./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/W/379
27 October 1999
(99-4662)
General Council Original:  Spanish
PREPARATIONS FOR THE 1999 MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Proposal Regarding Negotiations on Trade in Services
Paragraph 9 (a)(ii) of the Geneva Ministerial Declaration
Communication from Cuba
The following communication, dated 26 October 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Cuba.
_______________
Introduction
1. In accordance with Article XIX:1 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS),
WTO Members are committed to pursuing the process of liberalization through negotiations directedto the reduction or elimination of barriers to the trade in services.
2. It is also the responsibility of Members to ensure that this process of liberalization takes place
with a view to promoting the interests of all pa rticipants on a mutually advantageous basis and to
securing an overall balance of rights and obligations.  Particular attention must be paid to the right of
Member's to regulate, and to introduce new regulations, on the supply of services within their
territories in order to meet national policy objectives.  This right, proclaimed in the preamble to theGATS, is particularly legitimate in the case of developing countries because of the asymmetries in
and vulnerability of their economies.
3. In order to achieve the objectives stated in paragraphs 1 and 2, it is essential that the
economic, trade and financial situations of developing countries be taken into account.
Proposals
4. Ministers recognize that the following factors are fundamental and must be taken into account
in the negotiations on services.
Progressive liberalization
5. The process of liberalization of trade in services cannot be divorced from the level of
development of participants in the negotiations;  on the contrary, it must be taken into account.  In thatconnection, Article XIX:2 of the GATS provides that the process of liberalization take place with due
respect for national policy objectives and the level of development of individual Members, both
overall and in individual sectors.WT/GC/W/379
Page 2
Negotiating guidelines and procedures
6. Negotiating guidelines and procedures must be established for each round of negotiations.  In
that regard, pursuant to Article XIX:3 of the GATS, "the Council for Trade in Services shall carry out
an assessment of trade in services in overall terms and on a sectoral basis".  This assessment shouldshow the outcomes of the process of liberalizing services and the benefits that have accrued to
Members, especially developing and least-developed economies, so that they are not excluded from
the advantages of the multilateral trading system.  In the absence of this assessment, which must
include the consequences on the trade and development prospects of Members, guidelines promoting
the interests of all participants cannot be established.
7. Furthermore, future negotiating guidelines and procedures must take into account the
objectives laid down in Article IV of the GATS, facilitating the increasing participation of developing
countries.  It is clear that if these countries do not have access to technology on a commercial basis,
without improved access to distribution channels and information networks and the liberalization of
sectors and modes of supply of export interest to them, "the economic growth of all trading partners
and the development of developing countries", as stated in the preamble to the GATS, would not beachieved.
8. Respect for the current structure of the GATS must be a fundamental aspect of future
negotiations.  The process of liberalization should be gradual;  special emphasis must be placed on the
development dimension, taking into account existing asymmetries.  In addition, modalities must beestablished encompassing the commitments of the Uruguay Round, as well as initial contributions to
the negotiations, in line with Article XIX:3 of the GATS.
Technical assistance
9. Trade in services can constitute a significan t potential for the development of the foreign
trade of some developing countries, either because of the developed professional level they have
attained or owing to natural conditions which favour the marketing of certain services.  To that end,
technical assistance is required from regional and international bodies, such as UNCTAD, to provide
assistance in coordination with the WTO, to developing countries in the process leading up to the
negotiations.
__________