RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/C/W/16
23July1996
ORGANIZATION(96-2903)
Original: Spanish Council forTrade inServices
COMMUNICATION FROM CHILE
Thefollowing communication hasbeenreceived fromthedelegation ofChile withtherequest
thatitbecirculated toMembers oftheCouncil forTrade inServices.
_______________
Article XIXoftheGeneral Agreement onTrade inServices (GATS) provides foracommitment
toenter into"successive rounds ofnegotiations, beginning notlaterthanfiveyears from thedateof
entry intoforce oftheWTO Agreement andperiodically thereafter, withaview toachieving a
progressively higher levelofliberalization".
TheChilean Government considers itappropriate that,inthecontext oftheforthcoming
ministerial meeting inSingapore, Ministers should adopt adecision toexpedite thepreparatory work
forthenegotiations tobeheldfrom theyear2000. Thispreparatory work willconsist exclusively
ofanexchange ofinformation topromote transparency.
Theexperience gained fromprevious negotiations (Uruguay Round and,subsequently, financial
services,telecommunications,maritimetransportandmovementofnaturalpersons)seemstodemonstrate
theadvisability andnecessity ofundertaking preparatory work prior tothenegotiations, asameans
ofidentifying theactual situation inthesectors orsubsectors subject tonegotiation.
IntheviewoftheChilean Government, theGATS doesnotprovide anyexplicit procedure
enabling WTO Members tofamiliarize themselves withtheworkings oftheregulatory regimes affecting
trade inservices.
Article IIIoftheGATS imposes ageneral obligation oftransparency based onnotifications,
butapplicable onlytothose sectors inwhich commitments havebeenundertaken, andtheydonot
necessarily giveafullpicture ofthearrangements affecting anentire sector.
Moreover, theschedules ofcommitments ofeachMember normally cover some oftheservice
sectors orsubsectors, andtheirpurpose istorecord restrictions andlimitations inaccordance with
theprovisions ofArticles XVIandXVII oftheGATS; theydonotprovide precise background
information onthemanner inwhich aspecific sector isregulated.
Themainpurpose ofthisexercise willbetoobtain acomprehensive range ofclearandprecise
information ontheregulations affecting sectors andonthechanges inlegislation since theentry into
forceoftheWTO Agreement andbefore theyear2000, when thenextround ofnegotiations willbegin.
./.S/C/W/16
Page2
Thisexchange ofinformation could taketheform -though notexclusively -ofreplies toa
questionnaire covering different service sectors defined intheGATS, whether ornottheyareincluded
intheschedules ofcommitments ofWTO Members.
Thisprocedure hasalready beenusedontwooccasions, forthetelecommunication andmaritime
transport sectors. Inanother context andwithanother aiminview, theWorking Party onProfessional
Services considered itappropriate tofollow asimilar procedure. Thisshows thatthistypeofinformation
exchange isextremely useful inthelead-up tonegotiations.
Innoevent canthisexercise modify theagreed dates ortherights andobligations setoutin
theGATS orthose derived from theschedules ofindividual commitments, norwillitprejudge the
individual aimsandintentions ofeachMember inthecontext ofthenegotiations themselves.
Again, thisexercise should innowayimpinge ontheprovisions ofArticle XIX, paragraph 1,
although itmayserve asabasis fortheassessment provided forinparagraph 3ofthesame Article.
Itisnotconsidered necessary toestablish anewsubsidiary bodytosupervise theimplementation
ofthistask. Initially, theexercise could takeplace within theCouncil forTrade inServices. Itcould
subsequently bediverted toanother body ifthatisconsidered advisable.