Report of the

formal meeting of WTO Council for Trade in Services,

(19/6/!1"#
as presented during the informal WTO trade negotiators
meeting in $eneva % &une !1"
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R'(ORT )* T+' C+,-R.,/ O0 T+' CO1/C-2 0OR TR,3' -/ S'R4-C'S -/
S('C-,2 S'SS-O/
AMBASSADOR GABRIEL DUQUE (COLOMBIA)
Chairman and colleagues,
- am pleased to report on the state of discussions on the services component of
the post5)ali Wor6 (rogramme7
Since the last T/C meeting, - have continued m8 informal consultations, and this
has culminated in a formal meeting of the Special Session of the Council for
Trade in Services, held last 19 &une7
-n m8 consultations, - have repeatedl8 heard a9out the need for 9alance :ith
other 33, mar6et access areas, as :ell as 9alance :ithin services, including
9et:een mar6et access and rules negotiations7 3elegations also underscored the
importance of development issues, and the need for procedural transparenc8,
inclusiveness and ;doa9ilit8;7
.uch of :hat - had heard from delegations in m8 consultations :as at the level
of general principles7
.ore specificall8, ho:ever, most mem9ers consider that one of the ne<t
milestones in the services negotiations could 9e the presentation of revised
offers7 The e<isting offers are 9 8ears old and, :e can all e<pect that in man8
cases the8 no longer reflect current priorities or patterns of trade7 -f that :ere
the case, it :ould seem important that the Wor6 (rogramme ta6es account of
these changes, in order to facilitate the su9mission of revised offers7
,t the meeting of the Special Session, - suggested that .em9ers might also :ish
to update other .em9ers on their e<pectations from offers7 0or e<ample, :ould
.em9ers :ish to have a round of re=uests, either 9ilateral or collective> -n this
regard, it is interesting to note that, in the lead5up to the +ong ?ong .inisterial,
the Report of the Chairman to the T/C (T//S/@# anne<ed a detailed listing of
Asectoral and modal o9Bectives as identified 98 .em9ersA, a listing that cast a
useful light on the negotiating priorities of .em9ers7
- stressed to .em9ers that :e :ere no: half :a8 through the 8ear and that
there :ill 9e little time after the ,ugust 9rea6 to 9egin putting together an
effective Wor6 (rogramme7 -t :as vital to move the discussion from principles to
detailed proposals that illuminate the :a8 ahead, and can lead us to an e<change
of revised offers or other concrete delivera9les7
2ast :ee6;s meeting of the Special Session sho:ed some signs of moving
for:ard in that regard7 -ndeed, for the first time, delegations attempted to go
9e8ond generalities7
One delegation came for:ard :ith more developed ideas on ho: to ta6e the
negotiations for:ard 98 focusing on selected themes capturing a range of sectors
and issues relating toC trade facilitation in services, e5commerce, and services
relate to trade in goods7 The ideas :ere preliminar8 in nature, 9ut there :ere
indications that concrete proposals :ould follo: in the not too distant future7
Several delegations stressed the importance of resuming mar6et access
negotiations :ith repeated references to :or6 previousl8 done and negotiating
methods developed in the 33,, including revised offers, ,nne< C of the +ong
?ong .inisterial 3eclaration, and the Signalling Conference of &ul8 !!D7 4arious
delegations also stressed the importance of giving e=ual attention to the rule5
ma6ing negotiations7
.em9ers continued to recogniEe that the overall level of am9ition in services :ill
have to 9e lin6ed :ith that in ,griculture and /,.,7 Some .em9ers :ent
further to stress that ,griculture :ould 9e the determinant of the overall level of
am9ition7
While the specific ideas put for:ard, as :ell as reactions to them, :ere
preliminar8, this represents a step in the right direction7 - have urged delegations
to follo:5up :ith specific proposals7 Once :e receive an8 specific proposal or
after the summer 9rea6, - :ill 9e intensif8ing m8 consultations in different
formats7 -n that conte<t, - :ill 9e convening meetings of the Special Session as
fre=uentl8 as re=uired7
Than6 8ou.
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