PRESS/51
1July1996
NEGOTIATIONS ONMARITIME TRANSPORT SERVICES
SUSPENDED UNTIL 2000
Negotiations toberesumed onthebasis ofexisting orimproved offers.
WTO member governments participating inthenegotiations onmaritime transport services
agreed onFriday 28Junetosuspend thenegotiations andtoresume them, onthebasis ofexisting
orimproved offers, atthetimeofthefurther round ofcomprehensive negotiations ontradeinservices
which isalready mandated tobegin intheyear2000.
Atthetimeofthesuspension ofthenegotiations, 42governments wereparticipating (counting
theEuropean Communities anditsmember states asone)andconditional offers hadbeensubmitted
by24ofthem*duringthetalkswhichbeganinthespringof1994undertheChairmanshipofAmbassador
D.Kenyon ofAustralia.
TheWTO member governments alsoagreed thatmembers wishing tomodify commitments
inthissector dating from theUruguay Round maydosouptotheendofJuly1996. Thereafter,
governments haveagreed nottoapply anymeasures affecting trade inmaritime transport services in
suchamanner astoimprove theirnegotiating position andleverage, except inresponse tomeasures
applied byother countries. Governments may, however, apply measures which maintain orimprove
theliberalization ofmaritime transport services.
96-2550
*Thefollowinggovernmentstabledoffers:Australia,Brazil,Canada,Chile,Colombia,Côted'Ivoire,
Cuba, Dominican Rep., EC&Member States, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mexico,
Morocco, NewZealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Switzerland &Turkey.
END