WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
S/C/M/109 
21 May 2012 
 (12-2682) 
Council for Trade in Services  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 23 MARCH 2012 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. On 23 March 2012, the Council for Trade in Serv ices held a meeting under the Chairmanship 
of Ambassador Erwidodo (Indonesia).  The agenda was contained in document WTO/AIR/3911. 
2. The representative of the United States said that , under Other Business, his delegation wished 
to make a brief statement about the US-hosted meetings held that week. 
3. The representative of Australia said that her delegation wished to add an item of Other 
Business concerning the entry into forc e of the certified EC-25 schedule.  
4. The agenda was adopted, as modified. 
A. NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO ARTICLES III:3,  V:7 AND VII:4  OF THE GATS 
5. Starting with the notifications made pursuant to  GATS Article III:3, the Chairman drew the 
Council's attention to the communications r eceived from Morocco (S/C/N/608-609); Albania 
(S/C/N/610); Peru (S/C/N/611); and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and 
Matsu (S/C/N/620). 
6. The Council took note of the notifications made. 
7. Turning now to the notifications made pursuant to Article V:7, the Chairman pointed to the 
communications received from:  Chile and Honduras (S/C/N/612);  Peru and the Chile (S/C/N/613);  
the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua (S/C/N/614);  
New Zealand and Malaysia (S/C/N/615);  Peru and Mexico (S/C/N/616);  Japan and Peru 
(S/C/N/617);  and China and Costa Rica (S/C/N/618). 
8. The Council took note of the notifications and referred the agreements notified to the 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements for consideration.   
9. Finally, the Chairman drew delegations' atten tion to the notification made under Article VII:4 
received from Ecuador (S/C/N/619).   
10. The Council took note of the notification made. 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. S/C/M/109 
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  B. S
ECTORAL AND MODAL DISCUSSIONS2 
11. The Chairman recalled that recent deliberations  under that agenda item had focused on the 
role of SMEs in services trade.  He indicated th at the delegation of Swit zerland had submitted a new 
communication on the issue, titled "The services sect or, small and medium-sized  enterprises and their 
activities related to electronic commerce: the case of Switzerland", in document S/C/W/345.   
12. The representative of Switzerland recalled that  his delegation's submission, in document 
S/C/W/345, focused on the relation between e-commerc e and SMEs in its services sector.  It was a 
complement to the earlier one it had submitted in document S/C/W/340.  It aimed to provide an 
overview of the e-commerce activities in Switzerland and to underline some important aspects with respect to SMEs.  It looked into  the markets in which Swiss SMEs sold over the internet and the 
barriers they were confronted with when doing e-commerce within Switzerland and across borders.  
He highlighted the most important findings.  First,  companies with more than 49 FTEs were generally 
more active in e-selling activities than compan ies with fewer employees.  Second, on-line 
procurement activities were generally more prevalen t than e-selling activities.  Third, opening up new 
markets or customer segments was the most impor tant reason why companied sold products on-line, 
which underlined the importance of e-commerce pa rticularly for SMEs.  Fourth, e-procurement 
activities were driven by the possibility of increased market transparency.   
13. E-commerce was a fast and effective manner to c ontact customers and potential buyers but it 
was also a challenging activity.  Many different obs tacles complicated or prevented on-line activities.  
Within Switzerland, these included security problems, logistical concerns and additional investment 
costs.  When selling abroad, other barriers included lack of knowledge of the foreign market, legal 
uncertainties and concerns with respect to paym ent modalities.  SMEs and big companies were 
generally confronted with the same obstacles wh en performing e-commerce activities.  Because of 
these obstacles, cross-border selling played a neglig ible role and e-commerce remained largely a 
national phenomenon in Switzerland.  Aside from a dditional investment costs, all other barriers 
identified related to a lack of knowledge.   
14. His delegation would be interested in knowing about e-commerce realities in other Members.  
Three key questions in this regard were:  did ot her Members share the view that e-commerce was a 
knowledge-based challenged?  What we re the different strategies that could be deployed to overcome 
these difficulties?  What differences were there betw een SMEs and larger countries in other Members' 
economies? 
15. The representative of Malaysia noted that 75 pe r cent of Switzerland's companied were using 
electronic commerce.  The Swiss submission had been  forwarded to a dedicated agency in Malaysia 
in charge of SME development a nd had generated significant interest .  In Malaysia, SMEs in the 
services sector were defined as establishments with  an annual sales turnover not exceeding US$ 1.60 
million or FTEs not exceeding 50.  Out of the 548' 267 SME establishments in the country, 86.6 per 
cent were in the services sector.  Like Switzerland, distribution services, mainly retail, appeared to be 
the most significant sector for SMEs in Malaysia .  The Malaysian government had not undertaken a 
comprehensive study to gage the extent to whic h SMEs were utilising e-commerce, but this was 
certainly a reality for some companies.  Regarding the obstacles that restrained e-commerce activities, 
                                                      
2 Upon conclusion of the meeting, the representative of Cuba requeste d that the Secretariat reflect the 
following statement in the report:  "The delegation of C uba was grateful for the submission by Switzerland in 
document S/C/W/345.  The submission illustrated th e difficulties faced by Swiss SMEs in expanding e-
commerce activities, particularly internationally.  Developi ng countries also shared some of these difficulties.  
The document also showed that, in sp ite of internal barriers, e-commerce ha d witnessed an expansion at least at 
the national level and apparently had not been restri cted by connectivity problems , access to telecommunication 
networks or the internet."    S/C/M/109 
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  she concurred with some of the views expresse d by Switzerland and indicated that additional 
restrictions included data-protection and internet  security concerns, business volumes too small for e-
commerce transactions and lack of awareness on the benefits of conductin g business on-line.  She 
indicated that a Malaysian delegation would be comi ng to Switzerland sometime in October to further 
understand how to look at SMEs and e-commerce policies.   
16. The representative of Hong Kong, China said that the reasons outlined in the Swiss 
submission for companies to engage in online buying and selling and the obstacles that they 
encountered were rather universal and familiar to SM Es in Hong Kong, China.  Some of the obstacles 
listed could be addressed by bette r regulatory regimes, for exampl e as concerned legal certainty, 
better custom procedures and to a certain extent also data protection and payment.  The WTO had 
done a lot to facilitate e-commerce, including with  the moratorium agreed at MC8.  Governments 
could additionally help by creating an environmen t that facilitated the development of information 
technology and e-commerce.  In 1998, Hong Kong, China had published its Digital 21 Strategy, a 
blueprint for the development ICT services.  The st rategy had subsequently  been updated, and the 
latest 2008 version aimed to create a conducive business environment inter alia  by providing reliable 
telecommunications network, enhancing informati on security, protecting inte llectual property rights, 
developing data centres, enhancing ICT regulatory frameworks.  There were also strategies to build an 
inclusive and knowledge-based society to ensure th at the benefits of ICT services and also ICT 
adoption were widely available, including to SMEs  which made up the great majority part of Hong 
Kong, China's economy. 
17. The representative of Japan said that the Swi ss paper usefully focused on the problems of 
cross-border electronic commerce which especially im pacted SMEs.  The development of internet 
technology had expanded bus iness opportunities for SMEs.  They could now engage in cross-border 
activities via electronic commerce, whereas this pos sibility was previously precluded because of the 
prohibitive costs implied in the traditional way of transacting.  Japanese SMEs were receiving 
international orders for traditional crafts, for exam ple, in addition to “digital content” such as 
applications for smart phones, all of which relied on shopping websites in English and visual media 
such as “YouTube”.  This trend was expected to c ontinue for SMEs that produced characteristic and 
competitive products. 
18. The obstacles mentioned in paragraph 12 of the Swiss paper were simila r to those found also 
in Japan.  However, it was necessary to divide t hose obstacles between those that could be managed 
by the private sector and those that the government should try to mitigate, which included for instance 
obstacle (h) "uncertainties with respect to legal fra mework".  A questionnaire submitted by an internet 
business industrial group in Japan to their members at  the end of 2010 had revealed that more than 
60 per cent of respondents perceived the "existence of the regulation on services." as an obstacle when 
they operated in foreign markets through cro ss-border electronic commerce.  Enhancing the 
predictability of internet regulations would a llow SMEs to engage in cross-border electronic 
commerce on a larger scale.  With regard to obstacle (l),"the lack of relevant information", Japan was 
working to disseminate information and raise aw areness amongst enterprises about cross-border 
electronic commerce through market re search and specific seminars. 
19. The representative of China said that e-commerce allowed SMEs to explore potential markets 
and provide services in a more efficient and cost -effective way.  Most SMEs commonly encountered 
difficulties and obstacles when performing e-commerce activities.  The obstacles mentioned in 
Switzerland’s submission were also relevant to SMEs in China, especially due to the fact that Chinese 
SMEs were still in the very early stages of pe rforming e-commerce activities compared with their 
counterparts in developed countries. 
20. E-commerce and SMEs played important rol es in the development of China’s national 
economy and both were growing rapidly.  By the end of 2011, profits in online markets and the S/C/M/109 
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  number of enterprises engaged in B2C, C2C and other e-commerce business had increased by 100 per 
cent and 59 per cent, respectively.  SMEs accounted for the majority of Chinese enterprises.  At the 
end of 2010, the number of SMEs and individual businesses in China exceeded 44 million, accounting for more than 99 per cent of the totality of Chinese enterprises, and contributed about 80 per cent in 
terms of employment. 
21. The Chinese government attached great importan ce to SMEs' e-business applications.  It had 
formulated laws and regulations that established an  integrated system facilitating services, training 
and financial support and had sust ained the development of SMEs' e-commerce-related business.  The 
recently issued 12th Five-year Plan for SME developm ent outlined a clear path for SMEs to continue 
to grow.  Comprehensive mechanisms included reso urce management plans, supply chain, logistics, 
customer relations and information technology ai med at sustaining SME development by facilitating 
their e-commerce-related business.  In China's view, the issue merited further discussion. 
22. The representative of Canada concurred with Ch ina that the issue of SMEs deserved further 
discussion.  She reiterated Canada's view that lack  of knowledge about market  conditions was one of 
the major difficulties facing SMEs and stressed th e importance of transparency.  Her delegation 
believed that Members should think about how th e WTO could make a contribution to increasing 
transparency based on actual market conditions and not linked to negotiations or scheduled 
commitments.  Canada would welcome hearing ot her Members' thoughts in this regard before 
submitting a concrete proposal to the Council.  
23. The representative of the United States noted that  the Swiss submission was very much in line 
with the reinvigoration of the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce agreed by Ministers at 
MC8.  He supported working with Members to bette r understand e-commerce trade, particularly as it 
related to SMEs.  It would be useful to continue work on this issue, to understand how trade rules 
could advance this form of trade, possibly fo lded under the e-commerce Work Programme more 
broadly.  
24. The representative of Australia said that the Swiss submission highlighted important issues 
and challenges facing SMEs engaged in electronic commerce and services trade more generally.  She 
concurred that lack of knowledge was a key concern in this regard.  It  was also important to find ways 
to foster the trust in the e-commerce environmen t and eliminate unnecessary cross-border barriers in 
investment and logistics services.  She agreed that  those issues could also be dealt with under the E-
commerce Work Programme and saw value in cons idering how they could be addressed through 
harmonized and technology-neutral principles for electronic commerce, for example by building on 
the kind of approach taken in the US-EU ICT principles.   
25. The representative of Chinese Taipei said that th e empirical analysis in the Swiss submission 
could be of great value and assistance to SMEs wishing or preparing to engage in e-commerce 
activities.  She agreed that perceived obstacles su ch as payment security, extra costs, logistical 
concerns and technological uncertainty were mainly due to a lack of knowledge about e-commerce on 
the part of SMEs.  Sharing examples of successf ul cases, as well as data on the usage of the e-
commerce by SMEs, could help dispel some of the myths and favour an understanding of how e-
commerce operated and the kind of possibilities it offered to SMEs.  
26. SMEs were generally unfamiliar with consumer markets, internet behaviour and promotion, 
especially in an international context, and frequently had language problems and manpower 
limitations.  These were amongst the difficulties en countered in promoting e-commerce to these 
suppliers.  In addition to outreach programmes, it wa s thus also important to “reduce additional costs 
and simplify the process of opening up new markets” as stated in the Swiss submission, as e-commerce usually required a language shift, pr ofessional management, integration capability.  S/C/M/109 
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  27. The representative then asked the following two questions of the Swis s delegation:  on the 
subject of overcoming language obstacles, how di d Switzerland’s e-commerce internet operators 
communicate with customers in their language?  Regarding cash flow problems to expand business 
opportunities, how did Switzerland’s e-commerce ope rators provide consumers with a range of 
different payment methods? 
28. The representative of the European Union said that the submission identified barriers that 
went beyond the usual market access barriers discussed by Members.  He said that the Swiss paper 
was a good contribution to the E-commerce Work Pr ogramme and helped raise awareness of the 
difficulties faced by SMEs with e-commerce.  He echoed Australia's comments and indicated that the 
spirit of the EU-US submission on ITC trade prin ciples under the Work Programme was similarly 
driven by the objective of identif ying barriers and problems companies faced when dealing with e-
commerce. 
29. The representative of New Zealand said that th e Swiss submission was consistent with the 
reinvigoration of the Work Programme and welcomed  further interaction in this area, including 
proposals for specific future work that Members might wish to bring forward.  Her delegation might 
revert to the submission in more detail at a future  meeting, including to consider the questions it 
raised.  
30. The representative of Chile said that the Swiss submission should not be looked into in 
isolation.  It was part of the reinvigoration of th e Work Programme and was related, for example, to 
the EU-US submission in document S/C/W/338.  With regard to section III, he said that there seemed 
to be a relation between obstacle (h), "uncertainty with respect to the legal framework", and obstacles 
(b), (c) and (i) and some streamlining might be possibl e.  He concurred that lack of information was a 
serious concern and that ensuring SMEs had access to  relevant information wa s important.  Canada's 
initiative in this regard was interesting.   
31. The representative of Indonesia said that the development of e-commerce in Indonesia still 
faced a number of hurdles, encountered by SMEs and bigger companies alike.  Amongst the problems 
encountered in Indonesia were lack of consumer awar eness, concerns with regard to on-line payment, 
data protection and IPR, undeveloped logistical syst ems.  In order to cope with some of these 
concerns and ensure the security of online tr ansactions, the government was formulating national 
legislation on e-commerce and engaging in disseminating information to stakeholders.  
32. The representative of Turkey recalled her de legation's intervention at the September 2011 
meeting of the Council on the role SMEs in the Turkish economy and the difficulties they faced in 
services exports.  She would be inte rested in further exploring how to  increase SMEs' limited capacity 
in entering foreign markets and would revert to th e Swiss submission at the following meeting of the 
Council as she had not yet received feedback from the relevant agency. 
33. The representative of Oman said that the Swiss paper was very interesting and she would 
revert to the issue at the fo llowing meeting of the Council. 
34. The representative of Nigeria said that SMEs contributed significantly to improving living 
standards, brought substantial local capital formati on and achieved high levels of productivity.  
Against this background, he welcomed further discu ssion and sharing of experi ences on the issue.  He 
concurred that the topic could be addressed under the E-commerce Work-Programme. 
35. The representative of Singapore said that SMEs contributed considerably to Singapore's 
economy and local employment.  Her delegation was interested in facilitating SME participation in 
international trade and recognized the difficulties th at they faced, of which e-commerce participation 
was element.  Her delegation would revert to the Swiss submission.  S/C/M/109 
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  36. Replying to the questions raised, the represen tative of Switzerland explained that linguistic 
obstacles were a frequent occurrence in Switzerland.  While he could not share precise data in this 
regard, by experience companies were normally se lling across borders in neighbouring countries that 
shared the same language.  With regard to paymen t measures, he was aware that there were a few 
specialised enterprises that organised payment systems for SMEs, and a lot depended on the 
affordability of such a service.   
37. By way of follow-up, a representative of the Secretariat recalled that some delegations had 
asked the Secretariat to do some research on the ro le of SMEs in services trade.  The Secretariat had 
pointed to the information deficit that existed in this area, as evidenced from Members' discussions.  
Nonetheless, the thinking process w ithin the Secretariat was on-going.  Though the Secretariat did not 
feel that it was yet in a position to produce a submission for discussion in the Council, it had 
undertaken some research efforts and would be  making a Working Paper available on the WTO 
website ( http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/reser_e/ersd201209_e.htm ).  The Paper was the sole 
responsibility of the authors, reflecting their state of thinking on the issue.  It addressed definitional 
questions, a review of available literature and cons idered issues related to transparency, domestic 
regulation, government procurement and PTAs.  The Paper might be useful to delegations in 
identifying what further work might be undertaken in the Council.   
38. The Chairman said that the Council would take note  of the statements made and revert to this 
item at its next meeting. 
39. It was so agreed. 
C. DEDICATED DISCUSSION ON INTERNATIONAL MOBILE ROAMING  
40. The Chairman recalled that, in November, th e delegation of Australia had announced its 
intention of organising a symposium on internationa l mobile roaming (IMR) in the margins of the 
meeting of the Council.  The seminar had been very successfully held the previous day, and he would 
be offering the representative of Australia, as well as  other delegations, an opportunity to share their 
views and reflections on the event.   
41. Beforehand, he wished to draw delegations' attention to the communication the Council had 
received from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in document JOB/SERV/93 on the 
work that organisation was undertaking on mobile roaming services.  He offered the floor to the representative of the ITU to introduce the submission.   
42. A representative of the International Teleco mmunication Union explained that JOB/SERV/93 
contained ITU Study Group 3 draft new Recommendation on charging in IMR services.  The 
Recommendation would be approved in September ba rring any significant objections, which the ITU 
Secretariat was not foreseeing at that stage.  She drew delegations' attention to Section 4, which 
contained a number of suggestions to ITU Member States to empower consumers, adopt market-based 
solutions as well as necessary regulatory interventi on regulators and policy-makers might consider. 
43. The representative of Australia thanked Members fo r their contributions to and the Secretariat 
for its support with the IMR symposium.  The discussion had been very rich and the symposium had 
provided the foundations to continue work on IMR.  He briefly summarized a fe w of the threads that 
had emerged from the discussion.  First, there were  clearly very high prices for IMR.  Second, there 
was a big debate on-going between ope rators, users and regulators as to  whether there was a need for 
regulation.  Third, there was no clarity on what the future technological substitutes would be, but it 
was clear that roaming was bound to persist for a long time despite the International Users Group's 
call for the complete elimination of the concept.  Fourth, there was a variety of policy responses in 
place, such as market investigations, retail and wholesale price caps, including in the GCC and the  S/C/M/109 
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  EU, and emerging new policy ideas including unbundling and structural separation.  Fifth, 
international organisations, the ITU, the OECD a nd of course the WTO were highly engaged in the 
issue, and the ITU and the OECD had recentl y provided detailed reco mmendations to their 
Memberships on how the issue should be addressed.  Sixt h, there was clearly a lot of work to be done 
by operators, regulators and WTO Members. 
44. Speaking from an Australian prospective, he reiterated that IMR involved significant policy 
concerns that merited strong attention at the WTO, given that Members had GATS commitments on IMR.  If consumers were not receiving the economic  benefits from reducing IMR prices, then rates 
would have to be reduced.  Policy responses de pended heavily on reciprocal international co-
operation.  A number of Members were already acti ng bilaterally or in small groups to address high 
IMR charges, so it was important to look at ways of accommodating policy responses within the 
GATS regime.  It was an opportunity for the WTO to show its ability to govern a modern trade issue 
of interest to most consumers worldwide.  His de legation was looking at the practical options that 
might be available to deal with the issue in th e WTO.  Any effective action had to provide some 
comfort within the WTO rules for regulating on a reci procal basis.  Australia would be consulting and 
reflecting on next steps, and would welcome discussi ng with other Members who were also interested 
in the issue. 
45. All delegations who spoke expressed their appreci ation for the informative and well-balanced 
symposium and thanked the delegation of Australia for organising it.  
46. The representative of China said that, given that  IMR charges were set by market mechanisms 
and negotiated among telecommunication operators, Members needed to do  further research on 
whether the WTO rules could effectively coordinate  IMR charges.  China supported the lowering of 
IMR charges globally, to benefit consumers of IM R service, promote competition in the international 
mobile market competition and improve social we lfare.  China was willing to work with WTO 
Members and relevant organizations to promot e the reduction of IMR charges as well as the 
improvement of mobile roaming service. 
47. As for the Draft ITU Recommendation, it cont ained several measures to improve IMR 
services, including lowering rates.  It could serve  as a guideline for Members to work towards the 
reduction of IMR prices.  In principle, China was r eady to further discuss this issue to arrive at a 
solution under the framework of the ITU. 
48. The representative of Pakistan said that the symposium had raised a number of challenging 
questions, for instance regarding the reasons w hy market forces had not been able to bring 
competitiveness to that particular area of services.  Ther e was still work to be done in that regard.  The 
ITU communication in JOB/SERV/93 also contained a number of positive elements which needed to be considered.  However, it was quite daunting to find ways for market mechanisms to provide the 
users with better value for their money  
49. The representative of the United States said that the symposium had seen the active 
engagement of Members and challe nging questions had been raised, for instance by India, Pakistan 
and Japan.  His delegation was open to working with  Australia and other Members to further examine 
the application of trade rules and possible WTO responses. 
50. The representative of Norway recognised the challenges of high IMR tariffs.  IMR services 
played an important role in international trad e, especially in facilitating economic and social 
interactions.  The high prices of using mobile ph ones abroad reduced trade substantially.  She hoped 
that more Members would engage in the debate and believed that the WTO could make a valuable 
contribution in that regard.  Norw ay way open to discussing with othe r Members what could be useful 
next steps. S/C/M/109 
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  51. The representative of Turkey welcomed the ITU communication.  As her delegation had 
indicated at previous meetings, the determination of  IMR charges by industry ac tors was an issue that 
went beyond national governments' responsibility.  It was also disputable whether the GATS applied 
to the issue of IMR charges.  Conversely, Turk ey considered it essential to ensure consumer 
protection through securing efficient competition between  the various players in the sector.  In this 
context, without directly intervening in the mark et to lower IMR rates, her delegation welcomed 
recommendations to the effect that Member States c ould encourage provision of clear and transparent 
information to consumers on the part of service providers.  On the other hand, as IMR was a multi-
country issue by nature, as mentioned by the IT U paper, Turkey supported the ITU recommendation 
on cultivating regional and multiregional cooperation among operators and regulat ors to facilitate and 
encourage regional and interregional mobile roaming.  
52. The representative of India said that the problem of high roaming rates was a complex one 
and needed to be addressed accordingly.  The wo rkshop showed that not only the views of users, 
regulators and industry differed, but that there we re divergences also amongst the views of industry 
participants.  On the specific issue of the appli cability of GATS to IMR, India had expressed its views 
at previous meetings.  However, India would be ha ppy to participate in any future discussions on the 
issue.  
53. The representative of New Zealand said that a number of interesting questions had been 
raised in the symposium that Members could usef ully discuss.  Her delegation looked forward to 
suggestions for further work on the IMR issue.  
54. The representative of Israel noted the global tr end of consuming more data roaming and the 
obstacles for e-trade and online activities posed by high IMR charges.  He acknowledged cross-
national concerns amongst regulators to deal with th ese issues and lower voice, text and data roaming 
charges.  In this regard, he sh ared Australia's proposal to examin e approached and ideas on how to 
tackle such IMR issues, which were a hindrance to consumers and businesses alike, and discuss their 
WTO relevance.  The symposium highlighted how regulators were facing very complex issues even 
bilaterally.  His delegation wished for the topic to  remain on the Council's ag enda and would welcome 
discussing any ideas on this issue. 
55. The representative of the European Union indi cated the EU's readiness to engage with 
Australia on the debate.  The representative of Ch ile also welcomed continued discussion of IMR, 
which was a real-life trade issue that WT O Members could not afford to neglect. 
56. The representative of Brazil said that his delegation looked forward to assessing proposals on 
how to address the IMR issue in the WTO context.  The representative of Oman also looked ahead to 
further work in this area, to d eepen Members' understanding on IMR. 
57. The representative of South Africa said that, while the symposium had not clarified how the 
GATS applied to IMR, his delegation would welcome further discussion of the issue.  The 
representatives of the Republic of Korea and of Mexi co were also in favour of continuing to engage 
constructively in the discussions.   
58. The representative of Japan welcomed the ITU communication and said that Japan had 
already introduced some of the suggestions for empowering consumers contained in the ITU 
recommendation. 
59. The representative of Australia was appreciative of Members' words of thanks.  Even if the 
operators had pointed to an 80 per cent reduction in roaming rates, some of these rates were 6'000 to 
13'000 per cent higher than cost, so the 80 per cent reduction had to be put in perspective.  His  S/C/M/109 
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  delegation had taken note of the diversity of view s expressed and looked forward to consulting with 
other Members on next steps. 
60. The Chairman said that the Council would take note  of the statements made and revert to this 
item at its next meeting. 
D. WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
61. The Chairman recalled that, under that agenda item, discussions in the Council had focused in 
particular on two documents:  a communication fro m the European Union an d the United States, in 
document S/C/W/338, titled "Contribution to the Wo rk Programme on Electronic Commerce";  and a 
communication from the United States, in docume nt S/C/W/339, titled "Work Program on Electronic 
Commerce:  Ensuring that trade rules support innova tive advances in computer applications and 
platforms, such as mobile applications and the provision of cloud computing services".  He then drew 
delegations' attention to the Ministerial Deci sion on the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce 
that had been taken on 17 December 2011, contained in document WT/L/843.   
62. The representative of the European Union said that his delegation w ould welcome continued 
discussion of document S/C/W/338.  It had held info rmal discussions with interested Members and 
wished for the process to be as transparent and incl usive as possible.  The objective of the submission 
was to further promote those principles and stim ulate Members' discussion on those topics.  He 
reverted to questions raised in the past.  First, in  terms of scope, the principles were sufficiently broad 
to cover the complexity of the digital economy and electronic commerce.  The objective of the submission was to promote debate, advocacy and was not  intended to be legally binding.   Second, on 
the technical side, the document used the notion of interconnection and of access as defined in 
existing WTO instruments such as the telecom Annex and the Reference Paper.  Third, as concerned 
broader policy objectives such as competition, intell ectual property, data pr otection these were taken 
into account in the headnote.  
63. The representative of the United States echoed the EU's statement on S/C/W/338.  He hoped 
to get support from other Members to exchange in formation on how they we re implementing those 
principles in their respective economies.  As c oncerned document S/C/W/33 9, he would welcome 
Members' views on the development of mobile a pplications and cloud computing in their own 
economies.  His delegation was still considering how best to advance a productive discussion and 
would revert to the item or consider those issu es under the broader, reinvigorated E-commerce Work 
Programme. 
64. The representative of Japan said that the ICT trade principles were useful to promote 
liberalization and best practices in the in the ICT s ector.  Similar principles had been discussed in the 
framework of the US-Japan economic harmonizat ion initiative and published on 27 January 2012.  
These set out their views on trade promotion in the IC T service area.  In discussing the US-Japan ICT 
trade principles, Japan had referred to the EU-US on es and had noticed that differences existed with 
regard to certain points.  Further information could be found on the webs ite of the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs and Communications of Japan.  He suggested that it might be useful for Members to consider 
the US-Japan principles.   
65. As concerned the US submission in document  S/C/W/339, the representative of China noted 
that the proposal placed significant emphasis on emer ging mobile applications and cloud computing.  
China agreed that mobile applications and cloud co mputing provided enterprises and users, especially 
SMEs, with a more convenient, much safer and mo re efficient IT application mode, which would 
undoubtedly improve the efficiency of their operations  and data processing and play an important role 
in their development.   S/C/M/109 
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  66. With regard to the classification of cloud computing, the US proposal indicated that cloud 
computing was a computer-related service.  However,  China believed that cloud computing clearly 
overlapped with both computer-rela ted services and telecommunications services.  In addition, cloud 
computing was a highly integrated new service based on ICT technology.  Therefore, it could not simply be classified as falling either under computer-related services or telecommunications services. 
67. First, there were some obvious overlaps between the CPC classification of 
telecommunications services and that of computer-re lated services.  As an example, in the W/120 
classification list, “data processing services” under the computer-related servic es category and “online 
information and/or data processing” under the telecommunications services category both 
corresponded to the same CPC classification code , namely CPC 843.  With the unprecedented 
development of the internet and the continuous  emergence of new business models, such overlaps 
would only become increasingly complex. 
68. Secondly, cloud computing was the delivery of computing based on the internet, which 
utilized software through virtualization to share r esources.  With cloud computing, the Internet was 
not a simple carrier or channel.  Rather, it was closely related to the formation and innovation of the 
service model.  It was clear that the existing de finitions and classifications of computer-related 
services and telecommunications services could not objectively reflect all the intrinsic properties possessed by cloud computing. 
69. Finally, as a matter of fact, computer-related services providers and telecom operators could 
act both as providers and users of cloud compu ting services; and were already providing cloud-
computing services together with many other services.  As also mentioned in document S/C/W/299, 
along with the formation and development of new business models, it could also be the case that a 
service provider provided not only telecommunication services but also other services that spanned beyond the telecom definition.  Such service provide rs could belong to more than one industry.  
Therefore, further discussion and research should be  undertaken regarding cloud computing services 
and their classification. 
70. The representative of Australia very much we lcomed the decision at MC8 to continue 
reinvigoration of the Work Programme on elec tronic commerce and the continuation of the 
moratorium on custom duties on electronic transmis sions.  In her delegation's view, the Council for 
Trade in Services was particularly relevant to e-commerce, as it was services that facilitated e-commerce.  Australia was ready to engage in th e CTS in more intensive discussions on e-commerce 
as requested by Ministers, based on existing manda te and guidelines and on the basis of proposals 
submitted by Members.  Her dele gation supported continuing the Work Programme with the aim of 
facilitating trade, noting that secure and reliable e-commerce provided significant opportunities for trade growth and was particularly important for SMEs .  It was also important to avoid barriers to the 
use and development of e-commerce, to ensure, wher e technically possible, that electronic trade be no 
more restricted than non-electronic trade and that e-commerce be technologically neutral.   
71. There was a great deal of value in the CTS discussing principles such as those proposed by 
the EU and US, given that ICT technology was play ing an increasingly important role in the delivery 
of services.  In November 2011, Australia had not ed that the US-EU ICT principles did not include 
several issues that were essential for such a docum ent to be more widely accepted.  These issues 
concerned maintaining effective protection for persona l information, which had to be an essential goal 
of any arrangement that dealt with cross-border in formation flows.  Consum er protection was another 
very important element to facilitate consumer confidence in e-commerce.   Unsolicited commercial 
electronic messages also had to be addressed, through measures that minimized the annoying and 
costly consequences of spams on e-commerce.  Th ese extra elements should be considered when 
discussing any principles governing ICT, and Au stralia might be submitting a more formal  S/C/M/109 
 Page 11 
 
 
  contribution to the Council at a later time.  Austra lia also welcomed the US paper on cloud computing 
and mobile applications and looked forwar d to further discussions on those issues.   
72. While welcoming the reinvigoration of the e-commerce Work Programme, the representative 
of Turkey said that, as outlined in document GC/W/ 650, 82 per cent of world electronic sales in 2009 
were concentrated in developed countries while  developing countries were responsible for only 
17.7 per cent.  In this context, concentrating on  facilitating market access in the ICT sector without 
addressing such inequalities and the digital gap amongst Members could only lead to unbalanced 
outcomes.  The principles in document S/C/W/33 8 implied overtly burde nsome requirements for 
governments that lacked the legal, administrative and infrastructural resources to implement them.  
Many issues were difficult to apply, such as open networks, network access, local infrastructure, 
authorisations and licences.  In that regard, her dele gation was ready to engage in consultations if the 
proponents were willing to further consider the incl usion in their paper of developmental aspects and 
the importance of monitoring and regulations. 
73. On the issue of cloud computing and mobile app lications, the representative of India said that 
the US submission rightly pointed out the way these were fundamentally changing how business was 
transacted.  This was particularly important for SMEs and for facilitating e-commerce.  There were 
immense growth possibilities in both areas and Memb ers needed to look at ways to increase the 
participation of developing countries.  His delega tion had had some preliminary consultations with 
stakeholders on cloud computing, an area of great inte rest to India.  However, Indian industry was at 
that time still at the early stages of absorbing clou d computing.  It was a great opportunity but it also 
involved challenging issues such as security, privacy,  inter-operability, standards, reliability.  His 
delegation would to consult domes tic stakeholders to develop a better understanding of the issues 
involved.  As concerned ICT Principles, India ha d expressed its views at the two previous Council 
meetings and its positi on remained unchanged. 
74. The representative of Brazil said that his delega tion welcomed the reinvigoration of the Work 
Programme.  He concurred with India's concerns with regard to the implications of the ITC principles 
in document S/C/W/338 for the market access and dom estic regulation negotiations.  The adoption of 
those principles would imply further market access  commitments and domestic regulation disciplines 
set at an unreasonably high level of ambition.  Br azil was concerned by attempts to bring negotiating 
topics onto the agenda of the regular services C ouncil:  such issues belonged in the appropriate 
negotiating body.  He would welcome further clarif ication on how discussions in the regular Council 
would not be duplicating those in the Special Session or the Working Party on Domestic Regulation.  
75. The representative of Pakistan highlighted the digi tal divide and indicated that the concerns of 
developing countries had to be taken into account. 
76. The representative of the European Union responde d to the comments by Turkey and Pakistan 
by saying that they were mindful of the developmen t dimension of the debate and had highlighted the 
importance of digital divide issues.  As for Br azil's comment, the proposal was not a market access 
negotiation proposal but belonged to the e- commerce Work Programme, whose mandate was 
sufficiently broad to touch upon all issues. 
77. The representative of Turkey reiterated her view that the development aspect was not 
sufficiently reflected in the paper and the actua l market situation in developing countries not 
appropriately represented.  The paper could be improved in this regard.  
78. The Chairman said that the Council would take note  of the statements made and revert to this 
item at its next meeting.   S/C/M/109 
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  E. O
THER BUSINESS  
79. The representative of the United States said th at, over the previous several weeks, his 
delegation had been working with a number of Memb ers to explore ways of advancing services trade 
liberalization.  The group included both devel oped and developing countries who shared a common 
goal in supporting services trade.  They were pl eased to have welcomed two additional developing-
country Members that week.  
80. Those discussions were still in a formative stag e, but in the spirit of transparency and 
inclusiveness they had thought it helpful to inform th e Council of this work.  As a first step, the group 
had begun to share information from their experi ences in their respective bilateral and regional 
agreements.  The exchange had revealed that a lot of work had been done over the previous several 
years to advance services trade, both with respect to traditional market access issues, and with respect 
to issues that went beyond market access.  I ndeed, there were many areas where improvements had 
been made to GATS provisions, or where new provi sions had been adopted that had yet to be 
contemplated in the WTO.  Because the scope of the group's discussions extended beyond the GATS, which was 18 years old, they were best described as aimed at promoting services liberalization in 
general, which was why the group was raising them in  the regular Council rather than in the Special 
Session, which of course was the appropriate foru m for pursuing the market access objectives of the 
DDA.   
81. The Members participating in the discussions had found them to be worthwhile and had 
expressed a shared interest in holding future meetings  in order to develop the group's ideas further.  
They had talked about potential vehicles for advanc ing their discussions, including the possibility of 
pursuing additional trade commitments within the WTO as well as through a new agreement.  More 
work needed to be done before the group would be able  to arrive at any conclusions in that regard.  
They would be happy to meet with any inter ested Members to provide more details on those 
discussions.   
82. All delegations who spoke th anked the United States for providing information on the 
initiative of the "Really Good Friends" (RGF) of services, as the group was referred to in the press. 
83. The representative of Israel said that Israel al so considered itself a "good friend of services" 
and wished to lend its support to such innovative in itiatives to discussions, which could help advance 
services liberalization, negotiations and knowledge .  At a difficult juncture for the DDA, it was 
crucial for all Members to have an open mind for new and creative approaches.  Israel believed the 
one they had just heard about could be one such path to follow.  It was his delegation's firm 
understanding that the RGF initiative was open for all Me mbers to join in and was to remain so in the 
future.  He reiterated his delegation's keen inter est in the process and would welcome further updates. 
84. The representative of Uruguay recalled that, as pr eviously stated during MC8, his delegation 
attached the greatest importance to making progress with respect to services trade, which was very 
strategic in terms of development.  Services were not an exchange for progress elsewhere.  It was a 
vital area where Uruguay had major offensive and very few defensive interests.   
85. Uruguay had engaged actively in the negotiations.  It had indicated its willingness to 
substantially improve the sectoral coverage of its offe r and had tried to respond to most of the bilateral 
and plurilateral requests it had received.  Urugua y had reaffirmed its traditional commitment to 
contributing concretely to the estab lishment of a critical mass in the area of services, an area which 
had been clearly been relegated compared to goods.   
86. Underscoring the need to preserve the overall mandate and the progress made in the DDA 
over the previous ten years, as well as the princi ple of the single undertaking, the representative had  S/C/M/109 
 Page 13 
 
 
  taken note of the information provided on the plurilate ral initiative, which aimed at exploring ways of 
advancing services liberalisation.  Uruguay was w illing to work with all Members interested in 
achieving balanced and development-oriented resu lts that would strengthen the credibility of the 
multilateral trading system as instructed by Ministers at MC8. 
87. The representative of Cuba apologised for his la te arrival at the meeting.  His delegation 
reiterated its rejection of any idea by Members to promote plurilateral agreements in the WTO that 
aimed to achieve greater access to the markets of developing countries, while endangering the 
multilateral trading system and the credibility of th e WTO.  Cuba urged Members to maintain and 
strengthen the multilateral dimension of the WTO,  against any small group of Members or any 
activities in small negotiating formats that woul d undermine the principles of transparency and 
inclusiveness and try to replace the multilateral syst em that had been set up with such efforts. 
88. The representative of China said that Chin a had always been a strong supporter of 
multilateralism.  Members were all aware that the DDA was in a very difficult year.  China supported 
all kinds of efforts to explore new initiatives, provi ded that these were beneficial towards the final 
conclusion of the DDA.  In the services negotiation,  all attention was now on the services plurilateral 
initiated among the RGF.  To better understand that  initiative, China would appreciate some more 
clarification on a few key questions.  
89. First, at MC8, Ministers had instructed Memb ers to “work actively, in a transparent and 
inclusive manner, towards a successful multilateral conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda in 
accordance with its mandate”.  The clear objective w as to conclude the DDA in accordance with its 
mandate.  In that regard, China would appreciate more elaboration on how a services plurilateral 
would serve as a “stepping stone” to advance the ov erall DDA negotiation.  How did the RGF plan to 
turn the services plurilateral in to a multilateral process?  
90. Second, the MC8 Elements for political Guidan ce also instructed Members to “explore 
different negotiating approaches while respecting the principles of transparency and inclusiveness.”  
China certainly appreciated the efforts of some Me mbers to explore new approaches, but also noted 
that it was a process initiated among a small group of Members, and until now, the broader 
Membership had had no information on key elements  such as whether the outcome would be based on 
MFN, what was the relationship with DDA and the lik e.  In that regard, would the RGFs explain how 
the principle of “transparency and inclusiveness” as instructed by Ministers was reflected in their 
initiative? 
91. Third, according to the MC8 Elements for political Guidance, Memb ers could focus on 
elements that allowed to reach agreement “earlier than the full conclusion of the single undertaking” 
based on consensus.  If the outcome of a services plur ilateral was treated as an early harvest, what was 
the assessment of the RGF in terms of reachi ng a consensus on the part of all Members?  
92. Aside from these questions, a big question in Chin a's mind concerned the exact nature of the 
services plurilateral.  Was it a GATS Article V PTA negotiation, or was it something else?  If the 
objective of the services plurilateral negotiation was not to advance multilatera l negotiations, but to 
replace it or undermine it, China would not be able to support the initiative.   
93. It was a very difficult year for the DDA.  Ag ainst that backdrop, an initiative to call for 
Members' Geneva Ambassadors, whose main r esponsibility was the multilate ral trade negotiations, 
and ask them to engage in a plurilateral process w ould only divert attention and resources away from 
the DDA and further reduce the chances of reaching a final conclusion. 
94. The representative of Bolivia said that the questi ons raised by China were very relevant and 
should be considered.  He echoe d Cuba's observations that such initiatives could undermine the S/C/M/109 
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  multilateral trading system.  A group of countries w ho proclaimed themselves to be friends of the 
system were putting in place an initiative that was actually undermining it.  His delegation understood 
that such a process would not have much value if de veloping countries were not involved or if other 
concessions were not offered to de veloping countries in other, non-services areas, as was the case in 
the multilateral setting.  Bolivia did not favour plurilateral negotiations, as these undermined the 
multilateral trading system and made it impossible pa rticularly for developing countries to have the 
capacity to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages as in the multilateral system. 
95. The representative of South Africa had not clear ly understood why the initiative had been 
brought to the regular Council but was nonetheless grat eful for the transparency provided by the US 
announcement.  He was also unclear about the emer ging architecture.  Regardless, there were some 
principles that South Africa would like to see followe d.  The Chair at MC8 had highlighted that, while 
Members would be prepared to explore different negotiating approaches, there remained divergence 
on what the appropriate nature of such approaches should be.  Ministers reaffirmed their commitment 
to the DDA by stating that they remained committed  to work actively in a transparent and inclusive 
manner towards a successful multilateral conclusion of  the DDA in accordance with its mandate.  In 
that context, South Africa was committed to looki ng at all possible approaches provided that such 
new approaches were in accordance with the principl es of inclusiveness and formed part of the single 
undertaking.  In addition, any new approach ha d to advance the objectives of the DDA in a manner 
that benefitted all Members and be based on th e MFN obligation.  South Africa stressed the 
importance of the linkage between NAMA, services and agriculture and remained adamant that the 
negotiations in their entirety had to remain  true to the DDA's development objectives. 
96. The representative of Ecuador said that any discu ssion having to do with negotiations in the 
WTO context had to take into account the multilatera l dimension of inclusiveness and benefits for all 
Members. 
97. The representative of Turkey concurred that, in the current impasse in the DDA, various paths 
of collaboration needed to be explored simultane ously, in order to ensure continuous high level 
attention on services.  In that regard, the explanation by the RGF provided an opportunity for non-
participating Members to exchange views on what c ould be achieved in a plurilateral agreement.  It 
was important to find a balance in terms of servi ces and modes of supply that Members were willing 
to open up in their markets.  On the other hand, Turkey was not convinced that a plurilateral would 
advance the stated objectives of the DDA and cont ribute to increasing confidence in the WTO.  The 
coverage, format and participants of  a potential plurilateral service agreement were still a mystery.  At 
that stage, it is unclear whether this initiative w ould lead to meaningful results in terms of the on-
going services negotiations.  In addition, the potential  conflict of such an agreement with the much 
valued MFN principle did not seem to be settled yet, while this issue could have important implications for the DDA.  Against this backgroun d, Turkey would follow th e work on a plurilateral 
services agreement with close interest and hoped that  the negotiations be conducted with a view to 
promoting the economic growth and deve lopment of developing countries.  
98. The representative of India said that, as it was the first time that it had formally heard 
information on the plurilateral services discussions, hi s delegation had many questions, most of which 
had already been raised by China and South Africa.   He echoed the central question asked by China 
on how the initiative would contribute to strengtheni ng of multilateral system and the conclusion of 
the DDA.  He also drew attention to the ‘Elements for Political Guidance’ incl uded in the Chairman’s 
concluding statement of the Ministerial Conference.  These provided that Members should more fully 
explore different negotiating approaches while r especting the principles of transparency and 
inclusiveness.  This was with the objective of ach ieving the successful multilateral conclusion of the 
DDA in accordance with its mandate.    S/C/M/109 
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  99. The concluding statement of the Guidance stat ed:  “Ministers maintain that, in their 
negotiations, they will continue their work based on  the progress already made. Ministers affirm that 
any agreements reached, at any time, have to respect fully the development component of the 
mandate.”  Accordingly, India believed that, while  Members should have an open mind to explore 
new approaches, any proposed new approach s hould contribute to the successful multilateral 
conclusion of the DDA negotiations in an inclusiv e and transparent manner, in accordance with its 
mandate.  Members could not abandon the processes  that had made the WTO a uniquely democratic 
institution.  Any such initiative al so had to respect the development mandate that was the core of the 
DDA.  In that context, Members shoud also refer to the declaration made by the ‘Friends of 
Development’ at the December Ministerial.  
100. India looked forward to hearing from th e RGF on how their initiative strengthened 
multilateralism and the Ministerial goa l of concluding the DDA.  India was concerned at the impact of 
this initiative on multilateralism and the DDA.  
101. The representative of Brazil said that the US in tervention was timely and encouraged further 
reporting from the RGF on the plurilateral discussi ons.  He would refrain from repeating Brazil's 
concerns and questions, which had been clearly raised  by his Ambassador at the Enchilada meeting.  
He called for the process to be  as transparent as possible. 
102. Speaking on behalf of SVEs, the representative of Barbados recalled that Ministers had called 
on Members to more fully explore different negotia ting approaches while respecting the principles of 
transparency and inclusiveness with the objective of advancing the negotiations where progress could 
be made.  Admittedly, the services negotiations ha d not reached Members' anticipated level of 
ambition.  With she recognised the distinct nature  and dynamics of the services negotiations compared 
with other market access negotiations, it was clear  that the pace and progress in services would rely 
heavily on the degree of advances in other key areas.  She had taken note of the RGF discussions 
aimed at advancing services liberalisation, and hope d for any outcome agreement to be implemented 
on an MFN basis.  She reiterated the SVE's pref erence for a multilateral approach based on Annex C 
of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration.  Th e representative welcomed the openness displayed by 
the RGF and their commitment to keeping the Me mbers updated on progress with their discussions.  
She also noted that discussions were still at an in fant stage.  She trusted that, within the WTO, 
different negotiating approached could be developed aimed at progressing trade liberalization that 
were transparent, promoted inclusiveness and incor porated the principle of single undertaking, while 
emphasising the development mandate of the DDA.  SVEs stood willing and ready to engage in that 
regard. 
103. The representative of Malaysia said that, while  her delegation was not part of the RGF, 
Malaysia was open to any approach that would m ove negotiations forward, especially since it had 
been agreed at MC8 to explore new ideas.  She sou ght clarifications similar to those mentioned by 
China, South Africa and India with regard to the obj ective of the plurilateral initiative, in particular on 
the level of ambition and benefits  of participation.  While she appreciated the RGF's efforts in 
exploring new approaches to advance the negotiations , it was still unclear what  the endgame was, and 
whether the results would be implemented on an MF N basis or like the GPA.  In that regard, she 
wondered how the RGF foresaw the plurilateral pr ocess contributing to th e overall market access 
negotiations in services.  
104. The representative of Nigeria recalled the political guidance by Ministers at MC8, particularly 
in relation to the need to explore different negotia ting approaches, while at the same time respecting 
the principles of transparency and inclusiveness, and stressed in particular the latter two concepts.  He 
would be interested in knowing how the RGF initiativ e would be multilateralised, both in terms of the 
outcome and of ensuring inclusiven ess in accordance with the DDA mandate. S/C/M/109 
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  105. The representative of Singapore concurred th at the DDA negotiations were in a difficult 
phase.  The longer Members let the impasse linger, th e greater damage it would do to the credibility 
of the multilateral process.  The RGF was not a new group:  it was a long-existing group of Members, 
including some developing Members, in the servi ces negotiations.  As in the past, the group was 
exploring new approaches with a view to furthe ring the GATS progressive liberalisation of trade in 
services, in the spirit of trying to move things in services.  As a supporter of the multilateral trading 
system, Singapore wanted to see what could be done to  take the process forward.  It was an honest 
attempt to seek forward movement, and it was natura lly a difficult conversation to have.  As always, 
the group had upheld the need for inclusiven ess and transparency.  Today’s discussion was a 
continuation of the transparency exercise.  Despite  a range of views and preferences within the group, 
the RGF was having candid and rea listic discussions, including on how to bridge differences.   
106. Singapore recognised that much work had been done since the Hong Kong Ministerial and 
should not be ignored.  As always, Singapore woul d work to ensure that the process was based on a 
GATS structure and founded on the WT O’s multilateralism.  Pragmatic di scussions needed to be held, 
and Singapore was prepared to have them in  any format, with any willing partner.   
107. The representative of Indonesia echoed previo us interventions in wishing to seek a 
clarification on how the objectives of the plurilate ral initiative fit within the multilateral trading 
system.  Bearing in mind the political guidance given at MC8, he stressed that a number of points had 
to always be upheld in the services negotiations, name ly multilateralism, transparency and inclusivity.  
Any exploration of new approaches had to be frame d within the existing mandate, be it the DDA in 
general or the services negotiations in particular.  Any new approached had to respect developmental 
needs and the special and differential treatment principle. 
108. The representative of Costa Rica said that hi s delegation had undertaken various efforts to 
liberalize trade in services, autonomously and throug h PTAs.  Costa Rica was convinced that opening 
up services trade was a key component of its public policy that contributed to development.  His 
delegation was therefore glad to learn that a group of Members had begun exploring ways of 
advancing services liberalization.  Since Costa Rica  was willing to actively participate and contribute 
with real concessions, it had approached the group to be part of their efforts.  It had been very 
encouraging to realize the important steps taken by  other Members to advance services trade and that 
an area that was so important to development was making progress.  Development could not be postponed and services liberalization could e normously contribute to development. 
109. The representative of Australia said that a number of questions had been raised in the course 
of what had been a useful discussion.  It was fair  to acknowledge that the RGF did not have all the 
answers, but did share a common goal to contribu te to services trade reform and multilateral trade 
reform efforts.  It was a fact that bilateral and regional agreements had made a great deal of progress in services liberalization and it was time for those achievements to be drawn together and for the 
benefits of those activities to be brought back to Geneva.  Such a process could only strengthen the 
multilateral trading system.  Australia was convinced  that it would be possible to multilateralise any 
initiative achieved, particularly if it involved the pa rticipation of a significant part of the Membership.  
Some Members had understandably expressed concerns  and raised questions, but Australia would 
encourage them to engage with the initiative and c ontribute to it.  Any serious effort in service trade 
reform would have a significant benefit for develo pment and for developing countries, including for 
LDCs.  
110. The representative of Pakistan was encouraged to hear Members' wishes to move forward 
with services liberalization. 
111. The representative of Chile said that his country , which had liberalised services trade over the 
previous decade, saw the value of such liberalizati on.  Work in the RGF was in an exploratory phase,  S/C/M/109 
 Page 17 
 
 
  with the desire to be transparent and widen partic ipation in the group as appropriate.  The questions 
raised were valid, legitimate and re levant and were being debated also  within the group at the point.  
The RGF shared the goal of making progress on services liberalization and contributing to debate within the WTO. 
112. The representative of New Zealand reiterated that  the RGF did not have all the answers but 
were all willing to contribute to trade liberali zation and reform and were open to discussing these 
issues with other Members. 
113. The representative of the United States echoed the st atement by Australia.  With regard to the 
questions raised, they were the same questions th at the group was also discussing.  The RGF did not 
have answers to all of them yet, but looked forwar d to further deliberations, in the Council or in any 
other configuration. 
114. Turning to the second item of Other Business, the representative of Australia expressed her 
delegation's on-going concern about the lengthy delay in the entry into force of the certified EC-25 
schedule.  She recalled that it had been several year s since Australia had first raised these concerns.  
Australia was one of a number of affected Members with whom compensation arrangements had been 
agreed, but there was still no defined date for entry into force of these arrange ments.  The delay posed 
both systemic and commercial concerns for Australia .  She urged once again the European Union and 
its Member States to expedite the entry into fo rce of the amended schedule of commitments, and 
sought an update on any progress to that end. 
115. The representatives of India, Brazil and Canada  echoed the statement made by Australia.  
116. The representative of the European Union said that the information it had provided at the 
meeting of the Council held on 24 June 2011 was still relevant.  He indicated that 17 Member States 
had concluded their national ratification processes.  In another three Member States the ratification 
process was on-going and in a further three the ratif ication papers were ready to be discussed.  
Ratification did raise particular issues for one Me mber State, and the EU was looking at the issue 
internally.  He could provide no fu rther information by way of update. 
117. A representative of the Secretariat said that th e following services clusters had been planned 
for the weeks of 7 May and 25 June.  The Secretariat had received several requests to do without the 
May cluster.  If Members collectively felt that there was no need for a cluster of meetings in May, the 
latter could be dropped and the next  set of services meetings would be held during the week of 25 
June.  In the interim, each body could hold meeti ngs as appropriate.  If there were no objections, this 
would be the course that would be followed. 
118. No objections were raised. 
119. The Chairman said that the Council would take note of the statements made.  
F. APPOINTMENT  OF THE  NEW  CHAIRPERSON 
120. Based on the consensus reached in the General C ouncil, the Chairperson indicated that he was 
very happy to pass on the chairmanship of the Counc il for Trade in Services to Ambassador Reiter of 
Sweden.  He was confident that with his expe rience, wisdom and personality, Ambassador Reiter 
would guide the future work of the Council skilfully and efficiently.  
121. As the outgoing chairperson of the Council, he said that he had enjoyed working with 
delegations over the previous year and had appr eciated their cooperative and constructive spirit, 
energy, skills and knowledge.   S/C/M/109 
Page 18  
 
  122. He then proposed that the Council elect Ambassador Reiter by acclamation as the new 
Chairperson of the Council for Trade in Services. 
123. The Council elected Ambassador Reiter by acclamation. 
124. The new Chairman, Ambassador Reiter, thanke d Ambassador Erwidodo on behalf of all the 
Members for his tireless efforts and the personal and professional time he had put at the service of the 
WTO.  He thanked him particularly for the steady Chairmanship of the Council in the run-up to the 
MC8.  He thanked Members for their confidence in  him and hoped to live-up to their expectations.  
He looked forward to working w ith delegations and hoped for the Council to function in a business-
oriented, smooth and practical manner. 
125. He then suggested that the Council take note of th e statements made and adjourn the meeting.   
126. The meeting was adjourned. 
 
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