations as appropriate. 
 
_______________ 
 
 TN/S/36 
Page 66  
 
  Attachment
: 
R o o m  D o c u m e n t         20 March 2009 
 
Working Party on Domestic Regulation 
 
 
- DRAFT - 
 
 
DISCIPLINES ON DOMESTIC REGULATION  PURSUANT TO GATS ARTICLE VI:4 
 
 Second Revision   
 
Informal Note by the Chairman  
   Please find attached a second revised draft of possible regulatory disciplines pursuant to 
Article VI:4 of the GATS. 
 
 This draft has been prepared, under my responsibility, with a view to registering progress in discussions that have taken place in the Working Party since February 2008.  It is intended to provide 
a point of departure for the work of the WPDR under its incoming Chairperson.   This revision only reflects drafting suggestions  on a few issues which I feel have enjoyed 
wide support by delegations during our discussions.  It does not address other issues on which 
differences persist.  Although, in several instances,  work on these has advanced significantly, I have 
refrained from suggesting any compromise langua ge, as I do not wish to influence future 
consideration of these issues under the guidance of  my successor.  The absence of any drafting 
changes regarding those issues should not be c onstrued to solidify the language as it stands. 
 
 Therefore, the content of my Note on outstanding issues (Room Document of 12 March 2008), as well as the 20 or so issues raised by delegations (Room Document of 25 June 2008), will 
require further negotiation and de bate in the Working Party. 
  
_______________ 
 
 
 
 
 
  TN/S/36 
 Page 67 
 
 
  - DRAFT  - 
 
DISCIPLINES ON DOMESTIC REGULATION 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Pursuant to Article VI:4 of the GATS, Member s have agreed to the following disciplines on 
domestic regulation. 
2. The purpose of these disciplines is to facilitate trade in services by ensuring that measures 
relating to licensing requirements and procedures,  qualification requirements and procedures, and 
technical standards are based on objective and transp arent criteria, such as competence and the ability 
to supply the service, and do not constitute di sguised restrictions on trade in services. 
3. Members recognize the right to regulate, and to  introduce new regulations, on the supply of 
services within their territories in order to meet  national policy objectives and, given asymmetries 
existing with respect to the degree of development of services regulations in different countries, the 
particular need of developing countries to exer cise this right.  These disciplines should not be 
construed to prescribe or impose particular regul atory approaches or any particular regulatory 
provisions in domestic regulation. 
4. Members recognize the difficulties which may be faced by individual developing country 
Members in implementing disciplines on domestic regula tion, particularly difficulties relating to level 
of development, size of the economy, and regulat ory and institutional capacity.  Members recognize 
the difficulties which may be faced by service supplie rs, particularly those of developing country 
Members, in complying with measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and procedures, a nd technical standards of other Members. 
II. DEFINITIONS 
5. "Licensing requirements" are substantive require ments, other than qualification requirements, 
with which a natural or a juridical person is require d to comply in order to obtain, amend or renew 
authorization to supply a service. 
6. "Licensing procedures" are administrative or procedural rules that a natural or a juridical 
person, seeking authorization to supply a service, including the amendment or renewal of a licence, 
must adhere to in order to demonstrat e compliance with licensing requirements. 
7. "Qualification requirements" are substantive requirements relating to the competence of a 
natural person to supply a service, and which are re quired to be demonstrated for the purpose of 
obtaining authorization to supply a service. 
8. "Qualification procedures" are administrative or procedural rules that a natural person must 
adhere to in order to demonstrate compliance w ith qualification requirements, for the purpose of 
obtaining authorization to supply a service. 
9. "Technical standards" are measures that lay do wn the characteristics of a service or the 
manner in which it is supplied.  Technical standa rds also include the procedures relating to the 
enforcement of such standards. TN/S/36 
Page 68  
 
  III. GENERAL PROVISIONS 
10. These disciplines apply to measures by Members relating to licensing requirements and 
procedures, qualification requireme nts and procedures, and technical  standards affecting trade in 
services where specific commitments are undertaken.  They do not apply to measures to the extent 
that they constitute limitations subject to  scheduling under Article XVI or XVII. 
11. Measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and 
procedures, and technical standards shall be pr e-established, based on objective and transparent 
criteria and relevant to the supply of the services to which they apply. 
12. Nothing in these disciplines prevents Members from exercising the right to introduce or 
maintain regulations in order to ensure provision of  universal service, in a manner consistent with 
their obligations and commitments under the GATS. 
IV. TRANSPARENCY 
13. Each Member shall publish promptly, through printed or electronic means, measures of 
general application relating to licensing requireme nts and procedures, qualification requirements and 
procedures, and technical standards, as well as deta iled information regarding these measures.  This 
information shall include, inter alia : 
(a) whether any authorization, including appli cation and/or renewal where applicable, is 
required for the supply of services; 
(b) the official titles, addresses and contact inform ation of relevant competent authorities; 
(c) applicable licensing requirements and criteria, terms and conditions of licences, and 
licensing procedures and fees;  
(d) applicable qualification requirements, cr iteria and procedures for verification and 
assessment of qualifications including fees; 
(e) applicable technical standards;  
(f) procedures relating to appeals or reviews of applications; 
(g) monitoring, compliance or enforcement pr ocedures including notification procedures 
for non-compliance;  
(h) where applicable, how public involvement in the licensing process, such as hearings 
and opportunity for comment, is provided for;  
(i) exceptions, derogations or changes to measu res relating to licensing requirements and 
procedures, qualification requirements and pr ocedures, and technical standards; and 
(j) the normal timeframe for processing of an application. 
Where publication is not practicable, such informa tion shall be made otherwise publicly available. 
14. Each Member shall maintain or establish approp riate mechanisms for responding to enquiries 
from any service suppliers regarding any measures re lating to licensing requirements and procedures, 
qualification requirements and proce dures, and technical standards.  Such enquiries may be addressed  TN/S/36 
 Page 69 
 
 
  through the enquiry and contact points established under Articles III and IV of the GATS or any other 
mechanisms as appropriate. 
15. Each Member shall endeavour to ensure that  any measures of general application it proposes 
to adopt in relation to matters falling within the sco pe of these disciplines are published in advance.  
Each Member should endeavour to provide reasona ble opportunities for service suppliers to comment 
on such proposed measures.  Each Member should also endeavour to address collectively in writing 
substantive issues raised in comme nts received from service suppliers with respect to the proposed 
measures. 
V. LICENSING REQUIREMENTS 
16. Where residency requirements for licensing not subject to scheduling under Article XVII of 
the GATS exist, each Member shall consider whethe r less trade restrictive means could be employed 
to achieve the purposes for which these requirements were established. 
VI. LICENSING PROCEDURES 
17. Each Member shall ensure that licensing procedures, including application procedures and, 
where applicable, renewal procedures, are as simple  as possible and do not in themselves constitute a 
restriction on the supply of services.   
18. Each Member shall ensure that the procedures used by, and the decisions of, the competent 
authority in the licensing process are impartial with r espect to all applicants.  The competent authority 
should be operationally in dependent of and not accountable to an y supplier of the services for which 
the licence is required. 
19. An applicant shall, in principle, not be re quired to approach more than one competent 
authority in connection with an application for a licence.   
20. An applicant should be permitted to submit an a pplication at any time, except where licenses 
are limited in numbers, including in public tenderi ng.  Where specific time periods for applications 
exist, an applicant shall be allowed a reasonable period for the submission of an application.  The 
competent authority shall initiate the processing of  an application without undue delay.  Where 
possible, applications should be accepted in electronic format under the same conditions of 
authenticity as paper submissions. 
21. The competent authority shall, within a reasonable period of time after receipt of an 
application which it considers incomplete, inform th e applicant, to the exte nt feasible identify the 
additional information required to complete the a pplication, and provide the opportunity to correct 
deficiencies.   
22. Authenticated copies should be accepted, where possible, in place of original documents. 
23. If an application for a licence is rejected by the competent authority, the applicant shall be 
informed in writing and without undue delay.  In principle, the applicant shall, upon request, also be informed of the reasons for rejection of the applica tion and of the timeframe for an appeal against the 
decision.  An applicant should be permitted, within  reasonable time limits, to resubmit an application. 
24. Each Member shall ensure that the processi ng of an application for a license, including 
reaching a final decision, is completed within a reasonable timeframe from the submission of a complete application.  Each Member shall endea vour to establish the normal timeframe for processing 
of an application. TN/S/36 
Page 70  
 
  25. Each Member shall ensure that a licence, once gr anted, enters into effect without undue delay 
in accordance with the terms a nd conditions specified therein. 
26. Each Member shall ensure that licensing fees
3 are reasonable in terms of the costs incurred by 
the competent authority, including those for activ ities related to regulation and supervision of the 
relevant service, and do not in themselv es restrict the supply of the service. 
VII. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 
27. Where a Member imposes qualification require ments for the supply of a service, it shall 
ensure that adequate procedures exist for the veri fication and assessment of qualifications held by 
service suppliers of other Members.  In verify ing and assessing qualifications, where the competent 
authority finds it relevant, it shall give due consideration to releva nt professional experience of the 
applicant as a complement to educational qualifica tions.  Where the competent authority considers 
that membership in a relevant professional association in the territory of another Member is indicative 
of the level of competence or extent of experience  of the applicant, such membership shall also be 
given due consideration. 
28. Provided an applicant has presented all neces sary supporting evidence of qualifications, the 
competent authority, in verifying and assessing qua lifications, shall identify any deficiency and 
inform the applicant of requirements to meet th e deficiency.  Such requirements may include, inter 
alia, course work, examinations, training, and work experience.  Where appropriate, each Member 
shall allow applicants to fulfil such requirement s in the home, host or any third jurisdiction. 
29. Residency requirements, other than those s ubject to scheduling under Article XVII of the 
GATS, shall not be a pre-requisite for assessing and verifying the competence of a service supplier of 
another Member. 
30. Once qualification requirements and any appli cable licensing requirements have been 
fulfilled, each Member shall ensure that a service supplier is allowed to supply the service without 
undue delay. 
VIII.  QUALIFICATION PROCEDURES 
31. Each Member shall ensure that qualification procedures are as simple as possible and do not 
in themselves constitute a restriction on the supply of services.   
32. An applicant shall, in principle, not be re quired to approach more than one competent 
authority for qualification procedures. 
33. An applicant should be permitted to submit an  application at any time.  The competent 
authority shall initiate the processing of an  application without undue delay.   
34. Where examinations are required, each Member shall ensure that they are scheduled at 
reasonably frequent intervals.  Applicants for ex aminations shall be allowed a reasonable period to 
submit applications. 
35. The competent authority shall, within a reasonable period of time after receipt of an 
application, which it considers incomplete, inform th e applicant, to the exte nt feasible, identify the 
                                                      
3 Licensing fees do not include fees for the use of natural resources, payments for auction, tendering or 
other non-discriminatory means of awarding concessions, or mandated contributions to universal service 
provision.  TN/S/36 
 Page 71 
 
 
  additional information required to complete the a pplication, and provide the opportunity to correct 
deficiencies.  
36. Authenticated copies should be accepted, where possible, in place of original documents. 
37. If an application for verification and assessment of qualification is rejected by the competent 
authority, the applicant shall be informed in wr iting and without undue delay.  In principle, the 
applicant shall, upon request, also be informed of the reasons for rejection of the application and of 
the timeframe for an appeal agains t the decision.  An applicant should be permitted, within reasonable 
time limits, to resubmit an application. 
38. Each Member shall ensure that the processing of  an application, including verification and 
assessment of a qualification, is completed within a reasonable timeframe from the submission of a 
complete application.  Each Member shall endea vour to establish the normal timeframe for processing 
of an application. 
39. Each Member shall ensure that any fees relating to qualification procedures are 
commensurate with the costs incurred by the compet ent authorities and do not in themselves restrict 
the supply of the service. 
IX. TECHNICAL STANDARDS 
40. Members are encouraged to ensure maximum tr ansparency of relevant processes relating to 
the development and application of  domestic and international sta ndards by non-governmental bodies. 
41. Where technical standards are required and rele vant international standards exist or their 
completion is imminent, Members should take them or the relevant parts of them into account in 
formulating their technical standards, except when such international standards or relevant parts 
would be an ineffective or inappropriate mean s for the fulfilment of national policy objectives. 
X. DEVELOPMENT 
42. A developing country Member shall not be re quired to apply these disciplines for a period of 
[X] years from their date of entry in to force.  Before the end of th is transitional time period, upon 
request by a developing country Member, the Coun cil for Trade in Services may extend the time 
period to implement these disciplines, based on that  Member's level of development, size of the 
economy, and regulatory and institutional capacity. 
43. A Member may accord reduced administrative fees to service suppliers from developing 
country Members. 
44. Where circumstances allow for the phased in troduction of new licensing requirements and 
procedures, qualification requirements and proce dures, and technical standards, Members shall 
consider longer phase-in periods for such measures in service sectors and modes of supply of export 
interest to developing country Members. 
45. Developed country Members, and to the exte nt possible other Members, shall provide 
technical assistance to developing country Memb ers and in particular least-developed country 
Members (LDCs), upon their request and on mutua lly agreed terms and conditions.  Technical 
assistance shall be aimed, inter alia  at: 
(a) developing and strengthening institutional and regulatory capacities to regulate the 
supply of services and to implement these disciplines; TN/S/36 
Page 72  
 
  (b) assisting developing country and in partic ular LDC service suppliers to meet the 
relevant requirements and procedures in export markets; 
(c) facilitating the establishment of technical st andards and participa tion of developing 
country Members and in particular LDCs f acing resource constraints in the relevant 
international organizations; 
(d) assisting, through public or private bodies a nd relevant international organizations, 
service suppliers of developing country Me mbers in building their supply capacity 
and in complying with domestic regulation in their markets.  Such assistance may 
also be provided directly to the respective service suppliers. 
46. LDCs shall not be required to apply these disc iplines.  LDCs are nonetheless encouraged to 
apply these disciplines, to the extent compatible with their special economic situation and their 
development, trade and financial needs. 
XI. INSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS 
47. The Council for Trade in Services shall estab lish a Committee on Domestic Regulation to 
oversee the implementation of these disciplines and the operation of Article VI of the GATS including 
any further work under Article VI:4 of the GATS. 
48. The Council for Trade in Services shall, upon re quest from any Member, review the operation 
of these disciplines and make recommendations as appropriate. 
 
 
_______________ 
 
   TN/S/36 
 Page 73 
 
 
  ANNEX II 
 
 WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/WPGR/21 
14 April 2011 
 (11-1925) 
  
   
REPORT BY THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE WORKING PARTY  
ON GATS RULES  
 
 1. The Working Party has continued to engage in  focussed discussions on all three GATS Rules 
subjects:  emergency safeguard measures, subsidies,  and government procurement in services.  In line 
with Annex C of the 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial D eclaration, which states  that "Members must 
intensify their efforts to conclude the negotia tions on rule-making under GATS Articles X, XIII 
and XV in accordance with their respective mandates and timelines
1, Members have constructively 
engaged and further explored the issues at stake.   Nevertheless, in each of the three areas, the 
respective proponents found it difficult to convince th e broader Membership of the need to develop 
disciplines beyond those currently existing under the GATS.   In all three areas, the problems, if any, 
that would need to be addressed by new disciplines, have not yet been sufficiently identified;  neither 
have the benefits that would accrue from new or add itional disciplines.  As a result, discussions in the 
Working Party on GATS Rules have remained non-te xt-based, and essentially conceptual in nature.  
2. This report describes the state of play of the Working Party's discussions and progress 
achieved under each of the three agenda items.  It al so outlines possible future work in fulfilment of 
the Working Party's mandate as set out in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  
I. NEGOTIATIONS ON EMERGENCY SAFEGUARD MEASURES (ARTICLE X) 
3. On emergency safeguard measures (ESM), during the latter part of 2009, the Working Party 
conducted several rounds of technical discussions on the definition of "domestic industry".  The 
Chairperson circulated an informal Note su mmarizing past discussions on that definition 
(JOB(09)/95).  In this context, Members also ex amined the relevance to trade in services of the 
concept of "domestic industry" as treated under th e WTO Agreements on anti-dumping, subsidies and 
safeguards.  A related Secretariat Note was circ ulated in JOB(09)/146 and Corr.1.  Discussions 
amongst Members focused on how the criteria of territo ry, registration, and ownership and control, as 
contained in the draft Annex on Article X Em ergency Safeguard Measures proposed by the 
delegations of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, I ndonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, 
Thailand and Viet Nam (Attachment A of JOB(07)/155),  could be used to define "domestic industry" 
in a services context.   
4. In 2010, the above proponents proposed conti nuing with technical work, and advocated a 
presentation on the availability and adequacy of services statistics with respect to emergency 
safeguards.  At its meeting of 24 March 2011, the Working Party for the first time delved into these 
questions, with two presentations by representatives of the WTO Secretariat:  one on the availability 
                                                      
1 Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, paragraph 4, letter (a) to (c). TN/S/36 
Page 74  
 
  at the international level of disaggregated data  on services trade flows that could potentially be 
relevant in a safeguards' context;  the second one on the types of statistics used under the Safeguards 
Agreement in trade in goods.  Members in r esponding to these presentations recognized the 
importance of having timely and reliable services' statistics and quantitative indicators, ideally on a 
highly disaggregated, sector-specific basis .  Regarding future work, the ESM proponents hoped that 
these two presentations would provide a gateway for subseque nt ones by Members on their national 
experiences/best practices in the compilation and use of services statistics, and on how current 
statistical deficiencies could be overcome.  Mo re focused discussions on sector- and mode-specific 
data that could be used in a potential safeguard investigation were deemed potentially useful.   
II. NEGOTIATIONS ON GOVERNMENT PROCUREMENT (ARTICLE XIII) 
5. The Working Party discussed in greater detail the Annex on Government Procurement in 
Services proposed by the delegation of the European  Union (S/WPGR/W/54).  To facilitate Members' 
consideration of the proposal, the Chairperson circul ated an informal Note, which synthesised past 
exchanges and highlighted several issues for di scussion (JOB(09)/114).  The delegation of the 
European Union provided a presentation of the proce dural rules contained in its proposal, as well as 
its suggested format for scheduling government pr ocurement commitments.  Two rounds of informal 
discussions examined various aspects of the proposed  Annex, including its relationship with the WTO 
plurilateral Agreement on Govern ment Procurement (GPA).  
6. Since the latter part of 2010, the Working Part y has pursued a series of dedicated discussions 
on the broader economic and deve lopmental importance of governme nt procurement in services, 
based on another proposal by the European Union (RD/SERV/23).
2  To date, the Working Party has 
held two dedicated sessions: one on the economic im portance of government procurement in services;  
and one on services aspects of the GPA and the latter's impact on international procurement markets.  It was observed in the discussions that commit ments under the GATS were scheduled by modes of 
supply, whereas commitments under the GPA were not specific to individual modes of supply.  It was suggested that the WPGR further examine the po ssible synergies between the GATS and the GPA as 
part of its future work.   
7. In the coming months, the WPGR's focus would be on completing the series of dedicated 
discussions proposed in RD/SERV/23.  Members also seemed open to further presentations or discussions that could flow from these.  The Wo rking Party intends to invite capital-based GPA 
experts to a dedicated session to share national experiences of opening up domestic procurement systems and seeking access to foreign procurement mark ets.  This could be he ld during a forthcoming 
GPA negotiating week.    
III. NEGOTIATIONS ON SUBSIDIES (ARTICLE XV) 
8. In the area of subsidies, much time has been de voted to reviving the exchange of information 
mandated by Article XV of the GATS.  In this conn ection, the Chairperson circulated an informal 
Note recalling a previously proposed definition of subsidies for the purpose of the information 
exchange (JOB(09)/96).  At its meeting of 1 February 2010, the Working Party endorsed the Work 
Programme on Information Exchange on Subsidies as contained in JOB/SERV/1. 
                                                     
 
2 The EU's proposal, dated 24 September 2010, proposed a range of topics on the economic importance 
of government-procurement transactions for discussion over several months.    TN/S/36 
 Page 75 
 
 
  9. Since the launch of the Work Programme, 18 submissions covering 44 WTO Members have 
been received to date.3  While an encouraging start, there is general acknowledgement that there is a 
great variety in the level of detail provided in the submissions received, and that more Members should join in this mandated exchange of informatio n.  So far, the Working Party held one session of 
dedicated discussions on the information provided by Members, with the aim of identifying potential 
systemic issues that could be relevant for the negotiations on necessary multilateral disciplines.
4  That 
session brought some progress in Members' understandi ng on how subsidies are provided and on their 
potential trade effects.  Members, however, acknowledge d that more analysis needed to be done.   
10. During 2010, the Working Party also continued discussions with a view to developing the 
necessary multilateral disciplines to avoid distortiv e effects on trade in services, as mandated under 
Article XV.  Based on a proposal by the delegati on of Switzerland for disciplines on export subsidies 
(JOB/SERV/36), discussions were undertaken on the c oncept of export subsidies in services and the 
possible distortions created.  The delegation of th e United States submitted questions for Members to 
identify possible trade-distortive effects of subsidi es in services with a focus on practical commercial 
concerns (S/WPGR/W/59).   
11. Regarding the possible way forward, some Members favour entering into negotiations to 
develop necessary multilateral disciplines to avoi d trade-distortive effects of subsidies.  A 
communication from India, Chile and Mexico propo sed developing a roadmap for future discussions 
to fulfil the remaining part of the mandate of  Article XV (JOB/SERV/37).  According to its 
proponents, such a roadmap would necessarily be flexible, with no timelines attached.  Other 
Members argue that, in the absence of concrete evidence of such effects, Members should refrain 
from entering into negotiations to devise any disciplin es.  Others are of the view that there is still 
useful conceptual and technical work that can be done short of entering into negotiations on new 
disciplines.  Overall, there appears to be broad agreement on the desirability of obtaining more and 
better information on the potential or actual trade-di stortive effects of subsidies.  One unresolved 
question is whether any such identification of tr ade-distortive effects should be undertaken before 
Members embark upon further technical work or negotiations.  At the WPGR meeting of 
24 March 2011, it was suggested that Members and th e Chair will continue to consult informally on 
resolving this question and will report back in due course.    
 
 
 
__________  
                                                      
3 Submissions were received from th e delegations of Australia;  Brazil;  Canada;  China;  European 
Union;  Chile;  Colombia;  Hong Kong, China;  India;  Japan;  Korea;  Mexico;  New Zealand;  Norway;  Peru;  Turkey;  Chinese Taipei;  and the United States.  Th ey were circulated in JOB/SERV/1/Add. 1 to 12. 
4 WPGR meeting of 24 November 2010, see S/WPGR/M/71.