. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/REG155/M/2 
7 February 2006 
 
 (06-0495) 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
Forty-First Session Original:  English 
 
 
 
EXAMINATION OF THE CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY AND COMMON MARKET, 
SERVICES 
 
Note on the Meeting of 24 January 2006  
 
Chairman: Mr. A. Egger (Switzerland) 
  
1. The meeting was convened in document WTO/AIR/2734. 
2. Under Agenda Item C.XIII of its 41
st Session, the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
(hereinafter CRTA or the Committee) took up the second round of examination of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), Services. 
3. The Chairman
 said that the proceedings of the first round of examination of the CARICOM, 
Services, which had taken place in the Committee's Thirty-Seventh Session in October 2004, had been 
distributed in document WT/REG155/M/1, and the recen t exchange of questions and replies had been 
circulated as document WT/REG155/4.  Given that the Committee had already had a round of 
discussion under each of the headings of the Sta ndard Format, document WT/REG155/2, he proposed 
to open the floor for comments and questions by broad Section. 
4. Under Section I ("Background Information on th e Agreement"), the representative of the 
United States  asked the Parties whether the single mark et had been achieved on 1 January 2006 and 
all restrictions in services removed, as it had been d escribed in the Standard Format and in document 
WT/REG155/4.  She also requested the Parties to confirm that the Agreement was based on a negative 
list and  to identify the sectors that had been excluded.   Pointing out that in the October 2004 meeting, 
the representative of Jamaica had indicated that  CARICOM would submit a joint regional GATS offer 
with common elements, she asked whether that offe r had been made and if each Party had made an 
individual offer, and whether the offer differe d from the liberalization commitments of the 
Agreement.  The representatives of Australia  and the European Communities  said that they shared 
similar requests and further asked if work pe rmits on CARICOM nationals had been removed. 
5. Under Section IV ("Other Aspects of the Agreement"), the representative of Australia  noted 
that according to Articles 30, 36.4 and 38 of the Ag reement, provisions of Chapter 3 (Establishment, 
Services, Capital and Movement of Community Nationals) did not appl y to the exercise of 
governmental authority and that relevant decision- making bodies might also exclude certain financial 
provisions of the Agreement.  He requested the Parties to explain these provisions and the reasoning 
behind them.  He also pointed out that the Standard  Format noted that with respect to the right of 
establishment, governmental and private sector monopolies (Article 31) might also be excluded, so he asked the Parties to provide details on any gove rnment and private sector monopolies excluded under 
this provision. 
 WT/REG155/M/2 
Page 2  
 
  6. The representative of Antigua & Barbuda
 noted that, according to the minutes of the October 
2004 meeting (WT/REG155/M/1), the representative from Jamaica had said that CARICOM would submit offers with common elements, though not necessar ily a joint offer.  He explained that, because 
CARICOM was not an economic union, it could hard ly make an offer for the whole region, though 
efforts were made to ensure that individual offers were in line with the regional regime.  He informed 
that all but two CARICOM countries had already subm itted initial offers in the services negotiations.  
Finally, he asked delegations to  submit their questions in writing.  
7. The Chairman
 said that this round of examination had allowed the Committee to clarify a 
number of issues, but that some outstanding questio ns remained.  He proposed that any additional 
questions be submitted to the Secretariat by 17 Fe bruary and that the Parties respond in writing by 10 
March, so that a further round of examination could be scheduled for a forthcoming meeting.  It was 
so agreed . 
8. The Committee took note  of the comments made. 
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