RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/S/M/25 
28 June 2007 
 
 (07-2736) 
Council for Trade in Services 
Special Session  
 
 
  
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 8 JUNE 2007 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. The Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services held a formal meeting on 
8 June 2007, chaired by Ambassador Fernando de Mateo of Mexico.  The agenda for the meeting, 
contained in document WTO/AIR/3026, was adopted. 
A. R EVIEW OF PROGRESS IN NEGOTIATIONS , INCLUDING PURSUANT TO PARAGRAPH 15 OF THE 
GUIDELINES FOR NEGOTIATIONS AND ORGANIZATION OF FUTURE WORK   
2. The Chair  recalled that since the C ouncil's last meeting in late April, Members had made 
further progress in the services negotiations.  Consultati ons in capitals and in Geneva continued with a 
view to preparing revised offers.  Substantive discussions, based on the Draft Chairman’s text, had 
been held in the Working Party on Domestic Re gulation, and a further two days of detailed 
discussions on this text would take place next week.  Overall, the momentum gained with the 
resumption of the negotiations earlier this year was being maintained.   
3. He noted that difficulties remained in othe r areas of the DDA talks – and these inevitably 
affected the services negotiations.  He suggested  that Members keep in mind however that the 
Director-General had told the TNC recently that the overall level of negotiating activity in Geneva 
had increased significantly since April, and that the negotiating process could now be said to have 
"taken off". 
4. He switched the meeting to informal mode to inform Members of recent consultations he had 
held at ambassadorial level.   
5. Switching the meeting back to formal mode, he invited Members to assess the current state of 
the services negotiations, and the best way to organize work in the coming months.  
6. All the delegations that had taken the floor unde r this item thanked the Chair for his report on 
the consultations at ambassadorial level and commended him for his great efforts in this process.  
7. The representative of the United States  noted that as work continued to reach a breakthrough 
in agriculture, further considerations were n eeded toward what represented a meaningful 
breakthrough in services.  In his delegation's vi ew, such a breakthrough had to include strong 
statements by Members asserting their willingness to  make substantial improvements in the next 
round of services market access offers at a level of  ambition comparable to what was emerging from 
agriculture and NAMA.  Such improvements had to respond to bilateral and plurilateral requests 
                                                      
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. TN/S/M/25 
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  taking into account Annex C of the Hong Kong Declar ation.  In so doing, these improvements needed 
to achieve a significant increase of the overall le vel of existing commitments, capture current 
liberalization, provide new market access, elim inate or phase out national treatment limitations, 
foreign equity or other barriers to establishment, as well as limitations on provision of cross-border 
services, including via internet.  New offers had to include as broad as possible sectoral coverage.  
Timeframes for the next offers and the final schedules  had also to be established, but they had to be 
linked to the timeframes emerging from agricu lture and NAMA.  In addition, the services 
breakthrough had to address continuing negotia tions on domestic regulation, more focused 
negotiations on rules, and work expeditiously to develop mechanisms to implement the LDC 
Modalities.  Noting that many of these elements had been addressed in previous statements by 
Ministers at different decision points in negotiations , his delegation was considering the possibility of 
a more concrete deliverable at the time of a break through emerging in other areas, which was related 
to the level of work going on in agriculture and NAMA.   Recognizing that there were significant 
decisions taking place in those areas, his delegation believed that there might be a need for something 
new, something more specific and more ambiti ous in services with both market access and national 
treatment ambition asserted. 
8. Referring to the latest TNC meeting, the representative of Canada
 noted that while there was 
still uncertainty about the fate of this round, the Di rector-General was planni ng for a success.  There 
was a window of opportunity in early July where what Members needed to do was to plan for a 
success in services in a si milar spirit.  He suggested that the July meetings be organized along the 
following lines:  holding meetings of the WPDR and other subsidiary bodies that had a reason to 
meet; setting aside time for discussions on how to articulate services ambition in the context of a 
breakthrough as well as discussions on market access.  The July meetings would not be a traditional cluster, as there was no need for 20 plurilateral me etings.   What was needed was frank discussions 
that could add value to the negotia tion process by taking stock of the state of play in market access 
and the key issues that might hold back further movement.  If Ministers and senior officials were to 
meet at some point in the future, the trade negotia tors' job was to prepare the ground so that they 
could have a focused and productive discussion that c ould contribute to progress overall in the round.  
Members had to take maximum advantage of the window of opportunity in July.  
9. The representative of Brazil
 reiterated his delegation's full co mmitment and efforts to ensure 
that the target to conclude this round would be  achieved.  His delegation was also committed to 
achieving a breakthrough as soon as possible.  It  shared broadly the goal the United States had 
presented of ensuring a level of ambition in services comparable to that in agriculture and NAMA.  
He, however, emphasized that as moving towards that  goal, it was important to keep in mind that 
services was one area that had moved according to  plan.  Deadlines and mandates had been met and 
offers had been put on table, whic h had given an indication of Member s' willingness to move forward.  
It was also important to keep in mind that the mandates had been agreed upon by Ministers.  There 
was no mandate of binding current access as one of the goals in this round.  His delegation would take 
note of it as an expression of desire, but would not be bound to any goal in this line.  As to the way 
forward, his delegation was confident in the Chair's guidance and remained committed.   
10. The representative of India  stated that, while welcoming a breakthrough, his delegation 
believed that it had to include sectors and modes of supply of interest to developing countries.  This 
was enshrined in the GATS.  In particular, any breakthrough had to include commitments on Mode 4 
by all Members, and this had to be reflected in te xt.  On the elements raised by the United States such 
as phase-out of national treatment limitations, foreign equity and other barriers, he noted that these 
were negotiation issues his delegation was willing to e ngage in.  He noted that there was guidance for 
the services negotiations.  It was Annex C, a multilateral document agreed upon by Ministers, where there was something for everyone.  What was needed was to translate it into commitments.  On the 
forthcoming services cluster, he agreed with Canada that there was no need for full-fledged 
plurilateral meetings.  It was time for trade negotia tors to set out exactly what would be on the table  TN/S/M/25 
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  with more clarifications.  The WPDR needed to m eet during the cluster so that capital-based experts 
could take part in the drafting exercise.    
11. The representative of th e European Communities  noted that his delegation had been involved 
in discussions on the idea of breakthrough with diff erent Members and in different configurations 
(including the G-4) with a view to moving ahead on the definition of a breakthrough package in 
services.   Discussions had to continue and an agreem ent had yet to be reached.  From his delegation's 
perspective, the elements to be included in such  a breakthrough were very much in line with those 
indicated by the United States.  Political guidance was needed on levels of ambition that Members 
were to aim at in their next offers.  Involvement of Ministers was to be ensured in signalling specific 
elements that would be contained in the next offers.  Certain multilateral issues needed to be 
addressed, such as disciplines on domestic regulation, and timing for the next offers.  Levels of 
ambition in services had to be commensurate with those in agriculture and NAMA by both capturing 
existing liberalization and creating new market access opportunities.  This would allow achieving 
balance across the three market a ccess pillars of the DDA.  This was also fully in line with the 
mandate under the GATS indicating that Members were to achieve higher levels of liberalization and 
effective market access.  In order for the breakth rough to be sustainable, it had to cover elements 
related to both market access and national treatme nt.  Echoing the statement made by Canada, he 
suggested that the next cluster be used to c ontinue and hopefully conc lude the negotiations on 
elements of a services breakthrough.  Flexibility was needed on the exact dates, depending on the 
overall development of the round.  He emphasized that the next cluster was a very important 
opportunity, notably to prepare the ground for the Ministerial signalling exercise through discussions 
at the trade negotiators level, which would allow fu rther clarifying and specifying the signals to be 
given at the ministerial level.  
12. The representative of the Philippines  stated that since the agriculture and NAMA negotiations 
were hopefully in the final stages of modalities de bate, his delegation shared the goal of other 
Members to start reflecting on what the breakthr ough in agriculture and NAMA would mean for the 
services negotiations.  However, his delegation wished  to emphasize two points: 1) any such services 
breakthrough should respect Article XIX of the GA TS, particularly the flexibilities for developing 
countries; 2) any such breakthrough should preserve the request-offer modalities for the services negotiations. His delegation remained convinced that  any idea to capture existing liberalization and 
create new market access opportunities as a binding obligation for any revised offers had to be 
consistent with Article XIX of the GATS a nd the request-offer modalities for the services 
negotiations.  His delegation was considering new id eas or the need for new ideas with an open mind 
and in a constructive spirit.  While thanking the pr oponents of these ideas for conducting transparency 
sessions with developing Members, his delegation noted that absent any concrete proposal with regard 
to these ideas, many capitals were operating within  the parameters of Annex C and the Negotiating 
Guidelines with expectation that the services break through would only involve setting new deadlines 
for the submission of a new round of revised offers.  His delegation wished to emphasize the need to 
concretize these ideas as soon as possible.  A few more  weeks would be too late for new ideas if the 
timeline was to conclude the Doha Round in the next  few months.  On the next cluster, while his 
delegation could go along with having it in the firs t two weeks of July, his delegation hoped that the 
schedule and structure of the cluster could be conf irmed as soon as possible so that capital officials 
could be prepared for such meetings, especially for those from developing Members.  He noted that 
many of them were not solely dedicated to the WT O services negotiations.  A lot of RTAs were being 
negotiated and meetings of ECOSOC of th e UN would take place in July as well.  
13. The representative of New Zealand
 thanked the United Stated and the European Communities 
for their contributions in providing some thoughts on the services breakthrough.  His delegation  shared the ambition of other delegations to see a high quality services outcome, commensurate with 
the high level of ambition in other two areas of ma rket access negotiations.  His delegation was also 
open to the ideas put forward, such as a signalling exer cise and ministerial exercise, considering that TN/S/M/25 
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  these ideas would promote better outcomes.  New Zeal and could match that level of ambition and had 
done its homework to that effect.  In addition to delivering on services ambition, any services 
breakthrough had to enjoy wide support, otherwise by definition it could not be a breakthrough.  
Given the particular nature of the services negotia tions, the breakthrough needed to be realistically 
calibrated to what could be achieved therein with in a relatively short timeframe.  This was to 
complement ambitious outcomes in other market acc ess pillars.  On the July meetings, his delegation 
agreed with Canada on their format and purpose. 
14. The representative of Mauritius
 stated that despite its small size, his country tried to be 
present in all the fora at any level in order to ma ke a contribution and to support good causes.  In this 
forum, the good cause was free trade and liberalization,  which had to be human, fair and equitable.  
Mauritius was trying to liberalize and open its markets,  bearing in mind its solidarity with countries in 
Africa, the ACP Group and other groups.  His dele gation wished to support the statement made by 
India.  He suggested that the Chair, in his ongoing consultations, take on board the concerns of developing countries, in particular sectors and m odes of interest to those vulnerable developing 
countries.  He underlined that Members should not forget flexibilities developing countries needed, in 
particular those vulnerable ones.  
15. The representative of Antigua and Barbuda
, speaking on behalf of small and vulnerable 
economies, reiterated the importance of information sh aring in a continuous and systemic way so that 
Members could have a holistic overview of progr ess in the services negotiations.  On the way 
forward, he emphasized that integrity of adhe rence to the GATS structure and the Negotiating 
Guidelines had to be maintained.  Particular attenti on had to be paid to Article XIX:2, which accorded 
flexibilities to developing countries for opening fewer sectors, liberalizing few types of transactions 
and progressively extending market access in line with  their development situation.  In light of the 
Director-General's statement at the latest TNC meeting regarding the need  to increase the pace of 
work on all key areas of negotiations, the needs of small and vulnerable econom ies were to be taken 
into account and an appropriate reference was to be made relating to paragra ph 8 of Annex C.  These 
economies would play their part towards a successful outcome in the negotiations.  
16. The representative of Singapore  noted that the linkage between agriculture, NAMA and 
services had become more important and explicit at the end game.  His delegation recognized the need 
for balance between these areas to facilitate a su ccessful conclusion of the DDA.  With respect to 
services, a value-added outcome that would build on status quo could deliver market access for all 
services suppliers.  While all Members had to work towards such a value-added outcome in services,  
the spirit and letter of Annex C was to be resp ected, which provided the parameters set out by 
Ministers for the services negotiations.  In addition,  Annex C was very clear on the sequencing issue.  
There should be no shifting of goal posts in services or in other areas of the DDA.   His delegation 
also recognized the need to create greater clarity and specificity with regard to the offers that 
Members would be making later.  His delegation wa s open to the idea of signalling exercise as long as 
it was held within the framework of Annex C.  Singapore had received many requests, both bilateral 
and plurilateral, and had responded to many of them in its offers.  It was looking into further 
improvements of offers currently on the table.  But the scope of such improvements would depend on 
its trading partners' response to its own requests as well as the levels of ambition in other areas of 
negotiations.  On the issue of organizing the next cl uster, his delegation trusted the Chair's judgement.   
17. The representative of Chinese Taipei  noted that the meetings of G-4 Ministers had been 
focusing on pushing ahead with the negotiations on agriculture and NAMA.  While hoping that these 
meetings would finally produce the long-awaited brea kthrough, Members could not sit idly aside in 
another equally important negotiating group, services.  Services was one of the three key pillars of the 
Doha Round.  The series of "Enchilada" meetings  at the ambassadorial level had helped to 
demonstrate that the services negotiations were as important as agriculture and NAMA.  Members  TN/S/M/25 
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  needed to keep this momentum in services to  make sure that a corresponding progress was made 
across the board.   
18. He noted that unlike in agriculture and NAMA,  there were no "magic" numbers in services 
that could serve as indicators of where the breakthr ough might come from.  One key question that had 
been asked was: what could be delivered as the services breakthrough? 
19. While welcoming any arrangements that could possibly demonstrate substantive progress in 
negotiations, his delegation's view was that, at the en d of the day, Members had to keep their ambition 
on services at a level equivalent to that of the ot her two negotiation areas.  His delegation remained 
open-minded and willing to continue to discuss with  other Members on appropriate ways of best 
reflecting efforts and ambitions.  Members needed to  continue domestic cons ultations in order to 
submit second revised offers as soon as possible af ter the modalities of agriculture and NAMA had 
been settled.    
20. Domestic regulation was complementary to the negotiations on market access and it was 
important to make sure that Members' domestic measures did not constitute unnecessary barriers to 
trade in services.  Only then woul d the outcome of the market access negotiations not be diluted.  His 
delegation was pleased to note that steady progress had been made on the basis of the Chairman's 
Draft.   
21. He noted that the Director-General had stressed  again at the TNC meeting that the cost of 
failure of this Round would be e normous and that time was limited.  Constant attention was needed 
and Members had to intensify their efforts in agriculture, NAMA and services.  His delegation would continue to work closely with the Chair and othe r Members to help bring about an ambitious and 
balanced conclusion to the services negotiations. 
22. The representative of Egypt
 stated that a breakthrough in services had to be a general 
breakthrough for all Members.  If it were not a ba lanced one, it would be a breakthrough for some 
Members and a setback for others.  It was important that the outcome of the collective levels of ambition should not be reached through agreeing on certain benchmarks that had no reference in any 
negotiating mandates.  Egypt's initial and revised o ffers had clearly shown that it took negotiations 
very seriously.  It would remain se riously and constructively engaged.  
23. The representative of Hong Kong, China
 noted that the negotiations were entering a critical 
stage.  It was important to have high level engage ment on services.  Therefore, the recent "Enchilada" 
meetings were helpful for familiarizing heads of delegations on the services negotiations.  She hoped 
that necessary political will would be secured in order to intensify the process and that at the end of 
the process there would be a good outcome of hi gh quality services offers and robust rules on 
services, including those on domestic regulation.  Th is was what her delegation wished to see as 
components of a services breakthrough.  Her delegati on also wished to see certain dates for the next 
offers included in such a breakthrough.  The br eakthrough should have a wide support of the 
membership.  She hoped that the ongoing consultati ons held by the Chair would bring about the 
political will to achieve this goal.  She also hoped that discussion taking place in other configurations 
would bring about similar results.  On the issue of organizing the next cluster, her delegation 
supported the timeline the Chair had set out, i.e. the fi rst two weeks of July.  Her delegation, as one of 
the co-ordinators of plurilateral meetings, was open to ideas of organizing such meetings and shared 
Canada's view in this regard.  On other unf inished businesses, including consultations on domestic 
regulation to which her delegation attached gr eat importance, rules, LDC Modalities and S&D 
treatment, her delegation hoped that th ey would be finished within the timelines set out.  It also hoped 
that building on the achievements made in the April cl uster, Members would be able to move to more 
of a negotiating mode in the coming cluster.  TN/S/M/25 
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  24. The representative of Mexico
 stated that it was important to continue to work in services in 
order to achieve ambitious results, not only on market access, but also on disciplines on domestic 
regulation.  On the latter, he noted that Members were discussing a draft.  What was needed were more in-depth discussions.  He said that any outco me had to be consistent with the GATS and the 
mandates agreed upon by Ministers, taking into account  the context of negotiations.  He noted that 
plurilateral meetings were useful, enabling Members to move from simple exchange of views to more 
focused discussions on red lines, must-haves and flexibiliti es.  It was the right time to clearly define 
what Members were expecting from the services br eakthrough.  They could at least improve 
discussions on the breakthrough over the coming weeks.  He agreed with Canada on the structure and 
content of the July cluster.  
25. The representative of Korea
 reiterated that a substantial outcome in services was an essential 
component of the DDA negotiations for delivering balan ced benefits to all Members.  While there had 
been increased and positive engagement in the ser vices negotiations, the progress seemed to be less 
than satisfactory.  Greater efforts were needed to  ensure a meaningful outcome in the services chapter 
of the DDA package.  As the negotiations had entere d a critical stage, it seemed timely and useful to 
discuss what needed to be achieved in services  in the context of breakthrough in the DDA 
negotiations.   
26. Future work towards a meaningful services co mponent had to be conducted on the basis of 
the following principles.  First, Members were to keep  in mind that diverse interests came into play in 
the services negotiations, where a broad range of sect ors and issues were being dealt with.  They 
needed to seek a balanced liberalization in terms of sectors and modes of supply in order to secure 
support from all Members.  In addition to the ma rket access component, equal importance was to be 
attached to progress in other areas, including domestic regulation.   
27. Second, for the success of negotiations, all Me mbers had to make efforts.  Developed 
Members were to take the lead, and developing Members would expand the scope and deepen the 
level of commitments in a way to build a more co mprehensive services sector, which was one of the 
key objectives of the current Round of negotiations.   In this regard, a Ministerial meeting would be a 
useful forum for Ministers to reaffirm their st rong commitment to the services negotiations and 
indicate what Members could deliver in service s to ensure balanced progress in the overall 
negotiations.  The possibility of holding the Minist erial meeting before the summer break had been 
raised at the last TNC meeting.  When such a meeting took place, services had to take their due place 
on the agenda. 
28. With a Ministerial meeting in mind, futu re work was to focus on achieving maximum 
progress taking into account the importance of the ser vices area.  Domestic consultations had to be 
stepped up to yield concrete results.  Ambassadors needed to continue thei r ongoing substantive work, 
focusing on areas subject to the plurilateral requ est-offer negotiations.  Greater political momentum 
could be generated by such high-leve l engagement, which in turn woul d facilitate high quality offers.   
29. Korea supported the idea of holding a cluster dur ing the first two weeks of July.  Members 
could reflect on the format of the meetings, keeping in mind that the July cluster was to be organized 
in a way to facilitate progress and ensure maxi mum substantive results in the context of a 
breakthrough. 
30. The representative of Switzerland  reiterated that his government attached great importance to 
a successful conclusion of the Doha Round and that servi ces had to be a key part of  such a result.  He 
noted that Members were operating under the mandates of Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration.  
Keeping in mind these provisions, Members might cons ider how to develop them so as to materialize 
the ambition for a services package and positively contribute to the conclusion of the round.  
Welcoming Members' efforts to develop ideas with a view to a successful and ambitious outcome of  TN/S/M/25 
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  the services negotiations, his delegations believed that these ideas could contribute positively and 
constructively to stimulate the negotiation process and l ead to a fruitful outcome.  He suggested that 
Members consider these ideas in the near future and have in-depth discussions.  A breakthrough had 
to enjoy consensus. Developed and developing  Members had to upgrade their offers with 
improvements in both market access and national treat ment, in all modes of supply and all sectors.  
On the way forward, his delegation supported having a cluster in the first two weeks of July, where 
Members needed not just to hold discussions on market access, but also move forward in the subsidiary bodies.  For Switzerland, disciplines on do mestic regulation were also a component of the 
breakthrough and the discussion on the relationshi p between old and new commitments in the CSC 
was very important.  Sufficient time was also needed  for bilateral negotiations during the cluster.   
31. The representative of Norway
 recalled that Members had agreed at the meeting in April to 
take stock in June.  He thought that the Chair's re port had provided a complete picture of the state of 
play in the services negotiations at a higher leve l and therefore had prepared ground for a later 
treatment at the ministerial level.  On the servi ces contribution to a breakthrough in negotiations, he 
underlined that levels of ambition in services had to correspond to those in agriculture and NAMA.  
While Annex C provided a platform for the objec tives of the services negotiations, what was needed 
was to find a way to translate it into something concrete.  On the process in July, his delegation 
supported Canada.  
32. The representative of Pakistan  noted that some delegations needed to know the depth and 
coverage of the upcoming revised services offers so as to enable them to move the process in 
agriculture and NAMA.  She underscored that flexibilities for developing countries were to be 
maintained and that new ideas be based on the on going process as much as possible.  Pakistan 
regarded the GATS as a tool to enhance transp arency and predictability in its endeavour for 
maintaining and improving its economic  growth rates.  Thinking that being locked in liberalization 
could stimulate both domestic and foreign investor s, her delegation had been fully engaged in the 
plurilateral process in Geneva and with stakeholde rs back home.  She reiterated that along with 
market access, the negotiations on domestic regula tion had to result in balanced disciplines which 
would facilitate the supply of services while pr eserving regulatory autonomy.  Her delegation 
supported having the next cluster in July.   
33. The representative of Japan  supported the views expressed by the United States and the 
European Communities on the issue of a breakthrough.   The levels of ambition in services had to be 
comparable to those in agriculture and NAMA.  Me mbers needed to capture current liberalization in 
services market access and make further liberalization.  His delegation viewed other elements of the 
breakthrough also important, such as the timeframe for the next revised offer, a substantial outcome in 
the negotiations on domestic regulation, rul es and LDC Modalities.  His delegation supported 
Canada's view on the July cluster.   
34. The representative of Morocco  shared the view expressed by ot her delegations with regard to 
political commitment.  All Members were to maintain their commitm ent to the Doha mandate which 
was to promote development.  This was the basis fo r all outcomes to be achieved in this round.  Any 
breakthrough had to benefit all Members in all mo des of supply and to respect the principles of 
flexibility and progressive liberalization under the GATS, taking into account levels of development 
of countries.  He reminded Members of their comm itment to make commitments in sectors and modes 
of interest to developing countries, especially on mode  4.  While open to all proposals, his delegation 
wished to have a clearer idea of any new structure or new approach that might be taken for future 
negotiations.  He finally stressed the obligation to strike a balance between market access and rules in 
negotiations.  
35. The representative of South Africa  echoed the statements made by Brazil and India.  He 
stressed that a breakthrough had to be a compromise that all Members were able to live with.  For his TN/S/M/25 
Page 8  
 
  delegation, a breakthrough had to encompass any de als reached in agriculture, NAMA and services.  
He noted that many offers on the table from demande urs were actually inadequate and insufficient in 
terms of both sectors and modes of supply.  These Members needed to do more.  He stressed that developed Members should respect both the letter and spirit of Article XIX.  With regard to the 
negotiations on domestic regulation, noting that they were moving into a critical stage, he hoped that 
the outcome would be real progress with eff ective disciplines and the development dimension 
adequately addressed.   
36. The representative of China
 stated that her delegation largely shared the views expressed by 
Brazil and India.  She said that those new ideas on levels of ambition reminde d her of discussions in 
2005 which had resulted in Annex C.  She believe d that Annex C should continue to guide the 
services negotiations except that new timelines had to be  set out for the submission of the next revised 
offers and draft schedules.   There was no need fo r any new multilateral decisions with respect to 
levels of ambition.    At the point of breakth rough in agriculture and NAMA, a signalling exercise 
might be conducted in services and timelines for the submission of the next revised offers and draft 
schedules had to be set out.  Her delegation was flexible about the next cluster.  
37. On the issue of breakthrough,  the representative of Bangladesh  agreed with China that what 
was needed was to link Annex C to the pace in ag riculture and NAMA.  He stressed that in any 
breakthrough there had to be market access for LDCs  on the basis of special priority mechanism, as 
mentioned in GATS Article IV:3 a nd the Hong Kong Declaration.  
38. The Chair  noted that while all Members attached  importance to a good outcome in the 
services negotiations, there were divergent views on the components of a breakthrough.  He suggested 
that Members continue discussions in this regard.     
39. It was so agreed .  
B. PROPOSALS RELATING TO THE NEGOTIATIONS UNDER ARTICLE XIX  OF THE GATS 
40. The Chair  noted that no new proposal had been s ubmitted under this agenda item since the 
last meeting in late April.  He suggested that th e Council revert to this item at its next meeting. 
41. It was so agreed .  
C. I MPLEMENTATION OF THE MODALITIES FOR THE SPECIAL TREATMENT FOR LDC S IN THE 
TRADE IN SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS  
42. The Chair  stated that Annex C of the Hong Kong Declaration required Members to pursue 
full and effective implementation of the LDC Modalities with a view to the beneficial and meaningful 
integration of LDCs into the multilateral trade system .  He recalled that at the last meeting Members 
had reiterated their intention to in tensify consultations on this issue in order to narrow a wide gap 
between them.  He hoped that Members were ab le to report on progress in this regard.   
43. The representative of Uganda,  speaking on behalf of the LDC Group, noted that the 
Modalities for the Special Treatment of LDCs ha d been adopted in September 2003 pursuant to 
Article XIX:3 of the GATS and sought to increase the participation and integration of LDCs in 
international services trade, through negotiated sp ecific commitments in sectors and modes of export 
interest to LDCs, in a manner that resulted in commercially meaningful market access opportunities.  
Paragraph 9 of Annex C of the Hong Kong Declara tion called on Members to develop methods for the 
full and effective implementation of the LDC Modaliti es, particularly throu gh developing appropriate 
mechanisms for according Special Pr iority to sectors and modes of supply of export interest to LDCs 
in accordance with Article IV:3 of the GA TS and paragraph 7 of the LDC Modalities.    TN/S/M/25 
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  44. In March 2006, the LDC Group had submitted a proposal to the Special Session of the 
Council for Trade in Services for the development of  a Mechanism to operationalize Article IV:3 by 
granting special priority in market access to servi ce suppliers from LDCs.  This proposal was aimed at 
allowing developed countries, and de veloping countries declaring themselves in a position to do so, to 
grant LDC service suppliers special priority market access. 
45. The proposal tabled by the European Commun ities and others, as a response, provided that 
once all revised offers were submitted to the WT O, the Council for Trade in Services under the 
stewardship of the Chair would ask all Members to  submit a report, showing how their DDA offer had 
given special priority to LDC interests in trade in  services.  The feasibility of this was questionable, 
given the fact that if a Member actually decided that to them the LDC interest could best be taken on 
board through preferential market access, they woul d automatically face the rigors of the DSB process 
of the WTO.  In addition, the LDC proposal soug ht a legal mechanism that allowed Members to 
accord priority access to LDCs, an issu e the EC proposal was silent on.  
46. The European and others further proposed that  when all such reports were submitted, the 
WTO Secretariat would then circulate these to th e LDCs for written comments, focusing on their 
individual interests, and a dedicated session of th e CTS-SS would then sit to collectively assess these 
reports.  The LDC Group had pointed out that the CT S already had the obligati on to review and assess 
the results of negotiations and make a report to th at effect (according to paragraph 13 of the LDC 
Modalities).  It was therefore clear that, at best, the EC proposal was a good contribution towards streamlining this already existing obligation.  Taking into account the LDC's limited resources, 
focussing on analysing reports at this critical juncture in the negotiations might not be the most 
optimal way to use these resources.   
47. The LDC Group had expressed dissatisfaction w ith the proposal tabled by the European 
Communities and others and had ha d bilateral consultations on this issue with both the European 
Communities and the United States, noting that the issue of priority market access, which was what 
LDCs were seeking, remained unaddressed. 
48. The LDC Group urged Members to amass the requis ite political will to address the issues that 
the LDCs were raising in their proposal, as it seeme d to be lacking in the GATS negotiations.  For the 
LDC Group, the issue of Special Priority was a corn erstone in the services negotiations, and they were 
keen on an outcome that addressed th is so as to reap development, which was Doha's promise.  As 
such, the LDC Group proposed that Members rec onsider its proposal, and provide the necessary 
political and technical discourse on it.   
49. Under paragraph 26 of the Hong Kong Declar ation, Ministers reemphasized recognition of 
the particular economic situation of LDCs and th e LDC Group and called on Members to keep this at 
the forefront of their negotiations.  The Group wished to find ways to tackle this, if in fact Article II of 
the GATS was the real issue.  What Members needed  to think about was getting that legal obstacle out 
of the way, including through its amendment. 
50. The representative of the Bangladesh
 echoed the statement made by Uganda.   
51. The Chair  suggested that the Council take note of the statements made and revert to this item 
at its next meeting.   
52. It was so agreed . TN/S/M/25 
Page 10  
 
  D. C ONSIDERATION OF PROPOSALS ON S&D  TREATMENT PROVISIONS  
53. The Chair  said that, in accordance with the H ong Kong Declaration, the Council was to 
complete expeditiously a consideration of propo sals on S&D treatment provisions, with a view to 
making clear recommendations for a decision to be ad opted by the General Council.  He recalled that 
Members welcomed a refined African Group proposal at the informal consulta tions in March, which 
proposed a reviewing process before the conclusion  of the round as a way to contribute to the 
implementation of GATS Article IV.  At the last meeting, the African Group had stated that they 
would try to increase the degree of precision of  the proposals as requested by some Members. 
54. The representative of Uganda , speaking on behalf of the African Group, stated that this Group 
remained constructively engaged in the services ne gotiations.  This Group wished to reiterate its 
position in the discussion on S&D treatment that this was an issue of concern and interest to developing countries.   It called upon Members positiv ely and constructively to discuss all the tabled 
proposals on this subject.  Article IV was a key element of the GATS as far as S&D treatment was 
concerned.  The importance of achieving the ob jectives of Article IV was recognized in its 
implications for other GATS elements such as Article XIX and the Negotiation Guidelines and 
Procedures.  The Group believed that constructive discussions on S&D treatment should be linked to 
the implementation of Article IV and the market ac cess negotiations in services.  The Group called for 
Members' support to operationalize paragraph 9 of A nnex C of the Hong Kong Declaration.  It also 
called on Members, among other things, to develop methods for full and effective implementation of 
the LDC Modalities, as many African countries were LD Cs.  The Group wished to stress that the main 
objective of the negotiations was to achieve the de velopment dimension of the DDA in services.  In 
this regard, it was important to focus on priority  issues, particularly S&D treatment proposals.  
Hoping that the consultations on this issue would continue and that there would be some positive 
movements, this Group reiterated its commitment to  engage in the negotiations with the aim to 
achieving its ultimate objective in a manner that was beneficial to all partners. 
55. The Chair
 suggested that the Council take note of the statement made and revert to this item 
at its next meeting.   
56. It was so agreed .   
E. ASSESSMENT OF TRADE IN SERVICES  
57. Noting that no delegation was seeking the floor under this item, the Chair  suggested that the 
Council revert to this item at its next meeting. 
58. It was so agreed.  
F. WORK OF THE SUBSIDIARY BODIES – REPORTS BY THE CHAIRPERSONS  
59. The Chair of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation reported that since the last meeting 
of the Special Session, the Working Party had he ld two informal meetings, on 10 and 11 May 2007 
and on 22 May 2007.  At these meetings Members ha d discussed in detail the draft text of possible 
regulatory disciplines pursuant to Article VI:4 of the GATS, circulated on 18 April 2007.  Members 
had provided several comments, and over three full da ys of meeting the Working Party was able to 
complete the first reading of this draft text.  While much work still lay ahead on the text of the disciplines, Members had engaged in the discussion of  this text in a very constructive spirit and 
generally regarded it as a valid basis for fu rther negotiations.  In the coming weeks broad 
consultations would be con ducted on the specific elements in the text, with a view to bridging existing 
differences.  At this stage, Members were encourag ed to suggest concrete solutions in the form of 
draft language to outstanding issues in the text.  Af ter this phase of informal consultations, Members  TN/S/M/25 
 Page 11 
 
 
  might consider whether the progress achieved would a llow him, the Chair of the Working Party, to 
table a revised draft text.   
H. OTHER BUSINESS  
60. The Chair  suggested that the Council take note of all the statements made before he adjourned 
the meeting. 
61. It was so agreed . 
 
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