RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONTN/S/W/15
9 July 2003
(03-3711)
Council for Trade in Services
Special Session
 – DRAFT –
SPECIAL SESSION OF THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES
Report by the Chairman to the Trade Negotiations Committee
1. Since the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference, the Special Session of the Council for
Trade in Services has held nine formal meetings on 3-6 December 2001; 19-22 March 2002; 5-
6 June 2002; 23 July 2002; 28 October and 1 November 2002; 9 December 2002 and
13 January 2003; 3-6 March 2003; 19-22 May 2003; and 4-10 July 2003.  Reports of the meetings are
contained in documents S/CSS/M13 and TN/S/M/1 to TN/S/M/8 inclusive.1  The reports of the
meetings should be read in conjunction with this report.
I. ORGANIZATION OF WORK
A. WORK RELATED TO THE NEGOTIATION OF SPECIFIC COMMITMENTS
2. At the last Ministerial Conference in Doha Ministers took note of the large number of
proposals submitted by Members related to Trade in Services, reaffirmed the Guidelines andProcedures for the Negotiations adopted by the Council for Trade in Services on 28 March 2001, and
directed participants to submit initial requests by 30 June 2002 and initial offers by 31 March 2003.
In so doing, Ministers provided impetus to the on-going negotiations on specific commitments.
3. At the commencement of the mandated negotiations in 2000, Members agreed to begin work
with the consideration of negotiating proposal s.  These proposals aim at indicating Members'
negotiating interests in specific services sectors and modes of supply.  Some 110 negotiatingproposals have been presented, 26 since the last meeting of Ministers at Doha.  In total 47 of these
have been presented by developing country Members.  With the onset of the request-offer process,
negotiating proposals have in some cases addressed issues directly related to the current phase of the
negotiation of specific commitments.  Two such proposals have been presented with the indication
that they are the work of a “friends” group.
4. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, Members began to
submit initial requests for specific commitments as of 30 June 2002 and initial offers as of
31 March 2003.  [Twenty-eight] initial offers have so far been received by the Secretariat, including
[13] from developing country Members.  As foreseen in the Guidelines and Procedures forNegotiations on Trade in Services, since October 2002 the Council has been reviewing progress in the
negotiations.  In May 2003, the Council agreed to review work related to paragraph 15 of the
Negotiating Guidelines when reviewing progress in the negotiations.
                                                     
1 At the time of this report TN/S/M/8 remained to be issued.TN/S/W/15
Page 2
5. The Special Session also remains engaged in important work mandated under paragraph 3 of
Article XIX of the GATS.  Work on one important piece of the negotiating architecture was
completed on 6 March 2003 when the Council adopted the Modalities for the Treatment of
Autonomous Liberalization and t ook note of an accompanying Statement by the Chairman.2  [ T h e
statement was made in the context of specific concerns expressed by some Members, including those
recently acceded.]  By defining the scope of measures eligible for credit, the criteria for assessing thevalue of such measures, and the procedures through which credit will be determined and granted,
particularly for developing countries, the Council has established an important tool for the treatment
of autonomous liberalization in the context of the negotiations.
6. Furthermore, paragraph 3 of Article XIX mandates that the Council for Trade in Services
conduct an assessment of trade in services in overall terms and on a sectoral basis.  The Council has
been pursuing this exercise since 1998.  It was also stipulated in paragraph 14 of the Guidelines thatthe process would continue throughout the negotiations.  So far some 145 submissions have been
made, including those in the context of an inform ation exchange programme.  Since the last meeting
of Ministers in Doha, one oral presentation has been made by an invited expert and eight written
communications have been submitted including a checklist by the Secretariat of issues that Members
might wish to take into account when conducting their own assessment at the national level.
7. It is worth noting that an important symposium on the assessment of trade in services was
held on 14-15 March 2002.
B. W
ORK RELATED TO RULE -MAKING
8. In addition to the elements of the negotiating architecture related to Article XIX of the GATS,
important work on mandated rule-making has been on-going since the Fourth Ministerial Conference
in four areas.  Paragraph 7 of the Guidelines and Procedures for the Negotiations on Trade in Services
foresees their conclusion prior to that of the negotiations on specific commitments.  Work in
accordance with the mandates contained in Article VI:4 (Domestic Regulation) has been pursued inthe Working Party on Domestic Regulation, while work under Article X:1 (Emergency Safeguard
Measures), Article XIII:2 (Government Procurement) and XV:1 (Subsidies) has been pursued in the
Working Party on GATS Rules.  Reports by the Chairs of the Council's four subsidiary bodies has
remained a standing item on the Special Session's agenda.
9. With respect to domestic regulation, Members have recently renewed their focus on the
creation of disciplines under GATS Article VI:4.  One suggested approach has been a proposed
Annex on Domestic Regulation, which is largely in spired by the Accountancy Disciplines adopted by
the Council for Trade in Services on 14 December 1998.
3  At the same time, Members have continued
the discussion of regulatory examples.  The key issues around which discussions have coalesced
include additional disciplines on transparency, the coverage of Article VI:4 measures in relation to
scheduled measures, understanding the necessity of domestic regulatory measures, and the recognitionof qualifications.  As well, a symposium on Domestic Regulation is foreseen in 2003.
10. The Working Party on GATS Rules has continued its work on emergency safeguard
measures, government procurement and subsidies.  On 15 March 2002, the Council for Trade in
Services adopted, upon recommendation from the Working Party on GATS Rules, a fourth Decisionon emergency safeguard measures which extended the deadline for these negotiations until
15 March 2004. On 22 July 2002, the Working Party adopted work programmes on emergency
safeguard measures, subsidies and government procurement respectively, recognizing, inter alia , that
these did not prejudge in any way the outcome of the negotiations under the respective agenda items,
                                                     
2 TN/S/6 and TN/S/8.
3 S/L/64.TN/S/W/15
Page 3
and that the undertaking of individual items of work, including the questions of desirability and
feasibility, should be without prejudice to each other under each subject of negotiations.4  W i t h
respect to emergency safeguard measures, the main elements are, inter alia , to identify, elaborate and
consolidate elements for an ESM, to address the ques tions of desirability and feasibility, to encourage
Members to put forward submissions as early as possible before 31 December 2002, and to finalize
the negotiations by 15 March 2004.  For both subsidies and government procurement, the workprogrammes provide, inter alia , for continued discussion on the basis of submissions from Members
and materials available, and encourages Members to put forward submissions as early as possible
before 31 March 2003.  As mandated in the work programmes, the Chairperson of the Working Party
issued three notes reporting on the progress of negotiations in the three areas;  the report on
emergency safeguard measures was issued on 14 March 2003
5, and the two reports on subsidies and
government procurement on 30 June 20036.  At its meeting in July, the Working Party had a stock-
taking discussion on the progress made in the negotiations regarding the three agenda items under itsmandate.
II. OUTSTANDING ISSUES
11. The Council is fully aware that one remaining pi ece of the negotiating architecture mandated
under paragraph 3 of Article XIX consists of the Modalities for the Special Treatment for Least-Developed Country Members.  The Council has been actively engaged in work on this item since
December 2002 when the LDC Group submitted an initial draft which was subsequently revised in
March 2003.
7  Members have often expressed the view that the special situation of LDCs in general
and in the context of the negotiations requires the C ouncil to pursue its work on this item with a sense
of urgency in order to reach a timely conclusion.  At its meeting held on 4-10 July 2003, the Councilagreed to keep this item so that it might cont inue formal discussions in the coming weeks should
consultations warrant such action.  In the interim I will renew my efforts through consultations.
III. FUTURE WORK
12. [TBC]
__________
                                                     
4 S/WPGR/7.
5 S/WPGR/9.
6 S/WPGR/10 and --/11.
7 JOB(02)/205 and TN/S/W/13 respectively.