RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/L/37
21May 1997
ORGANIZATION
(97-2189)
Council forTrade inServices Original: English
JOINT REQUEST FOR AWAIVER UNDER ARTICLE IXOF
THE MARRAKESH AGREEMENT ESTABLISHING
THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
Thefollowing communication, dated 19May1997, hasbeenreceived from thedelegations
ofBurkina Faso, Central African Republic, Malawi andUganda withtherequest thatitbecirculated
toWTO Members.
__________
Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Malawi andUganda hereby submit ajointrequest
forawaiver fromtheobligation contained inparagraph 1ofArticle IIoftheGATS toprovide MFN
treatment formeasures relating toComputer Reservation System (CRS) services intheairtransport
sector.
TheGATS Annex onAirTransport Services stipulates thattheGATS doesnotapply totraffic
rights, however granted, nortoservices directly related totheirexercise. However, itprovides that
theAgreement applies tomeasures relating toaircraft repair andmaintenance services, selling and
marketing ofairtransport services andCRS services. CRS services areservices provided by
computerised systems thatcontain information about aircarriers 'schedules, availability ofseats, fares
andfarerules, andthrough which reservations canbemade ortickets maybeissued.
TheMFN provision oftheGATS requires thateachMember mustaccord toservices andservice
suppliers ofallother Members treatment nolessfavourable thanthataccorded tolikeservices and
service suppliers ofanyothercountry unless theMember hasfiledanexemption foraparticular measure
inaccordance withtheGATS Annex onArticle IIexemptions .Inpractice thismeant thatthegrant
ofanMFN exemption forUruguay Round participants waspossible upto15December 1993, with
anextension forleast-developed countries upto15April 1995.
Itwillberecalled thatthirteen participants intheUruguay Round (counting theEuropean
Community anditsMember States asone)decided atarelatively latestage inthenegotiations that
itwasnecessary totakeanMFN exemption forCRSs inorder insome cases toreserve therightto
grant access totheirsystems onareciprocal basis. More generally, theexemptions reflect thefact
thatmore detailed bilateral andplurilateral arrangements orcodes ofconduct already govern CRS
activities andthatanexemption wasconsidered necessary toavoid possible conflicts intherespective
obligations.
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Page 2
Theexceptional circumstances which haveledtothepresent jointrequest forawaiver are
thatattheendoftheUruguay Round itwasnotpossible forthedelegations concerned, inorganizational
andlogistical terms, tosubmit timely MFN exemptions inrespect ofmeasures relating toCRSservices.
Thecountries concerned bythisrequest aremotivated bythewishtoprotect theinvestments they
havemade inspecific CRSsystems. They therefore request alegalbasis which would allow them to
grant preferences asappropriate toparticular providers foraperiod offiveyears. Thewaiver which
isnowbeing sought willprovide thegrace period needed foragradual, orderly andmanaged transition
toamore liberalized operating environment andfortheintroduction ofappropriate regulatory regimes
anddistribution systems.
Since theendoftheUruguay Round, allcountries concerned haveconfirmed theirviewthat
awaiver fromtheMFN obligation isnecessary tocover theimplementation ofCRS-related measures.