WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
S/C/M/107 
25 October 2011 
 (11-5356) 
Council for Trade in Services  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 30 SEPTEMBER 2011 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. On 30 September 2011, the Council for Trad e in Services held a meeting under the 
Chairmanship of Ambassador Erwidodo (Indonesia) .  The agenda was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/3806. 
2. The Chairman indicated that, under Other Business, he would be making a short statement 
regarding the ninth Transitional Review of China's specific commitments, to be held at the following 
Council meeting in November.  The representative of Australia said that her delegation wished to add 
an item of Other Business concerning the entry into force of the certified EC-25 schedule.  
3. The agenda was adopted, as modified. 
A. NOTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO ARTICLES III:3  AND V:7 OF THE GATS 
4. Starting with the notifications made pursuant to Article III:3 of the GATS, the Chairperson 
drew delegations' attention to the notifications r eceived from Switzerland, in documents S/C/N/596 to 
597. 
5. The Council took note of the notifications made. 
6. The Chairperson subsequently pointed to th e notifications pursuant to GATS Article V:7 
received from:  the  European Union and the Republic of Korea (S/C/N/594); Guatemala and the 
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu,  Kinmen and Matsu (S/C/N/595); Peru and the 
Republic of Korea (S/C/N/598); India and Malays ia (S/C/N/599); Colombia, Liechtenstein and 
Switzerland (S/C/N/600); India and Japan (S/C/N/601). 
7. The Council took note of the notifications , and referred the agreement notified to the 
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements for consideration. 
B. SECTORAL AND MODAL DISCUSSIONS  
8. The Chairman recalled that it had been suggested  that the Secretariat might undertake some 
work on the role of Small and Medium-sized Enterp rises (SMEs) in services trade.  Given the dearth 
of information available, at the June meeting the S ecretariat had reiterated its invitation to Members to 
contribute national perspectives on the role of SMEs  in services trade.  The delegation of Switzerland 
had submitted a communication on this issue, titled "The services sector, small and medium-sized 
enterprises and employment: the case of Switzerland", in document S/C/W/340.   
                                                      
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/107 
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  9. The representative of Switzerland said that his delegation's submission was along the lines of 
many of the sectoral and modal Background Notes discussed in the Council under that agenda item.  
The Secretariat had expressed a wish to obtain more information from Members on the role of SMEs in their services economies.  This wish had been well understood, as indeed very limited information 
on the issue was available in international organizations.  
10. Switzerland had thus tried to collect information on the characteristics of SMEs in its service 
sector, which it was sharing with Members in its submission.  The employment-related information 
collected was based on Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs),  the indicator used by statisticians in this 
domain.  FTE was a useful indicator as it was disa ggregated by sector and size of the enterprise:  
companies with fewer than 250 employees were considered to be SMEs. 
11. The data collected showed that, in terms of their contribution to employment, SMEs in the 
distribution service sector accounted for the highest to tal, followed, with some distance, by those in 
health-related and social services and professional ser vices.  This result was somewhat surprising, as 
professional services might have been expected to rank before distribution services in terms of contribution to total employment.  Nevertheless, this finding could be partly explained by the 
statistical definitions used as, for instance, doctors  were classified under health services, rather than 
professional services.   
12. Available data also showed a steady growth of  FTEs in health-related and social services and 
professional services over the past 20 years, while  in the case of distribution services a fall had 
initially been recorded and this te ndency was reversed only in 2005. 
13. Collectively, Switzerland's SMEs in the service sector employed five times more persons than 
big enterprises.  They were the backbone of the Swiss economy.  As trade negotiators, it was thus 
important to think about their role in services trade.   A further element which was not addressed in the 
submission but might nevertheless be useful to cons ider was whether the share of SMEs varies across 
sectors. 
14. In sum, the participation of SMEs in services trad e was an issue to be examined closely.  All 
Members should be able to find relevant informa tion about their own economy.  If such information 
was shared with the Secretariat, a collective body of knowledge could be obtained, which would 
represent a public good for all Members. 
15. The representative of Turkey reiterated her dele gation's interest in a paper on the role of 
SMEs in international services trade, as propo sed by Switzerland.  A Background Note by the 
Secretariat on this issue would prove beneficial, since many economies were characterized by a high 
concentration of SME activities. 
16. There were approximately 3.2 million businesses in Turkey, and 99.9 per cent of them were 
SMEs.  They provided 78 per cent of the private sect or jobs and contributed to more than one-half of 
the total value-added created by businesses.  In addition, 87 per cent of SMEs operated in services sectors, mostly in in trade, transport, real estate and construction services.  
17. Because of their scale, SMEs could be expected to face bigger challenges when trading 
services internationally:  they might have diffi culties in accessing critical information on market 
access conditions as well as licensing and qualification requirements in target countries, or in using 
global financing channels.  A Note on the issue co uld explore:  where the competitive advantage of 
SMEs in international services trade lay; in whic h services sectors SME activities were more intense; 
what kind of challenges SMEs faced in conducting bu siness in service sectors, especially due to their 
size; and what policy options were available to governments for stimulating SME participation in 
services trade.    S/C/M/107 
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  18. Turkey was aware that statistical information and analysis on SME activities in the services 
area were scarce. As indicated by the Secretariat, services trade statistics were generally not differentiated by ‘enterprise size’.  This was al so the case for Turkey.  Nevertheless, following the 
Secretariat’s request for information at the nati onal level, it had been possible to gather some 
information on the role of SMEs in the Turkis h services economy from relevant agencies, which the 
representative could provide to the Secretariat if deemed useful.  Her delegation was supportive of 
further discussion of this issue. 
19. The representative of Canada recalled that he r delegation had also submitted a paper on the 
subject of SMEs in February 2005,  in document TN/S/W/36, which had many complementarities with 
the Swiss submission.  Like Turkey, Canada obvious ly acknowledged the importance of SMEs in its 
own economy and supported further work on the role of SMEs in services trade.  In her delegation's 
view, SMEs were affected differently, and likely mo re significantly, by barriers to trade than larger 
enterprises.  Amongst possible elements that Memb ers might consider were  market access issues; 
infrastructure services, like transport, logistics, telecommunications, financial services, that were enabling for SMEs; ambitious commitments on modes 1 and 4, which were often used by SMEs; the 
elimination of local partnership a nd commercial presence limitations.   
20. An important element that was perhaps forgotte n in a negotiating context was transparency.  
When Canada had interviewed its SMEs about their n eeds, what they considered  to be most relevant 
was information about the market-operating conditions in other countries.  This aspect should be also 
examined by Members.  The Council and the WTO had a role to play beyond the negotiating context in this regard.  Information was plentiful, but it was not compiled in one location, so developing a 
transparency function, something like a database, fo r the WTO would be an option.  Canada planned 
to give the issue more thought and welc omed dialogue with others Members.   
21. The representative of New Zealand said that, like Switzerland, New Zealand's economy was 
characterised by many SMEs.  New Zealand's businesses were generally small by global standards.  
SMEs were defined as having 19 or fewer employ ees, significantly less than the 250 FTEs referred to 
in the Swiss paper.  Nevertheless SMEs made a huge contribution to the New Zealand economy, 
accounting for 42 per cent of output in 2010, and repr esenting 97 per cent of all firms.  These figures 
would have been higher if the Sw iss definition had been used, capturing close to 100 per cent of all 
firms.  Ninety per cent of New Zealand's businesses employed five or fewer people, yet these microenterprises were among the most successful and generated the highest average real profits per employee nationally.  This all highlighted the criti cal role SMEs played in the prosperity of and 
employment creation in New Zealand's economy 
22. SMEs constituted over 90 per cent of enterprises in almost every industry sector.  They were 
most common in rental, hiring and real estate services, and financial and insurance services, where they accounted for 99.9 per cent and 99.3 per cent of enterprises, respectively.  SMEs were also a 
significant majority in agriculture, fishing and forestry; construction;  and 'other services', accounting 
for over 98 per cent of businesses in each of these divisions. 
23. Given the predominance of small firms and the small overall size of the New Zealand market, 
her delegation had an interest in identifying ways to encourage promising SMEs to internationalise, 
and sought to reduce barriers to trade on their behalf.  Navigating a foreign market's regulatory 
environment could be a time-consuming and costly ch allenge for SMEs, which, in particular, lacked 
the time, resources or supporting infrastructure of larger firms.  And yet it was these small firms that 
formed the basis of New Zealand's economy, were a source of much innovation and, therefore, were 
vital to future prosperity.  Her delegation thus sh ared Switzerland's interest  in ensuring that the 
interests of SMEs were accounted for in the Council's deliberations.  S/C/M/107 
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  24. The representative of Hong Kong, China said th at his delegation was also interested in 
discussing SME-related issues in trade in services.  SMEs were the backbone of Hong Kong, China's 
economy.  As of mid-2011, there were about 300 000  SMEs.  They accounted for 98 per cent of total 
business units and they provided job opportunities to  over 1.2 million people, about 48 per cent of the 
total.  Most of the SMEs in Hong Kong, China were in the import-export trade in wholesale 
industries, followed by the retail industry; together  these accounted of over 50 per cent of the total 
number of SMEs.  Hong Kong, China's Trade and I ndustry Department had established a dedicated 
website that provided support and consultation ser vices for SME establishment and where statistical 
information regarding SME activities was published.  His delegation thus s upported continued work 
of the Council on the issue and was happy to contri bute data to help the Secretariat gather the 
necessary information for a more consolidated and detailed analysis of SMEs.   
25. The representative of the United States shared Sw itzerland's interest in exploring the role of 
SMEs in services trade.  The US International Trade Commission had carried out a couple studies on 
trade and SMEs from different perspectives, including in the services area (these could be accessed at www.usitc.gov and www.ustr.gov).  Amongst the findings, these studies had highlighted that SMEs 
were a key engine for economic growth, jobs a nd innovation and a dominant employer within the 
United States.  Small businesses that exported also tended to grow faster, add jobs faster and pay 
higher wages in the domestic market.  However, interestingly only a small fraction of US SMEs 
currently exported and many of t hose only exported to one market.  This was probably a reflection of 
the capacity constraints faced by SMEs and the challenges faced in operating in multiple markets 
simultaneously.  These kinds of challenges, as we ll as benefits from SMEs, were most probably 
universal.  Therefore, supporting trade by SM Es was in Members' common interest.   
26. There were actions that Members could undert ake individually, outside of the negotiating 
context, to help support SMEs domestically and in tr ade.  As Canada had pointed out, transparency 
was an important element, and making a country's ow n rules more readily available for the public at 
large did not necessarily require the scheduling of a commitment.  Another initiative could involve 
looking internally at policies that enabled SMEs to operate and offer their services internationally 
through electronic commerce, as this was a very significant channel through which a small enterprise 
could reach the world very quickly without needing to invest in multiple markets.  Promoting the 
supply of services cross-border and looking at whet her policies were conducive to that supply was 
very important.  The United States looked forward to more exploration of SMEs issues.   
27. The representative of Australia said that Switzer land's submission inspired Australia to look 
at its own SMEs.  She found Canada's suggestion on tr ansparency interesting.  It was something that 
had been worked on in the APEC forum, with the development of a business-friendly database on 
requirements for entry into the services market acros s APEC.  Her delegation w ould be interested in a 
similar exercise being pursued in the WTO.  Interested Members could access the database at 
www.servicestradeforum.org. 
28. The representative of European Union joined  Switzerland and others in stressing the 
importance of SMEs.  In the EU economy, these ente rprises played an essential role not only in terms 
of activity, innovation and jobs, but also in term s of the sheer number of undertakings.  SMEs 
appeared to be more affected by trade barriers than big companies and the fundamental role they 
played in economic development showed the importan ce of deepening the level of trade liberalization 
in services.  He joined other delegations in s upporting further work under that item in the Council, 
including on transparency. 
29. The representative of China underscored the importa nce of the subject.  SMEs played a vital 
role in China.  They accounted for over three-quart ers of jobs, and in many sectors registered SMEs 
made up over 90 per cent of total undertakings, especi ally in the distribution sector.  His delegation  S/C/M/107 
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  supported continued discussion of this issue, to see in particular what the Council could do for SMEs, 
and felt that the questions raised by Turkey could be explored further.   
30. The representative of India indicated that his delegation also looked forward to further 
discussions of the issue. 
31. The representative of Indonesia noted that SMEs  played a vital role both in developing and 
developed countries.  In Indonesia, 92 per cent of  all companies were SMEs.  His delegation was 
supportive of further exchanging national information and experiences on the issue. 
32. The representative of Chinese Taipei  said that SMEs played an important role and were a 
driving force for economic development in many Members.  The definition of SMEs was not unified 
internationally.  As an example, the domestic de finition of SMEs was based either on the paid-in 
capital or on the number of employees.  In Chin ese Taipei, 90 per cent of companies were SMEs.  
Since services contributed to 70 per cent of domes tic GDP, SMEs where spread over in every service 
subsector.  They tended to be depend on the le vel of liberalization in the service sector.  Her 
delegation was thus supportive of further discussion of the issue. 
33. The Chairman said that the Council would take note  of the statements made and revert to this 
item at its next meeting. 
34. It was so agreed. 
C. DEDICATED DISCUSSION ON INTERNATIONAL MOBILE ROAMING  
35. The Chairman recalled that, in June, the C ouncil had had its first dedicated discussion on 
international mobile roaming (IMR).  For the June meeting, the Secretariat had produced a Note, titled 
"International Mobile Roaming: Possible Implicati ons for GATS".  The Note had been issued as a 
JOB document, with the symbol JOB/SERV/77.  Fo llowing a fax sent to delegations on 1 July, the 
Note had been subsequently re-issued as an unr estricted working document, with the symbol 
S/C/W/337.   
36. He also recalled that, on 26 August, the Secretar iat had informed delegations by fax that it 
had received two separate communications on IMR, from the ITU and the OECD, with the request 
that these be made available to th e Council.  In accordan ce with the rules of procedure, and in line 
with previous practice, the Secretariat had soug ht Members' authorisation to circulate the two 
communications.  However, by the deadline set, the Secretariat had received one objection to the circulation of the OECD communication and the pre sence of a representative of the OECD Secretariat 
at the meeting.  Accordingly, on ly the communication from the ITU had been distributed to Members.  
It was contained in document JOB/SERV/85, dated 16 September 2011.   
37. The representative of the International Te lecommunication Union introduced the ITU's 
communication.  He explained that, within the IT U, the standardisation sector had a group called 
"Study Group 3" which looked at tariffing issues.  That Group had taken up questions of mobile 
roaming, after having deal with questions of m obile terminations.  In the introduction to its 
communication, the ITU had reproduced the terms of  reference of the Group that was working on 
mobile roaming.  The representative called atten tion to item 7, where the Group was mandated to 
collect information and studies and cooperate with other bodies.  The list of bodies was not exclusive 
and when it had been drawn up there was no knowledge  of the work of the WTO.  However, WTO 
work had since been brought to the attention of  the Group, which was now well aware and looking 
forward to further reports on the WTO's work on the topic.   S/C/M/107 
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  38. After the terms of reference, the communica tion noted how Study Group 3 should identify 
related work and collect data.  Some reports were  considered and a questionnaire was circulated.  
Available data was summarised in Annex B.  Ther e was general agreement within the Group that a 
document should be developed on the question of mob ile roaming, and relevant work was on-going.  
There had been a question as to whether or not to include in the communication some parts of a 
previously approved text, recommendation D-99, on the indicative rate for international mobile 
roaming.  But at that time, no conclusions had been  reached and this would be discussed further at the 
ITU's meeting in January 2012.   
39. Section 2 of the document was entitled "ITU term inology and technical considerations".  It 
contained a definition of interconnection found in one of the ITU-T recommendations.  That 
recommendation was somewhat technology-specific,  but it did capture the common usage in the 
industry of the term 'interconnection'.  This gave  a little background on the technology of roaming, 
which was quite different from that of interconnecti on.  Departing from the written text, he explained 
how roaming would work when he flew to Brussels the following week.  He would turn on his mobile 
phone, which had a Swisscom subscription.  The mob ile phone would look for a mobile base station 
and would find several.  The mobile base station and the telephone would communicate and try to 
identify each other.  The mobile phone had SIM card,  an identification made up of a country code and 
an operator code.  That five-digit code would id entify the phone as a Swisscom Switzerland phone.  
Having noted that code, the base station would check  whether it had an agreement with Swisscom.  
Most base stations would not, but the Vodafone one  would.  The representative would thus be enabled 
on the Vodafone network in Brussels.   Vodafone would be keeping track  of calls and related costs and 
would then bill Swisscom, which in turn would add some mark-up when issuing the bill.   
40. Interconnection was quite different.  When the representative was on the Vodafone network, 
he was simply using the Vodafone radio interface in  Belgium in order to communicate.  If he called 
Switzerland, Vodafone proba bly had an interconnect with Swisscom  but it did not necessarily have to 
have that specific interconnect.  Vodafone could pass his call on to another operator, for instance 
Belgacom, which had an interconnect, and then Belgacom could pass the call along to Swisscom.  
Hence, as the paper explained in more formal te rms, the interconnection arrangements were entirely 
separate from the roaming arrangements and these were  not really related topics from the point of 
view of the ITU's terminology and the technology of the GSM networks.   
41. Sections 3 and 4 reproduced the minutes of the discussions in Study Group 3 on the topic. 
42. Annex A contained the current draft recommendation.  There had been many proposals to 
change these so the final result would most probably be significantly different from the draft.  
Nevertheless, the draft represented the current state of the work.  He called attention to section 3 of 
Annex A.  It had three sub-secti ons.  First, a set of provisions or recommendations regarding the 
empowering of consumers, so that they were at leas t aware of what the cost of roaming was and could 
take measures to ensure that they did spend more th an they wished to.  Second, a set of market based 
solutions favouring greater competition and thus  lowering prices.  Third, possible regulatory 
intervention.  This was the most delicate and sens itive part of the documen t, with numerous square 
brackets, and was likely to change considerably in the final text.   
43. Annex B was the result of the data analysis done in the ITU on the basis of the data collected.  
It showed that there were very large variations in roaming rates.  The final part of that Annex 
contained an extract of conclusions and findings of a report from a different organisation.  Those 
findings were consistent with the data that had been  obtained by Study Group 3.  At the end of Annex 
B, a summary paragraph stated that "according to elementary economic theory, in a competitive 
market that reaches equilibrium, prices will equal margin al costs […].  Thus large variations in prices 
are not consistent with steady-state competitive ma rkets."  The Study Group had not reached that 
conclusion itself, but had simply noted that input paper.    S/C/M/107 
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  44. Finally, Annex C reproduced the approved r ecommendation on indicative rates for mobile 
termination.  He called attention to the begi nning, 'background' section, which contained some 
statements regarding competition.  It was an open question as to whether or not this situation also 
applied to mobile roaming.  That was a topic that would still be discussed.   
45. The representative of Australia thanked the IT U representative for the contribution and the 
interesting information provided, pa rticularly on differential rates.  Australia looked forward to the 
completion of the ITU's work, principally on i ssues such as the recommendation on charging for 
international roaming in Annex A. 
46. The representative of South Africa said that his delegation appreciated the information shared 
with Members by the OECD and the ITU in particul ar.  Each delegation had the right to refer to 
whichever body of work or literature it wished, but he recalled that not all Members of the WTO were 
members of the OECD and this was a fact to be  mindful of.  The paper that the co-sponsors had 
circulated in June, as well as the Secretariat Note, c ontained some interesting questions, particularly in 
relation to the legal provisions that might be applic able in respect of IMR.  His delegation was still 
exploring those questions.  He gave the floor to hi s colleague to share some details on IMR in South 
Africa, which had been provided by the Independe nt Communications Authority of South Africa.   
47. All South African mobile operators were able to provide IMR services to their customers in 
all geographic regions of the world.  Roaming agreements were based on commercial agreements 
between network operators.  Currently, IMR rates were  not regulated in South Africa, either at the 
wholesale or retail level.  Through the Communicati ons Regulators' Associatio n of Southern Africa, 
an initiative was under way to regulate roaming rates at a regional level, sim ilarly to the processes 
affecting roaming rates in the EU.  That exercise would automatically result in regulation of regional 
prices for roaming services within the Southern African region.  The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa welcomed further engage ment on the topic, and supported South Africa's 
participation in the proposed workshop.  
48. The representative of Brazil noted the importa nce of the issue and encouraged further 
discussions, both in the WTO and the ITU.  He st ressed in particular the significance of the non-
discriminatory aspects of the matter. 
49. The representative of Japan expressed his delega tion's appreciation for Australia's initiative 
and the ITU’s informative input.  Japan was interested in continuing discussions on IMR issues. 
50. In addition to comments made at the June me eting, he had some additional comments on the 
Secretariat's Note.  Firstly, with regard to the Annex on Telecommunications, Japan considered that 
this applied at the wholesale level, but not at the retail level.  The Annex applied to public 
telecommunications transport networks and services (PTTNS), which were defined as: “such services 
may include, inter alia , telegraph, telephone, tele x and data transmission”.  In Japan's view, mobile 
telephony and mobile data services were  included in this definition.  
51. Article 5 of the Annex dealt with access to and use of PTTNS, and appeared to cover both 
"service suppliers" as consumers and operators, namely  at the retail and wholesale levels.  On retail, 
Article 5 of the Annex only ensured the use of the PTTNS of a Member by consumers from other Members.  In Japan's view, this meant that a Member  had to ensure the use of mobile services, but not 
necessarily through international mobile roaming.  As long as the use of mob ile services was ensured 
for consumers, this seemed to satis fy the obligation of Article 5. 
52. For wholesale, on the other hand, there was th e possibility of applying the obligation of 
Article 5 of the Annex.  Therefore, Members were  required to ensure the usage of mobile telephony S/C/M/107 
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  and data services "on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms".  Japan wished to further discuss this 
issue with other Members. 
53. Secondly, with regard to the Reference Paper,  one issue to address was whether international 
roaming itself consisted of “int erconnection” or not.  Japan considered that IMR entailed 
interconnection.  However, as previously mentioned,  the scope of the Reference Paper was limited to 
the interconnection between major suppliers.  Even  if the regulation regarding interconnection 
covered international mobile roami ng, the scope of the obligation of  paragraph 2.2 of the Reference 
Paper on cost-oriented interconnection char ges would be limited to that extent. 
54. In conclusion, Japan supported Australia's pr oposal to continue discussions on this issue, 
which was clearly of common concern to Members.  It  would be useful to further deepen delegations' 
understanding of the applicability of the GATS to IMR, and, if possible, determine a way forward. 
55. The representative of India thanked the IT U representative for his very informative 
presentation.  The subject was very technical, but his presentation had enriched Members' discussion.  
56. At the June meeting, India had made very preliminary comments.  The representative had 
since received inputs from the Ministries concer ned, though examination of the issue and 
consultations were still continuing.  
57. India shared the concern of various Members that the retail rates for IMR were very high and 
it was in the interest of consumers to lower them.  As mentioned in the Secretariat Note, this appeared 
to be a case where market forces had not been ab le to ensure that prices responded favourably to 
competition.  However, Members had to be very  careful on whether WTO was the right forum to 
achieve that goal.  On a preliminary basis, his de legation was not convinced about the applicability of 
GATS in that context, though they were still examining the matter.   
58. At a broader level, commitments taken unde r the GATS and its various provisions were 
concerned with service suppliers and not the end-c onsumer.  Therefore, the applicability of GATS to 
retail roaming services at the end-consumer level was questionable.  Paragraph 10 of the Secretariat 
Note identified the limited extent to which reta il roaming charges might be relevant, i.e. when 
individual service suppliers or employees of service suppliers travelled abroad and used their home 
territory mobile subscription.  But it left open the larger issue of when the end-consumer was not a 
service supplier or even cases when the end-cons umer was a service supplier but was using the 
roaming services for purposes other than the supply of a service.  
59. Further, GATS applied to measures by Members.   Roaming arrangements entered into by 
service suppliers on a commercial basis would be outsi de its purview.  As one Member had pointed 
out at the June meeting, extending the applica tion of GATS to the realm of commercial decision-
making was fraught with danger for other service sectors too.  Moreover, in most Members, overall 
decisions regarding telecom tari ffs were taken by autonomous re gulators and governments did not 
have much role in influencing those decisions .  However, in case some Members had concluded 
agreements with other Members at the government  level to reciprocally lower roaming charges 
without extending the same treatment to other Memb ers and had done so without the cover of Article 
V.  Such arrangements would definitely be subject to the MFN obligation.  
60. His delegation was still examining the applicability of  Article 5(a) of Annex in that context.  
However, without prejudice to a final position, the test in the Annex was only one of ‘reasonableness’ and it would be for the regulator to determine this.  Further, Article 5(a) applied only to suppliers of 
scheduled services.  Thus, on a theoretical basis, we re Members talking about different rates for end-
consumers depending upon whether the supplier co ncerned was supplying a committed service or 
otherwise?  Another argument could be that th e end-user could always access the host country  S/C/M/107 
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  network without using roaming at all and the test  of reasonableness could be invoked only in that 
case.  
61. At the June meeting, one Member had referred to  IMR as resale of services.  India was of the 
clear view that IMR was not the resale of servi ces.  Further, on the issue of applicability of 
interconnection, as India had noted at the last mee ting, there was divergence of opinions between the 
proponents.  The ITU representative had also just  eloquently explained that interconnection and 
roaming were not directly related.  In any case,  his delegation wondered how interconnection would 
come into play if the roaming call both origin ated and ended in the host country network.  
62. As per its preliminary analysis, India was of the view that, while it was important, in the 
consumer's interest, to take steps to lower ro aming charges, GATS might not be the appropriate 
instrument.  The task was better left to  other relevant international bodies.   
63. The representative of Australia said that her dele gation considered high IMR charges to be an 
issue of significant trade policy concern.  The GATS was relevant to any government looking at how 
it might seek to influence pricing in that area, particularly at the wholesale level. 
64. The Council's initial discussion in June had b een very helpful in deepening Members' 
understanding of IMR, particularly of the lega l issues regarding the relevance of the GATS to 
international mobile roaming and individual Member 's experiences and perspectives.  She had been 
very pleased to see wide support at the June mee ting for continuing to discuss the matter and that 
many Members were also concerned about the high cost of roaming.   
65. Many Members had indicated in June that they were providing only initial comments and 
were consulting with their capitals for more deta iled responses, and her dele gation looked forward to 
hearing additional views.  Australia had identified at least two areas worthy of the Council's on-going 
focus:  first, working towards a common understand ing of the implications of the GATS regime for 
IMR, with the ultimate aim of accommodating po licy responses with regard  to IMR within the 
Agreement, second, sharing experiences and inform ation, providing the opportunity for Members to 
learn from each other's policy responses.  Her de legation would like to hear from Members about 
other areas they would wish to see given further attention. 
66. The Secretariat Background Note on IMR observe d that some governments considered IMR 
charges to be an area where market forces were  not functioning properly.  The OECD had also 
undertaken work in this area, finding that IMR services  in OECD countries appeared to be resistant to 
traditional market disciplines, at least those provided by competitive firms or empowered consumers.  Their work in examining IMR rates across the OECD indicated that roaming charges were 
unreasonably and inefficiently high in the majority  of cases.  It could be up to 20 times more 
expensive for an international roamer to make a call home than for a local mobile user, in that 
country, to make an international call to the roam er's home country.  Mobile data roaming in OECD 
countries was also very expensive on average. 
67. The OECD considered that roaming services posse ssed certain characteristics that made them 
relatively unique.  Their inherent cross-border natu re made some of the remedies that national 
regulators traditionally applied to telecommunications  markets inapplicable for roaming services.  For 
example, national regulators were unable to act on wholesale roaming charges borne by operators in their country, as those were levied by foreign providers, out of their jurisdiction.  In addition, a given national regulator would not have the incentive to regulate wholesale rates within its own country as 
this, in principle, would only affect customers fro m other countries.  It seemed that international 
cooperation to regulate wholesale roaming charges might be needed. S/C/M/107 
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  68. There were reports that a number of Members were already acting bilaterally or in small 
groups to address IMR.  As the Secretariat's Note suggested, depending on their content, there might 
be a risk that such arrangements could place gove rnments at odds with the GATS MFN obligation as 
well as the non-discrimination provisions of the An nex on Telecommunications.  However, there was 
a clear need to address high IMR rates, since not to do so would continue to expose businesses, 
including service suppliers, and consumers to high charges and could also be inconsistent with 
obligations under the Annex to provide IMR on reas onable terms.  It was therefore important that 
Members develop a common understanding on how the GATS applied to IMR. 
69. It was Australia's view that the obligations in the Annex did apply.  The reality of high 
charges and the fact that those charges were in many cases significantly above what might be 
considered 'reasonable' posed a challenge that each Member might wish to examine vis-à-vis  its own 
obligations.  This was the question of whether GATS obligations applied and wh ether they were being 
met.  The representative emphasised that this was a matter for Members themselves - they alone had 
the full knowledge of the relevant circumstances. 
70. As indicated by the work of the OECD and by other bodies such as the ITU, it appeared that 
existing commitments had not exerted sufficient downward pressure to reduce IMR charges in many 
instances.  A number of international bodies (inc luding OECD and ITU) had suggested that, 
ultimately, there might be a need for government in tervention to address any market failure.  As the 
Secretariat Note and, for example, the OECD had not ed, market failure appeared to be prevalent in 
this sector of the market and there were a range of  regulatory tools available to address it.  India had 
mentioned some of those.  
71. Governments were free to unilaterally implemen t a range domestic policy tools that may lead 
to IMR charge reductions, such as transparency, consumer awareness measures, including information 
on alternatives, promotion of substitutes to IMR, and retail price caps.  However, if a combination of 
such tools were to be insufficient to reduce IMR charges, governments might wish to have the option 
of regulating wholesale rates.  For such regulation to be economically sensible, some might view 
reciprocal arrangements among Members to be a logi cal approach to this issue, based on a cost-
benefit analysis. 
72. If citizens and businesses were to receive any economic benefit from government regulation 
to reduce IMR prices, rates charged by mobile operato rs in the country they travelled to also needed 
to be reduced.  This issue, at face value, therefore uniquely lent itself to reciprocal arrangements.  This 
was a distinctive problem as the MFN obligation needed  to be set against the fact that reciprocal 
action was likely to be the most effective appro ach should a Member or Members decide to regulate 
rates.  A solution would not be straightforward and Members would need to work together to look at 
the issue in depth.   
73. Firstly, Members needed to achieve a clear  understanding on how GATS obligations applied 
to IMR, and then think about how the implica tions.  Based on Australia 's own observations and 
analysis of the Secretariat's Note, the two key i ssues that arose were associ ated with the GATS MFN 
obligation and the provisions of  the Annex on Telecommunications requiring access and use on 
reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.  Her de legation was interested in hearing from other 
Members whether they saw these GATS provisions as relevant and presenting a challenge for reducing IMR rates in cases where government interv ention, such as by regulating wholesale rates as 
a last-resort, was considered necessary. 
74. Australia also wished to consider how Members might share other perspectives on this issue.  
At the June meeting, the United States, for instan ce, had suggested that hearing from operators as to 
the dynamics of the roaming markets and how tr ade commitments related to them would be of 
interest.  Her delegation would also consider it usef ul to get more information on the perspective of  S/C/M/107 
 Page 11 
 
 
  consumers, including service providers.  New Zeal and had mentioned a survey revealing that 
businesses felt constrained in their use of IMR because  of the high cost, so the consumer perspective 
was important.  Australia would also value hearing from other international bodies dealing with those 
issues.  The ITU had just provided very useful in formation.  The OECD had also produced work on 
the topic and her delegation would like to see it furt her disseminated to Members, particularly those 
who were not OECD Members, and discussed.  The views of regulators would be equally useful.  
Although her delegation did not have a firm suggestion at that point, it would consider further how 
this other perspectives might be shared and woul d make a proposal to the Council.  At any rate, 
Australia would very much value further discu ssion towards a common understanding and continued 
exchanging of experiences.  
75. Referring to her delegation's intervention at the June meeting, the representative of Norway 
recalled that Norway was a co-sponsor of the in itial proposal to discuss mobile roaming issues, 
together with the United States and Australia.  IMR was an issue of great importance and relevance to 
the WTO.  IMR services played an increasingly im portant role in facilitating economic and social 
interactions, in particular within trade.  IMR prices were widely perceived by many stakeholders to be 
unreasonably and inefficiently high, as illustrated by the experiences shared at the June meeting.  
High charges represented obstacles to the efficient use of mobile communications and might have a 
negative effect on international trade relations.  Th ese inefficiencies should be a matter of concern for 
governments and international organisations such as the WTO.  
76. Among the issues raised in June was the questi on of further work and discussions within the 
WTO.  It was therefore timely to revert to this question..  Members' discussions could benefit greatly 
from the work being undertaken in other interna tional organisations.  The ITU's communication had 
been a useful contribution; her de legation had taken note of a number of interesting points, not least 
how many organisations around the world were i nvolved in discussions of IMR issues.  Norway 
would encourage members of organisations involved in  such work to share any relevant experiences 
with the Council.  The Draft ITU recommendation highlighted some per tinent issues, such as 
empowering consumers, identifying measures to impr ove market functioning, and regulatory actions.  
77. Norway had also followed the work of the OECD  closely.  It had helped Norway's thinking 
on mobile roaming.  She highlighted that roaming services had characteristics that made them unique among traded services.  Jurisdictional challenge s prevented national regulators from acting on 
wholesale roaming charges borne by operators in thei r own country.  It was, of course, the foreign 
providers who charged the wholesale rate.  Regul ating the wholesale rate charged by national 
companies, on the other hand, was not really a matter of concern for the regulators, as these rates 
affected foreign nationals.  
78. On the retail side, IMR services were not purchased  by the user separately from other parts of 
mobile services, and they might not be the main element in the customer’s choice.  These factors 
suggested that international co-operation was needed  to address the issue.  The OECD was currently 
working on an OECD Council Recommendation, which her delegation might revert to at future 
meetings.  
79. The Secretariat’s Background Note highlighted many issues in need of further consideration 
regarding the possible application of GATS to IM R charges.  Her delegation would thus support a 
continuation of the debate.  It was desirable to arrive at a common understanding of how GATS 
obligations applied to internationa l mobile roaming as a basis for considering any follow up action.  
80. The representative of the United States appreciated the information that had been provided by 
Members, including by South Africa, and would be interested in receiving updates as work progressed 
at the regional level in Southern Africa.   S/C/M/107 
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  81. While many WTO Members were not members of the OECD, this should not discount the 
contribution that the OECD could make through providing information.  The OECD Committee on Information, Communications and Computer  Policy, as well as the Working Party on 
Communication, Infrastructures and Services Policy ha d identified many of the challenges in the area 
of IMR that Norway had just outlined.  These bodies had been undertaking work on IMR services for 
over two years and issued three reports.  The firs t one was entitled "International mobile roaming 
charges in the OECD area".  Not surprisingly,  it found that the prices for voice and SMS roaming 
services to be extremely high, and provided a preliminary assessment of market developments.  The second report, "International mobile roaming ser vices - Analysis and policy recommendations" 
provided further analysis on the origin and nature of the problems and the challenges.  These reports 
largely focused on international voice and SMS roami ng services.  To complement this work, a third 
report, "International mobile data roaming", co mpared mobile data roaming prices in OECD 
countries.  It found prices to be up to a 100 times more expensive than comparable domestic services.  
This report also addressed the market and policy i ssues specific to data roaming services.  The 
representative noted that the draft OECD Council recommendations on international mobile roaming 
would be taken up in a couple of meetings that au tumn for consideration and approval in the fourth 
quarter of 2011.   
82. The IMR issue was of high importance in the OECD and those reports would inform 
Members on what was happening in that organisa tion.  The recommendations addressed some of the 
issues that had been raised, including in the ITU communication, about increasing transparency, 
looking at market-driven solutions as well as some possible regulatory measures if some of the 
market-driven solutions failed.  In terms of next st eps, the United States wished to continue to hear 
experiences and exchange views, particularly on the applicability of the GATS and the Telecom 
Annex.  Those issues warranted some further examination and the United States was open to 
contributing in a constructive and informative manner.   
83. The representative of Chile noted that the Council was dealing with a "real-life" issue.  He 
indicated that his Government had initiated bilate ral talks with Argentina on IMR charges, which 
were on-going.  It had also looked at the market situation and decided to consider the possibility of 
introducing more competition.  His delegation belie ved that the WTO had a say on the issue.  The 
Secretariat Note explained very clearly why the GATS applied to IMR and his delegation subscribed 
to this notion.  Chile would very much welcome further work on IMR. 
84. The representative of New Zealand said that her delegation did not have much to add to the 
input offered on New Zealand's own regulatory experi ence at the June meeting.  Like Australia, New 
Zealand considered that there were two issues to be addressed.   
85. The first was acknowledgment of a problem and its scope.  She had taken note of Members' 
interventions on their national experiences in June.  Both anecdotal and empirical evidence suggested 
that there was a problem in many markets which affected a range of businesses, including service 
suppliers, and presented a drag on business productivity  and the global economy.  She had noted with 
interest the communication on the ITU's on-going work on IMR.  Examination of regulatory and market developments and other experiences, incl uding the work undertaken by the OECD, would be 
useful in further assessing the sc ope and gravity of the problem. 
86. The second issue was to acknowledge that the Council and the WTO had a role to play in 
addressing the problem.  New Zealand shared the view that there were a number of classifications, as 
well provisions of the GATS, the Telecommunica tions Annex and the Reference Paper on Basic 
Telecommunications which were both relevant and applicable to IMR.  Since there were divergences 
of interpretation, her delegation was supportive of further work on IMR in the Council to arrive at a 
common understanding.    S/C/M/107 
 Page 13 
 
 
  87. It would also be useful to keep track of re levant efforts in other areas to address high IMR 
costs, though these should not preclude further discussion on what value the existing and binding disciplines of the WTO might add to addressing the problem. 
88. The representative of the Republic of Korea sh ared other Members' concerns on the high 
roaming charges and concurred that the WTO had a ro le to play.  She supported Australia's view that 
at least with regard to the wholesale level, Memb ers could explore the application of the telecom 
Annex to IMR.  Her delegation supported continued discussion and was open to inviting regulators 
and other international organisations that ha d undertaken some relevant work on IMR.   
89. The representative of the European Union welc omed the WTO discussion of IMR.  The EU 
was mindful of the different Membership of the OE CD and the WTO.  It was regrettable that it had 
not been feasible to circulate what could have been  a good contribution to the debate from the OECD.  
The sharing of experiences by Members on their own roaming markets and initiatives was welcome.  The EU had done so in June, and the representative wi shed to provide an update on the EU situation.  
The Commission had enacted a new proposal which w ould complement and eventually substitute the 
current price-capping system and introduce some strict er measures to correct market failures.  He 
would provide a further update once the legislative pr ocess had come to an end.  He concurred that 
further intense discussions were needed, and hi s delegation was supportive of future work as 
suggested by Australia. 
90. The representative of Israel concurred that fu rther discussion on IMR would be useful.  The 
contribution by the ITU as well as the sharing of Members' national experiences had been beneficial 
and he hoped that the OECD material could al so be circulated at a future meeting.   
91. The representative of Hong Kong, China did not ha ve much to add to what his delegation had 
shared at the June meeting.  Nevertheless, give n that the question whether the WTO was the right 
forum to consider IMR services had been raised, he  wished to reiterate that there clearly was an 
interface between the applicability of the GATS and IMR.  Apart from the Annex on 
Telecommunications, also GATS Article II (MFN) and III (transparency) were relevant.  The WTO, 
and the Council for Trade in Services in particular, wa s the right forum to explore IMR issues further.  
In this regard, his delegation supported Australia 's proposal to have further discussions and would 
welcome any sharing of information by Members.  
92. The representative of Canada noted the usefuln ess of the ITU contribution.  The main issue 
under consideration was how the GATS applied to IMR.   Canada's own analysis has mostly focused 
on the Annex on Telecommunications .  Her delegation's view was that, as the OECD paper had 
indicated, the Reference Paper referred to interc onnection ,and roaming was not interconnection.  It 
was Canada's view that the Reference Paper did not  apply.  As for the Annex, while wholesale was 
covered, the retail level was not.  It would nevert heless be useful to further discuss these issues as 
differences of opinions existed.  Her delegati on would support further technical work on the 
applicability of the GATS, but remained sceptical of  what the Council could do on some of the other 
issues beyond a technical discussion. 
93. The Chairman said that the Council would take note  of the statements made and revert to this 
item at its next meeting.  He had understood that delegations had been cons ulting with each other over 
the previous couple of weeks about the possible participation of the OECD in the Council's discussions on IMR.  He wondered whether an understanding had been reached concerning the 
circulation of the OECD communication on IMR an d the presence of a representative of the OECD 
Secretariat during the Council's discussions. 
94. The representative of India said that, in principl e, India welcomed and supported the idea of 
inviting relevant international inte rgovernmental organizations to WTO meetings, so that they could S/C/M/107 
Page 14  
 
  follow discussions on matters of direct interest to  them, as well as familiarise WTO Members with the 
work they were doing.  The expertise they prov ided would definitely add value to Members' 
discussions.  The OECD had been doing consisten tly high-quality work in many areas, which India 
appreciated.  
95. However, India had noted that, in the recent past, some Members had objected to allowing 
presentations in WTO meetings by certain other in ternational intergovernment al organizations on the 
ground of their not being observers.  This had been  done though the subject matter being dealt with by 
those organizations was of direct relevance and impor tance to the issues being discussed.  In turn, this 
raised the question of uniform treatment of all such cases.  India was of the view that, as a matter of systemic interest, a uniform yardstick should be  applied.  Therefore, India had submitted its 
reservations on the proposed circulation of the co mmunication by the OECD and the invitation of the 
OECD to that meeting of the Council.  
96. Unfortunately, in spite of some consultations, th e situation had not changed.  India was still 
open to further discussions on this matter with inte rested Members, in order to reach a constructive 
solution, leading to the application of a uniform ya rdstick in all those cases.  At the point, India's 
objection did remain. 
97. The representative of Australia noted that, given th e current situation with regard to observers 
in the WTO, the usual course had been to take each case on its own merits, rather than applying a 
uniform yardstick to the participation of organi zation without observer status in WTO meetings.  
There was a problem if Members tried to discuss an issue in detail and other international organisations, which had useful contributions to ma ke, could not participate due to what was seen to 
be a broader issue across the WTO.  That Members could not address issues on a case-by-case basis 
on their own merit was becoming in itself a systemic problem for the WTO. 
98. The Chairman concluded that the OECD pape r would not be circulated and the OECD 
Secretariat would not be invited to the Council's discussions on IMR in November.  He nevertheless 
encouraged the delegations concerne d to continue consulting with each other to try to find a solution 
to the impasse. 
99. It was so agreed. 
D. WORK PROGRAMME ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
100. The Chairman recalled that, in May and June, the Council had addressed the Work 
Programme on Electronic Commerce.  Subsequent to Members' discussions, and pursuant to the 
Ministerial Decision on the e-commerce Work Pr ogramme of December 2009, he had produced, 
under his own responsibility, a Chairman's Repor t to the General Council of the discussion the 
Council had had under the Work Programme.  His re port was contained in document S/C/35, dated 30 
June 2011. 
101. He also recalled that, in June, the Council had had an initial discussion of the Secretariat Note 
contained in document JOB/SERV/78 (and Corrigendum 1) .  The Note compiled elements related to 
the electronic supply of services drawn from the Background Notes the Secretariat had produced on a 
number of sectors, modes of supply, and statistics on trade flows in services. 
102. New documents had been submitted for that m eeting:  a communication from the European 
Union and the United States, contained in docum ent S/C/W/338, titled "Contribution to the Work 
Programme on Electronic Commerce";  and a communication from the United States, in document S/C/W/339, titled "Work Program on Electronic Commerce:  Ensuring that trade rules support  S/C/M/107 
 Page 15 
 
 
  innovative advances in computer applications and platforms, such as mobile applications and the 
provision of cloud computing services". 
103. The representative of the European  Union said that the EU and the United States were pleased 
to present the result of a close cooperation, i.e. th e ICT services principles, which had been circulated 
among the Membership before the summer.  The starti ng point had been the question of what were the 
right conditions to ensure both the harmonious development of ICT services and the growth of 
electronic commerce.  The discussions the European  Union and the United States had held in the 
context of the Transatlantic Economic Council, and th e consultation of their respective industries, had 
led to the identification of a list of basic principl es, which the two delegations thought should become 
worldwide-accepted principles.   
104. The initiative was, in the co-sponsors' view, of tremendous importance, since ICT services 
were not only important on their own right, but they also contributed as inputs to the development of other services and economic activities.  As a result , the harmonious liberalization of those services 
should be an issue of interest to all Members. 
105. The purpose of sharing those principles with th e Membership was twofold.  First, the co-
sponsors wished to exchange views:  How important  did Members think those principles were?  What 
was their relevance?  How did Members already implement some of them, and what was their 
experience?  Otherwise, what was the rationale for Members' not implementing such principles? 
106. Second, the co-sponsors wished to slowly build support around those principles.  Indeed, 
Members were invited to join the EU and the Unite d States in endorsing and promoting them widely.  
Obviously, this would necessitate intense discussions with interested Members.  The co-sponsors' aim 
would be to see how comfortable Members were with those principles and what might be added.  A 
further question was whether additional principles might be needed. 
107. In substance, the principles revolved around two ma in topics:  first, the openness of countries 
and markets to ICT services and, sec ond, the governance of ICT services. 
108. The openness of countries and markets to ICT ser vices was measured ag ainst the following 
principles: 
 Open networks, network access and use (princ iple 2):  Governments should promote the 
ability of their citizens to access and distribute information and run app lications and services 
of their choice.  On the other side, service suppliers should be allo wed to provide their 
services through the internet.  This principle gua ranteed that the basic freedom of access to 
the internet, as well as net neutrality, was ensured worldwide; 
 Cross-border information flows (principle 3) :  Services suppliers should be allowed to 
transfer information cross-border and access inform ation stored in other countries.  Of course, 
this did not prevent Members from ensuring privacy and security of personal and commercial data; 
 Local infrastructure (principle 4):  Local in frastructure should not be transformed into a 
barrier to market access, and service suppliers s hould remain free to use local infrastructure or 
otherwise.  At the same time, in a truly ICT-fri endly market, no preference should be given to 
local infrastructure or local suppliers;  
 Foreign ownership (principle 5):  Foreign ownership restrictions were particularly detrimental 
to the development of ICT services and should be lifted in order to stimulate investment in the 
sector. S/C/M/107 
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  109. The governance of countries and markets revolved around the following principles: 
 Transparency (principle 1):  As a first pr inciple of good governance, Members should ensure 
full transparency on all measures affecting lCT services;  
 Use of spectrum (principle 6):  Spectrum was an  essential commodity for many services.  The 
rise of mobile broadband called for an effi cient and non-discriminatory management of 
spectrum.  Regulators should be empowered to ensure a level playing field in that regard; 
 Regulatory authorities (principle 7):  Whereas regulators were being empowered worldwide 
with the competences to regulate ICT markets, a truly independent regulator was not yet the 
standard in many countries.  The co-sponsor s believed that all Members should pay due 
attention to the level of independen ce and impartiality of regulators;  
 Authorizations and licences (principle 8):  This  principle pleaded in favour of streamlined 
authorization processes, whereas cumbersome licensi ng should be restricted to a limited set of 
cases, such as the use of spectrum.  In no case should establishment be required to provide the 
service;  
 Interconnection (principle 9):  In a libera lised market, interconnection and access under 
reasonable and non-discriminatory terms was key to ensure a level playing field for all operators. 
110. In conclusion, ICT services were the backbone  of any modern economy, and the co-sponsors 
believed that the openness of markets vis-à-vis  ICT services, combined with adequate regulation, was 
key for the economic development all Members were  seeking.  In the long run, the co-sponsors hoped 
to create internationally recognized principles that could be a reference in shaping ICT policies and 
they hoped that these principles could be s upported by as many Members as possible.   
111. The ICT principles presented had been the out come of a bilateral process.  The Council's 
discussions were the beginning of another process wh ere interested Members would also contribute, 
and the co-sponsors looked forward to discussing further with Members. 
112. The representative of the United States fully endo rsed the statement by the European Union.  
He said that, if widely implemented, the prin ciples presented would promote the global development 
of ICT services and, in turn, trade and overall economic development.  It would be helpful for 
Members to explore those principles further.  He  looked forward to delegations' thoughts, whether 
additional elements should be considered, and in  particular how those principles corresponded to 
policies that had been implemented or were under c onsideration in Members' respective regimes.   
113. The United States had submitted a second communication, in document S/C/W/339, which 
discussed recent growth in mobile applications  and cloud computing services.  The communication 
also spoke to the need to ensure  that trade rules supported the continued growth of those innovative 
products and services.  A positive environment for mob ile software transmission in cloud computing 
services could enhance commercial and employment opportunities, market access, business efficiency 
and developmental goals around the world.  While WTO Members explored this vibrant market, it 
was crucial to maintain the existing Moratorium on  the application of customs duties to electronic 
transmissions, to support the growth of e-commerce tr ade.  That was an issue that would arise in the 
8th Ministerial Conference and would undoubtedly be discussed in the near future. 
114. The representative of Uruguay thanked the Un ited States, the European Union, Cuba, 
Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia and Venezuela for thei r respective proposals to reinvigorate the Work 
Programme on Electronic Programme.  The three proposals addressed important elements and could  S/C/M/107 
 Page 17 
 
 
  be seen as complementary.  The proposal co-sponsored by Cuba placed emphasis on the key WTO 
principle of non-discrimination and on development aspects.  The EU and US proposal, on the other 
hand, highlighted principles that contributed to a better functioning of markets, to the exclusion of 
other important elements that needed to be c onsidered when discussing a public policy that had 
enormous societal implications.  
115. In that regard, Uruguay considered that the propo sals needed to be considered jointly by the 
relevant bodies, as the issue under discussion had implications for the work of different WTO committees, such as the Council for Trade in Services, Trade in Goods, TRIPs or the Committee on 
Trade and Development, amongst others.  
116. From a development perspective, policies were  often focused on improving ICT infrastructure 
and market functioning.  However, to unleash a fu ll developmental impact pro-active policies were 
required.  A promising way of promoting internet  use in developing countries was to focus on the 
younger generation.  The main on-line activities young people were involved in related to social 
networks and user-created content.  In view of the fact that 47 per cent of the population in developing 
countries was under the age of 25, there was an incr edible potential to increase the number of internet 
users.  In that sense, it was essential to provide  internet access in schools, starting from primary 
schools.  Once students had started using the internet, they would try to continue to do so, irrespective of their age, gender, income or education.  A lot needed to be done to create an information society 
that was truly global and integrative and offered benefits to the poorest.  Any future policy action 
should thus address not only issues related to mark et access but also to social inclusion and 
development.  
117. All action to promote the e-commerce Work-Programme had to aim at an awareness of the 
mutual benefits for all Members and the contribut ion to sustainable development.  Uruguay was 
convinced that e-commerce and access to ICT, coupled with social inclusion in particular, were key 
elements for future development, and stood read y to participate actively in this area.   
118. The representative of Switzerland said that his delegation attached high importance to the 
Work Programme.  With regard to the EU and US submission in document S/C/W/338, he had no 
final position yet, but found the initiative interesti ng and pertinent to the work of the WTO and the 
Council.  His delegation would continue to examine the issues in detail.  Even if Switzerland was not 
a major player in that area, but sincerely hoped that those principles could be implemented.   
119. Switzerland considered it essential to maintain  the Moratorium on the imposition of customs 
duties to electronic transmissions beyond the 8th Ministerial Conference and would be active in this 
sense.  The Moratorium was important for trade in general and all Members.  E-commerce created 
trading opportunities for a wide range of operators  and countries of different size and levels of 
development. 
120. His delegation was still studying the US submission in document S/C/W/339, trying to assess 
the size and importance of the markets concerned,  which were based on very recent and recently 
resurfaced technologies.   
121. As for the Work Programme, Switzerland was c onsidering whether additional elements could 
be addressed, and one such element might concern SMEs.  It was clear that e-commerce was a particularly useful tool for SMEs and that trade barriers that affected SMEs when trading services 
cross-border were of a special nature.  Switzerla nd was pondering the submission of a contribution in 
this regard. 
122. Referring to the communication in document S/C/W/338, the representative of Brazil said 
that, while his delegation was and remained supportive of the Work Programme on Electronic S/C/M/107 
Page 18  
 
  Commerce, the document was not a contribution to that  Work Programme.  It was rather an attempt to 
transfer the agenda of certain Members in the negotiations on market access and domestic regulation to the regular Council.  From Brazil's perspective,  this did not take into account, among other aspects, 
that no negotiations on market access were taking  place at that moment.  Brazil did not support 
discussions of the proposal in the Council and did not support the principles mentioned in the 
communication.   
123. The representative of Pakistan had a number of questions on the US and EU submission in 
document S/C/W/338.  First, he understood that th is was a contribution to the e-commerce Work 
Programme, and wondered whether that would be th e final scope of the document or whether it was 
intended to be discussed in the general context of existing or potential market access or other issues.  
Second, the principles were explicitly intended not to apply to financial services:  what was the 
rationale for this exclusion?  Third, what was th e precise definition of ICT services for the application 
of those principles?  Fourth, was there any inco rporation of public policy exceptions?  The chapeau 
did mention the GATS exception provisions, but th e following line contained different language.  
Fifth, Principle 5 on ownership was already being ap plied between the EU and US jurisdictions:  were 
there any problems in allowing for foreign owners hip in any ICT-related services?  Sixth, did 
Principle 7 cover only the regulatory powers towards licensing, authorisation, etc. or did it also include competition-related issues?  Seventh, were the principles dealing primarily with 
infrastructure-related ICT issues or were they al so intended to cover contents, including e-enabled 
information such as audio-visual?  His delegation would support the discussion of this submission 
under the Work Programme.   
124. As concerned the US submission in documen t S/C/W/339, he acknow ledged the importance 
of those new technologies.  His delegation was also  supportive of the extension of the Moratorium.  
Nevertheless, initiatives to promote ICT and e-commerce should ensure inclusiveness and 
participation by all WTO Members.  There should no t be a situation where e-commerce was denied to 
one or some of the Members.   
125. The representative of Israel agreed with th e assessment made in the US submission that 
activities under the Work Programme had been limited  over the past few years.  While at the same 
time, significant technological advances and wide spread investments in broadband networks had 
made electronic commerce a big part of people's daily lives and, more generally, of Members' 
economies.  In that context, his delegation welcom ed the initiative by the United States to help 
reinvigorate the work on e-commerce, as Members had been instructed to do by Ministers in 2009.  
126. He noted that the US submission successfully identified two market areas of particular 
importance, namely the mobile subsector, and in pa rticular the trade implications of electronically-
delivered software through smartphones, as well as the area of  cloud computing.  Israel also considered these to be future platforms that othe r service sectors could use.  Keeping in mind that 
work in the WTO needed to stay in line with mark et realities, Israel supported the establishment of a 
dedicated Work Programme to further explore market  developments in key areas as part of the Work 
Programme on Electronic Commerce. 
127. The representative of New Zealand said that the US and EU submission was another 
important contribution to the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce.  It helped broaden the 
Council's understanding of how Members addressed e- commerce issues within particular contexts. 
128. Recognising that these principles and their wordin g were fixed in the context in which the 
United States and EU had agreed them, she woul d nonetheless offer a few technical comments, and 
request clarification on a number of points.  As  a starting point, she also acknowledged that the 
cosponsors had not presented those principles for adop tion or negotiation by Members in the Council.   S/C/M/107 
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  So her delegation took them entirely in the spirit of sharing with which they were intended and 
commented in that same spirit. 
129. There were basically two dimensions to Ne w Zealand's comments, the first from an ICT 
perspective and the second from an Intellectual Prope rty (IP)/e-commerce perspective.  From the ICT 
perspective, the principles contained some opac ity, given the reuse of ambiguous wording from the 
GATS telecommunications Annex and th e Reference Paper in two specific areas.  First, in Principle 6 
(spectrum), the text only referred to ITU-R recomm endations, but the ITU-R Radio Regulations were 
also important.  The text used "allocation" and "assi gnment" in a way that might create confusion.  To 
avoid this, New Zealand suggested using the words pr ovision/provide.  In terms of individual country 
experiences, the text presupposed that regulators li censed spectrum to commercial users, but in New 
Zealand it was the Ministry of Economic Developm ent.  To be relevant for New Zealand's own 
context, the text would need to be amended accordingly.   
130. Second, in Principle 9 (interconnection), she noted some uncertainty of scope, due to the 
ambiguity surrounding the term 'interconnection'.  Did the EU and United States mean termination 
services, and if so, did they mean voice termination, SMS termination and/or data termination?  Or, if 
they meant interconnection in a broader sense ("physical or logical linking of networks"), what 
specific wholesale services did they think were in cluded within that definition (e.g. termination, 
origination, roaming, etc.)?  This tied in with the earlier discussions on IMR, and namely whether the 
GATS Annex and Reference Paper appl ied to international roaming or not.  New Zealand's view was 
that "interconnection" referred only to terminati on services, and would take up the issue  further 
directly with the co-sponsors. 
131. From an IP and e-commerce perspective, her queries focused on Principle 3 (Cross-Border 
Information Flows).  From an intellectual propert y perspective, she wondered about the relationship 
between Principle 3 and intellectual property rules th at required limits on access, conscious of the fact 
that a lot of information flowing through ICT ne tworks infringed copyright.  The language in the 
submission was quite broad and could possibly be interpreted in non-intended ways.  "Publicly 
available information", for example, did not rea lly account for how that information had become 
publicly available.  Her delegation would welcom e any clarification from the cosponsors in that 
regard.  She wondered if wording on the legitimacy of  the circumstances should be added (the kind of 
language that had been included in Principle 2).  Fr om an e-commerce perspective, Principle 3 raised 
also some interesting issues revolving around the intersection with privacy requirements/protection under some Members' domestic laws.   
132. In sum, New Zealand was very supportive of defining an overarching set of ICT principles.  
She hoped that the clarifications her delegati on had requested contributed to this process. 
133. The US submission in document S/C/W/339 was another constructive contribution to 
Members' on-going work on e-commerce issues.  She did not have specific comments on the content of the paper, which raised a number of interesti ng and challenging issues, including those relating to 
the classification and trade treatment of digital prod ucts and electronically-delivered services, and the 
elements necessary to enable continued growth  and market access in the sector.  She echoed 
Switzerland's suggestion that it would be useful to  explore the link between SMEs and e-commerce.  
The submission also raised broader questions as how to ensure the WTO and its rules remained up-to-
date and relevant in a world of fast-moving t echnological developments.  New Zealand was very 
interested in exploring those issues further, bot h through discussions in various Committees and in the 
context of the upcoming Ministerial Conference. 
134. The representative of Australia recognized  that e-commerce spanned most areas of 
international trade.  That was why the Work Pr ogramme on Electronic Comme rce mandated work in a 
number of WTO bodies, i.e. Councils for Goods, Services and TRIPs, and the Committee on Trade S/C/M/107 
Page 20  
 
  and Development.  Still, the CTS was particularly relevant, since services facilitated e-commerce.  
Australia supported the continuation of a balanced  and comprehensive Work Programme, both in the 
lead-up to the December Ministerial Conference a nd beyond, and was ready to engage in more 
intensive discussions. 
135. There were many relevant areas for discussion under the auspices of e-commerce, in terms of 
how trade principles applied and, as technologies e volved, governments woul d monitor the conditions 
and rules that should apply to and facilitate interna tional trade that used those technologies.  Australia 
was actively considering e-commerce-related issu es and the Australian Government had recently 
announced that it planned to develop a White Pape r outlining Australia's long-term strategy for 
engagement in cyberspace.  This would deal with a range of issues, some of which would be relevant 
to trade. 
136. Since an increasing portion of international trade and transactions were being completed 
electronically, Australia supported continuing a WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce with the aim of facilitating trade.  Secure and reliable e-commerce provided significant opportunities 
for trade growth.  It was important to avoid ba rriers to the use and development of e-commerce, 
ensure that, where technically possible, electroni c trade was no more restri cted than absolutely 
necessary and that technological neutrality be upheld.  
137. With regard to the submission in document S/C/ W/338, Australia found the initiative to start 
outlining a set of principles for e-commerce to be usef ul.  It would become increasingly important that 
consistent policies be implemented to ensure th at e-commerce continued to flourish and reach its 
potential.  Such an exercise was an opportunity to address issues such as privacy and consumer 
protection in international e-commerce trade, for instance.  Australia had comprehensive domestic 
regulatory frameworks for both privacy and consum er protection and would like to see a more 
specific reference to those issues in such a set of pr inciples.  Lack of consumer confidence had been a 
major factor limiting growth in e-commerce in Au stralia and many other countries, any outcomes on 
principles for e-commerce would thus need to be flexible enough to enable the continual innovation 
that drove e-commerce, while balancing this with a framework designe d to protect users. 
138. Her delegation welcomed the US submission dealing with cloud computing and mobile 
applications as an example of some of the more specific issues that might be looked at within the 
Council on e-commerce.  The paper provided an over view of recent devel opments and underscored 
the importance of mobile applications and cloud computing to e-commerce.  Her delegation would 
welcome further discussion of those issues. 
139. Australia also supported the Moratorium on the application of customs duties to electronic 
transmissions.  Since an increasing proportion of in ternational trade and transactions were being 
completed electronically, Australia supported extend ing the Moratorium.  The Moratorium had been 
useful in facilitating the growth of e-commerce.  It s continuation would help en sure that expansion of 
the digital economy was not restricted by customs duties. 
140. The representative of Norway registered her de legation's support for the principles in the EU 
and US submission in document S/C/W/338, which we re designed to support the expansion of ICT 
networks and services.  Broader implementation of those principles could stimulate economic growth, 
expand the opportunities for consum ers and workers, and facilitate the development of electronic 
commerce in general.  She sought confirmation from the proponents that Principle 3 (Cross-border information flows) was without prejudice to exis ting derogations, such as  measures necessary for 
public policy, the protection of public hea lth and the protection of consumers.   
141. The ICT-business sector was the third biggest business sector in Norway, when measured by 
turnover.  More than 70 000 people were employed within the sector in a country with just under 5  S/C/M/107 
 Page 21 
 
 
  million inhabitants.  The sector was important for the competiveness of businesses in general, for the 
efficiency of the public sector and for society as a whole.  Her delegation be lieved that coordinated 
policies between governments were necessary to di smantle existing barriers to new services.  
142. As for the communication from the United Stat es in document S/C/W/339, her delegation 
agreed that it was important to address new i nnovative technologies and business models under the 
Work Programme.  The document described how two market developments, the mobile application 
subsector and cloud computing, deserved particular no te and should be addressed as part of the Work 
Programme.  The growth in these markets was notable, and it was important for the WTO’s relevance to take up those discussions, especially in the servi ces area.  Norway's own industry was advanced in 
the mobile application market and in cloud compu ting technology.  The development of Green Data 
Centres on commercial terms was a priority in Norway due to comparative advantages, such as 
natural cooling and robust hydro-electric power supply. 
143. The representative of the Republic of Korea said  that the joint communication by EU and the 
United States contributed to reinvigorating th e Work Programme on Electronic Commerce.  The 
proposal could enrich the discussion on e-commer ce by providing the opportunity to exchange 
national experiences and exploring best practices among Members.  Her delegation believed that the 
principles outlined in the document had positive im plications for the development of the ICT 
capabilities of Members.  
144. The ICT sector was perhaps the most important  economic infrastructure of the 21st century, 
and the implementation of the principles in polic y and regulation could stimulate economic growth 
and provide benefits for cons umers and businesses.  Her delegation believed that WTO trade 
disciplines should apply to ICT services and was sup portive of efforts in that regard.  The principles 
could help national regulators apply the appropria te regulatory approaches in a world that was 
increasingly integrated through the internet and digita l technology.  Her delegation saw the principles 
of transparency and open networks and access as pa rticularly relevant for economic activity in the 
internet environment. 
145. Nevertheless, in order to ga in wider support amongst the Membership, attention should be 
paid to the potential clash between national regul atory regimes and the principles outlined in the 
submission.  It appeared from the onset that more  clarity was needed about the services that were 
subject to the principles.  Also, more precise language  could help clarify that the ICT trade principles 
were fully compatible with the legitimate right s of WTO Members to intervene for public policy 
purposes.  In sum, her delegation su pported the principles, and looked  forward to further discussion to 
ensure their relevance to all WTO Members.   
146. As the communication from the United States in document S/C/W/339 rightly pointed out, 
mobile applications and cloud computing were tw o new market developments requiring Members' 
attention.  Given that mobile applications could be developed with relatively low capital investment 
and technology, companies in developing countries, especially SMEs, could compete with bigger 
companies on relatively equal footing, as long as they were equipped with  innovative ideas and good 
business strategies.  The sector grew in an environm ent where market entry barriers were low.  Trade 
rules could help maintain that competitive envir onment and prevent barriers from being imposed.  In 
that regard, her delegation hoped that Members woul d share information on the kind of barriers that 
were being faced by firms and how WTO rules could help in the future.   
147. With regard to cloud computing, the communication by the US interpreted it as a computer-
related service by referring to the 2009 Background No te by the Secretariat on telecommunications.  
The Note employed the concepts ‘use’ and ‘s upply’ in determining whether a service was a 
telecommunication service or another service.  Services such as CRS and audio-visual services were ‘users’ of telecommunications networks or servi ces, and therefore were not telecommunications S/C/M/107 
Page 22  
 
  services.  Following such logic, cloud computing was considered as a CRS because its supply used 
telecommunications networks.  In practice cl oud computing was provided mostly by telecom 
operators that owned network facilities such as data ce ntres and exchanges.  In the Republic of Korea, 
a service provider that owned network facilities to pr ovide a service had to obtain a general license, as 
it was considered a facilities-based telecom operato r.  Such operators were subject to foreign 
investment restrictions, while there were no market access restrictions for CRS suppliers.  This 
understandably created problems for her delegation, as the existing regulatory regime did not square 
with the Background Note’s treatment of cloud computing.  She would be interested in hearing from other Members how cloud computing was treated by  their regulators, the logic underlying those 
regulatory frameworks, and how this was reflected in the respective schedules.  
148. Lastly, she emphasized her authorities' full support for the extension of Moratorium on the 
application of customs duties to electronic transmissions at the upcoming Ministerial Conference in December. 
149. The representative of the European Union said th at the joint submission had generated a rich 
and vivid debate.  He would address now a few of the questions raised and might revert in more detail 
at the next meeting.  First, he disagreed w ith comments suggesting that the joint EU and US 
submission did not fall under the Work Programme .  The different proposals were looking at e-
commerce from different perspectives, as these re flected different experiences, but they clearly 
overlapped.  As for the question of whether th ese principles concerned market access, e-commerce 
was essentially about the cross-border provision of  services through electronic means, so there 
inevitably was a market access component, but this  was not the only one.  As for the scope and 
definition of the principles, the document remained at a general level and the principles were almost 
of a political nature.  While there was no precise de finition of ICT services, those services were well-
known, from telecommunication to computer services, and at that stage the intention was to be broad.  
With regard to the question on public policy excepti ons, such as public health, privacy, confidentiality 
of personal and commercial data, IP protection, et c., the principles, though broadly drafted, were 
obviously mindful of such concerns.  The headnote ensured that those principles were compatible 
with other policy objectives.   
150. The representative of India observed that the jo int EU and US contribution was interesting 
and appeared to have a very broa d sweep, covering various issues, ma ny of which related to market 
access and domestic regulation.  In fact, the focus appeared to be less on e-commerce and more on the issues that had been discussed inte nsively in the negotiations.  Memb ers needed to examine carefully 
how the paper fitted in the Work Programme.   
151. Most the principles listed had been discussed in  depth in the negotiations, but no consensus 
could be reached.  Therefore, India was surprised to see their inclusion in the submission.  This made 
it difficult to build a consensus in the Council when gaps could not be bridged despite a lot of hard 
work in the negotiations.  The re presentative also noted that the submission aimed to establish 
principles for liberalization and openness in all modes of supply other than mode 4.  Furthermore, the 
submission referred to some elements contained in  the Reference Paper.  Many Members, however, 
had not adopted the Reference paper in its totalit y, and this would make it difficult for them to 
endorse some of the principles.   
152. In short, at that stage India was not convinced  of the usefulness of discussing in the Council 
principles on which consensus could not be reached  despite a lot of work undertaken recently, and 
was therefore not able to support the submission.  
153. The US communication on mobile applications and cloud computing included very 
interesting issues in two rapidly evolving areas.  Since it had been received only recently, India was 
still consulting the various stakeholders.  On a pr eliminary basis, the representative noted that both  S/C/M/107 
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  cloud computing and mobile applications were  fundamentally changing the way business was 
transacted and were making significant contributions to increasing productivity and efficiency in the marketplace.  His delegation broadly agreed that  it was important for the WTO to address new and 
innovative technologies.  
154. Mobile applications and cloud computing had been growing very rapidly, but India was 
concerned that this was happening in an extremely uneven fashion, with market share being captured 
by few companies from few Members.  Available in formation revealed a highly skewed market.  For 
example, in the case of mobile application's mark et revenue, one company held most of the global 
market in 2009.  Similarly, one Member alone captured most of the market share globally.  The 
scenario had not changed much in 2010 or 2011.  In such a near-monopolistic situation, India was 
sceptical of the gains in terms of market particip ation flowing to all Members.  Developing countries 
in general had played no role in this growth story to date.  Even indirectly, whatever benefits could 
have accrued to them had been circumscribed by th e restrictive mode-4 policies of some of those 
Members who had the majority share in those two segments.   
155. This development aspect had not been dealt with in the US submission:  the increasing 
participation of developing countries was part of  the mandate given to the Council under the Work 
Programme decision of 1998.  From India's perspe ctive, the discussion and the submission would not 
be balanced unless the question of how to increas e the share of developing countries in these gains 
was included as well.  In short, on a preliminary basi s, more details were need ed before India could be 
persuaded of the usefulness of discussing such asp ects for developing countries and could agree on 
any further steps. 
156. The representative of Japan said that the US and EU proposal on ICT trade principles was 
moving in the right direction, since it incorporated both telecommunications and computer and related 
services as ICT services.  This well reflected the wa y in which services were provided.  Japan also 
welcomed the initiative of promoting those princi ples, some of which were new, among other 
Members.  This would help advance liberalization and develop best practices in the ICT sector.  His 
delegation would revert to the proposal with specific comments.  
157. With regard to the submission in document S/ C/W/338, the representative of Mexico echoed 
the doubts expressed by Brazil and India on the market  access elements, which had been addressed in 
other occasions.  Her delegation was supportive of th e reinvigoration of the Work Programme and the 
continuation of the Moratorium.  She would pr ovide more detailed comments at the following 
meeting.  
158. The representative of Turkey stressed the importa nce her delegation attached to monitoring 
and regulating electronic communication services.  In that regard, document S/C/W/338 dealt with 
many issues that were difficult to apply.  The prin ciples in the second, third, especially the fourth and 
eighth paragraphs of that submissi on only sought to liberalize the sector without paying attention to 
Members' level of development or the importance of  regulations and monitoring in that area.  While 
her delegation would revert with more detailed comments at the following meeting, she indicated that 
many issues covered were not compa tible with Turkey's regulations. 
159. The representative of Canada supported the reinvigoration of the e-commerce Work 
Programme and welcomed the two contributions su bmitted.  She noted that the use of e-commerce 
was a very important issue for SMEs.  Canada wa s supportive of open, transparent and free flow 
information over the internet.  The US submission wa s a very useful basis for further discussions, and 
Canada would support it being ta ken up in the Work Programme.  As for the US and EU ICT 
principles, she looked forward to entering into a di alogue to share Members' own respective principles 
in that area.  Australia and Norway had raised some  interesting points that her delegation would like 
to explore further.  Lastly, Canada fully supported the extension of the Moratorium.   S/C/M/107 
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  160. The representative of Chinese Taipei said that the two submissions could contribute to 
reinvigorating the e-commerce Work Programme.  Her delegation was still examining document 
S/C/W/339 and would revert to it.  As for the EU and US submission in document S/C/W/338, she stressed the importance of transparent domestic regul atory regimes to foster the development of ICT 
networking services.  In view of the rapid development of e-commerce and its impact on trade in 
services, Chinese Taipei was open to further discussions  of those two proposals.  She had taken note 
of the concerns raised by some Members on the re lationship between trade-related ICT principles and 
market access commitments and sought cl arifications in that regard.    
161. The representative of China said that his delegation supported the reinvigoration of the e-
commerce Work Programme.  China was still studying the proponents' submissions and reserved its 
right to revert to them.  The EU and US s ubmission in document S/C/W/338 was a good reference 
point, but his delegation shared the concerns express ed by Brazil and India, amongst others, in view 
of its market access component and the implic ations for regulatory and public policy space. 
162. In view of the time constraints, the representa tive of the United States offered brief replies to 
the questions and comments made, and would provid e more details at the following meeting.  He 
stressed that the purpose of the joint submission wi th the EU was not to shift market access and 
domestic regulation discussions to the regular Coun cil.  He recalled that the Work Programme 
mandated the Council for Trade in Services to examine, inter alia , issues related to market access 
commitments, access to and use of public telecommunication transport networks and services, and domestic regulation.  The mandate covered a br oad spectrum of elements, and the US and EU 
submission fitted neatly within that mandate. 
163. The Chairman said that the Council would take note  of the statements made and revert to this 
item at its next meeting.   
E. OTHER BUSINESS  
164. As he had indicated at the outset, the Chairman  made a brief statement regarding the ninth 
Transitional Review of China's specific commitme nts.  He recalled that a fax had been sent to 
delegations on 12 September 2011, announcing that the ninth Transitional Review pursuant to 
paragraph 18 of China's Protocol of Accession w ould be undertaken in the Council for Trade in 
Services on Thursday, 3 November 2011.  The Counc il meeting would be preceded by a meeting of 
the Committee on Trade in Financial Servic es to conduct its own review on Monday, 
31 October 2011.   
165. At the November meeting, it was his inten tion to propose that the Council follow the same 
procedure as in previous reviews.  First, Ch ina would be invited to respond to comments and 
questions contained in any written communications subm itted to that effect.  After China's statement, 
delegations would have the floor for comments.  Finally, China would be invited to respond. 
166. The representative of Australia said that, in th e interest of time, discussion of the item her 
delegation had raised under Other Business, on the en try into force of the certified EC-25 schedule, 
could be postponed until the following meeting.   
167. The meeting was adjourned. 
 
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