RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/FIN/M/18
21November 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5174)
Committee onTrade inFinancial Services
REPORT OFTHE MEETINGS HELD ON12AND 14NOVEMBER 1997
Note bytheSecretariat
1. Theeighteenth andnineteenth meetings oftheCommittee onTrade inFinancial Services were
chaired byMr.Yoshio Okubo ofJapan. Theagenda forthemeetings wascontained inWTO/AIR/712
of23October 1997, andconsisted ofsixitems: exchange ofviews onprogress inbilateral negotiations;
recent developments infinancial services trade; procedural issues regarding modification andentry
intoforce ofschedules; annual report totheCouncil forTrade inServices; organization offuture work;
andother business. Themeeting on12November washeldatsenior level. Agenda items AandB
below were discussed on12November, while theremaining agenda items were discussed on
14November. TheChairman reported onthestatus ofthesubmission ofoffers inbothmeetings.
ItemA: Exchange ofViews onProgress inBilateral Negotiations
ItemB: Recent Developments inFinancial Services Trade
2. TheChairman reported onthestatus ofthesubmission ofoffers; intotal, thirty-two offers
hadbeensubmitted by14November. Eight ofthem hadbeenpresented since theprevious meeting
byTunisia, Israel, Costa Rica, South Africa, Uruguay, Peru, Philippines andMauritius. TheSecretariat
hadcirculated theoffers asdocuments S/FIN/W/12/Add.25 to32.Slovenia, NewZealand, Canada,
Ecuador andtheSlovak Republic hadsubmitted revised offers, alsosince theprevious meeting
inOctober. TheChairman invited thosedelegations thathadsubmitted offers sincetheprevious meeting
tointroduce them.
3. Uruguay indicated thatthemost important improvements initsoffer concerned theaddition
ofmotor vehicle insurance; marine, aviation andother transport insurance; freight insurance; aswell
asconsultancy andactuarial services. Inbanking andother financial services, credit cardservices
andconsumer credit services werealsoadded. Peruexplained thatitwasoffering tomake commitments
inallbanking andother financial services inaddition toinsurance, withfewlimitations onmarket
access forcommercial presence offoreign financial service suppliers. Ininsurance, improvements
were made concerning maritime andairtransport insurance, reinsurance andother areas withno
limitation onforeign participation. Perugranted national treatment toforeign investment without any
limit onforeign acquisition ofshares inPeruvian companies. Itadded thatabout onethird ofall
companies inPeruhadforeign investment.
4. Costa Ricaindicated thatithadsubmitted anofferinfinancial services which contained broad
commitments inanumber ofsubsectors inbanking andother financial services withpractically no
limitations onmarket access ornational treatment forcommercial presence. Itinvited those Members
which hadnotyetbeenabletopresent theiroffers todososoon. ThePhilippines hadoffered toraise
theallowable equity participation byforeign banks andinsurance companies to51percentofvoting
stock andtoincrease themaximum number offoreign bankbranches from4to6foreachbank. TheS/FIN/M/18
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offer alsoallowed cross-border trade inmarine hullandmarine cargo insurance, where thepresent
requirementwastoinsurewithcompaniesauthorizedtotransactbusinessinthePhilippines.Thedelegate
fromthePhilippines added thatdespite thedisadvantages ofliberalization, inthelongterm, financial
liberalization wasaninevitable taskinanincreasingly globalized economy. However, liberalization
mustbemade atapaceconsistent withthecountry 'scurrent levelofeconomic development. Caution
wasrequired duetotheeffects ofthefinancial sector onthewhole economy. Itwasappealing toits
major trading partners toreadjust theirexpectations andbemorerealistic intheassessment oftheoffers,
taking intoaccount thecontagion ofcurrency turmoil intheregion.
5. Tunisia restated thatitsoffercontained threemainpoints. They concerned thebanking sector,
financial markets, andinvestment abroad. Concerning thebanking sector, ithadextended itsoffer
tobusiness banks anddetermined thecriteria andprocedures fortheapproval ofestablishment byforeign
banks inTunisia. Ithadalsoextended itsofferinleasing services toleasing ofreal-estate. Concerning
financial markets, foreign acquisition ofshares incompanies established inTunisia representing less
than50percentofthecapital would beliberalized, andcommitments forintermediation services would
beimproved. Commitments concerning investment companies hadbeenextended toriskcapital as
well. Concerning investment abroad, export companies would beallowed tofinance liaison offices
andsubsidiaries abroad within aceiling. Investment abroad byTunisian companies andbanks would
alsobeliberalized within aceiling.
6. Canada stated thatithadsubmitted arevised offerwhich contained three mainelements. The
firstwasacommitment topermit foreign banks tobranch directly intoCanada. Secondly, foreign
banksubsidiaries operating inCanada would nolonger needtoseekauthorization from theMinister
ofFinance toopennewbranch offices. Thirdly, anumber oftechnical adjustments andcorrections
hadbeenmade, which would streamline theschedule. NewZealand announced thatithadtabled a
revised offerwhich provided fullycomprehensive sectoral coverage through theinclusion ofanoffer
inlifeinsurance.TherevisedofferwasscheduledinaccordancewiththeprovisionsoftheUnderstanding
onCommitments inFinancial Services. Theofferrepresented thebestpossible offerforNewZealand
inthosenegotiations andwasconditional onsimilar efforts byothers. Iturged allparticipants toreaffirm
theircommitment tothepursuit ofthebenefits ofliberalization inthissector bymoving totabletheir
bestoffers immediately. South Africa stated thatithadsubmitted anofferwhich introduced further
liberalization ininsurance andthestock market. Theofferalsocontained clarifications oftheprevious
commitments made in1995.
7. Mauritius submitted anofferon13November which covered banking, insurance andcapital
marketservices.InMauritius,theliberalizationoftheeconomystartedinthemid-eighties,andmonetary
control hadshifted from direct controls bywayofcredit ceilings tomarket-based methods. Ithad
undertaken agradual removal ofexchange controls from1986tobecompleted in1994, andcurrently
hadnoexchange controls onbothcurrent andcapital account transactions. Exchange rates were
market-determined, andfurthermore, stock exchanges wereopentoforeign investors aswellasforeign
listings. Theemphasis wasnowondeveloping thefinancial sector asthefourth pillar oftheeconomy
aftersugar, textiles andtourism, andtoposition itself asaregional financial andbusiness hub. Its
willingness toreview itsMFN exemption, which hadbeenintroduced earlier, wasaclearmanifestation
ofacommitment toenhance theprocess leading toameaningful agreement beneficial toall.
8. Bulgaria stated thatitsupported thenegotiations despite adifficult economic situation andafter
anextremely severe banking crisis. Efforts were being made toprepare anoffer which would be
submitted oncedomestic procedures were completed successfully. Itemphasized thatthere should
benoobstacles totheeffective operation ofthevarious safeguard mechanisms intheWTO system
which could berelied onintimes ofmacroeconomic andother difficulties. TheSlovak Republic stated
thatithadpreparedarevisedofferwhichcontainedimprovementsinmarketaccessincludingtheremoval
afterratification ofaneconomic needs testfortheauthorization ofestablishments andoperations ofS/FIN/M/18
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banks. Theofferalsocontained technical improvements andclarifications. Itechoed other delegations
incalling foraconcentrated effort toreach asuccessful conclusion ofthenegotiations.
9. Mexico explained themainelements ofanimproved offerwhich would besubmitted verysoon.
Theoffercontained asignificant increase intheallowable participation offoreign financial institutions
inthedomestic financial sectors suchasinsurance andservices related toinsurance aswellasformultiple
bankinstitutions, securities firms, securities specialists andholding companies. Even larger increases
intheparticipation limits were offered forlimited-purpose financial institutions, financial factoring
companies,financialleasingcompanies,generaldepositwarehouses,foreignexchangehouses,investment
companies, management companies ofinvestment companies andguarantee institutions. Pension fund
operations would beadded totheschedule ofcommitments forthefirsttimewithhigher foreign
participation. Other activities conducted bysecurities specialists would alsobecovered. Ecuador stated
thatithadsubmitted arevised offerwhich wasitsbestpossible offerinfavour offoreign investment.
10. Indonesia saidthatthecurrency crisis triggered bymassive currency speculation hadseriously
affected Indonesia andother countries inSoutheast Asia. Aseries ofdifficult measures hadbeen
necessary, suchassevere budget cuts,postponement ofmajor projects, andtherevoking oflicenses
for16banks asapartofefforts toconsolidate thefinancial system. Initsefforts todealwiththecurrent
difficulties, Indonesia hadbeenassisted byinternational institutions andother governments, andhad
putinplace astabilization plan. Despite these difficulties, Indonesia hadcompleted technical work
onitsimproved offer which wasawaiting finalMinisterial approval. Itwasexpected thattheoffer
would betransmitted within themonth ofNovember. Theofferwould contain additional measures
ensuring thesafety offoreign majority ownership inexisting jointventures; anincrease inthecities
inwhich foreign bankbranches andjointventures could operate; more flexibility forthemovement
ofintra-corporate personnel; andtheremoval ofaneconomic needs test. Withtheongoing currency
andfinancial turmoil, Indonesia reconfirmed itsbelief thatliberalization needed tobegradual and
progressive, andmustbeundertaken inthecorrect sequence andtiming mostappropriate fortherealities
ofeachcountry. Thecommitment ofIndonesia toliberalization hadnotwavered, however, andit
waswilling tocontinue working insupport ofthemultilateral system.
11. Brazil wasaiming tosubmit anoffer assoonaspossible, which wasanambitious goal, and
which hadbeenmade evenmore challenging withthepresent uncertainties inthefinancial markets.
Inspiteofsuchdifficulties, theofferwould build upon ontheofferBrazil made in1995. Themost
significant improvements would include anopening oftheinsurance market tocommercial presence
offoreign insurers reflecting thedefacto situation which existed inBrazil. Commitments would be
added intwoinsurance subsectors ("body, machinery andcivilliability insurance" and"work accident
insurance"), andlimitations concerning reinsurance would bemade more flexible, withanindication
thatfuture regulations would allow private sector activity inthissector. Thebanking sector wasmore
sensitive,duetotheconstitutionalprovisionsthatrequireaPresidentialDecreetoallowtheestablishment
offoreign financial institutions. Despite thedifficulties involved, Brazil wasconsidering acomplete
redrafting ofthecommitments related tomarket access inmode 3,eliminating therequirement that
theestablishment offoreign suppliers benecessarily linked totheprivatization programme. Theoffer
would openthepossibility ofcommercial presence incapital market services supplied bynon-financial
institutions. Finally, thecoverage ofbanking services would beextended orredrafted. Afinaldecision
wasstillpending, andtherefore, slight changes intheofferwerepossible. Forthesamereason, Brazil
could notcommit itself toaspecific dateforthesubmission ofanoffer, although ithoped tobein
aposition todosobytheendoftheweek.
12. Malaysia indicated thatithadadraftofferready tobesubmitted verysoon. Although itwas
receiving positive responses initsbilateral consultations, some delegations wereasking Malaysia to
offermore. Malaysia echoed thecallfrom thePhilippines forrealistic expectations from itstrading
partners. Although itrecognized thevirtues ofliberalization andhoped thatliberalization could alleviateS/FIN/M/18
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thefinancial problems countries werefacing, itthought thattheWTO andother relevant international
institutions should provide guidance astohowtocopewithsuchfinancial problems inthefuture.
Itsoffercontainedseveralsignificantimprovementssuchasallowing51percentforeignequityownership
ininsurance, which wasamajor concession forit,andallowing 100percentforeign-owned fund
management companies.
13. Norway stated thatwiththepositive developments thathadtaken place recently regarding the
submission ofnewoffers, therewasground forcautious optimism. Itcommended thecountries which
hadputforward offers recently. Itsuggested thatifagovernment intended tointroduce more extensive
liberalization inthefuture, thiscould beexplicitly stated intheschedule withthereservation of
parliamentary approval. Aforward commitment might alsohelptosupport thedevelopment ofbetter
macroeconomic andregulatory policies. There wasnotmuch timeleftforthenegotiations. Ifno
agreement could bereached by12December 1997, therewould probably benoregime atallfortrade
infinancial services before thenextcentury. TheDominican Republic confirmed itsintention tosubmit
anoffer shortly. Theoffer would include theinsurance sector andvirtually allmodes ofsupply in
financial services.
14. Thailand restated thatthepriority ofitsgovernment wastoaddress theserious financial and
economic crisis. Itwasalsoexperiencing amajor political turbulence aswell. Thissituation hadmade
itdifficult toeffectively come upwithanimproved offerintimeforthemeeting. However, thisdid
notmean thatThailand didnotattach importance toliberalization inthefinancial services sector. It
hadmade earnest efforts toimprove itsoffertabled in1995. Against thisbackground, ithadcalled
onitsnegotiating partners nottoexpect toomuch, buthadindicated thatitwould come upwitharevised
offer. Inthisoffer, itwould liftitsMFN exemption based onreciprocity ifothers didthesame, and
would include acommitment tograndfather existing foreign financial service suppliers. Itwaspreparing
adraftforCabinet approval asearly asinlateNovember orearly December, andithoped thatthe
offer could besubmitted wellbefore 12December 1997.
15. Hong Kong, China wasencouraged bythepromises made interms ofnewoffers. While it
needed toweather thestorm inthefinancial markets, itreiterated itscommitment toanon-interventionist
financial policy endorsed bytheInternational Monetary Fund. Itbelieved thatliberalization hadhelped
tostrengthen itsfinancial system. Itwasmaintaining itsoffersubmitted earlier, andwasconsidering
further improvements. Australia underlined theimportance totheWTO andtoconfidence intheglobal
financial system ofasuccessful conclusion ofthefinancial services negotiations. Itwelcomed thenew
offers made aswellasthose foreshadowed. Therecent financial market instability hadputthe
negotiations inthespotlight, butitbelieved thatasuccessful outcome would helprestore stability in
themarkets. Twoprerequisites toasuccessful conclusion were tohavemeaningful offers from as
many countries aspossible, andtohavearecognition ofwhatcould beachieved inthetimeframe
available andinthecircumstances offinancial difficulty. Itbelieved thatthere were important
liberalizations already onofferwhich hadtobeharvested. Although itwascautiously optimistic about
asuccessful outcome, timewasveryshort, andcountries needed toactively examine theirscope for
flexibility andtodemonstrate preparedness toconvince theirpolitical andbusiness constituencies of
theneedtofinish.
16. Colombia hadparticipated withaverypositive spirit inthenegotiations, andwasexamining
thesituation carefully inview ofthecontinuation ofworld economic turmoil. Itwaswaiting fora
final decision onthepreparation ofanewoffer, andhoped topresent itinthenextfewdays.
TheCzech Republic wasalsoparticipating withapositive spirit, anditsoffer hadreflected alarge
degree ofliberalization. Good progress hadbeenmade inthebilateral negotiations. Itshould beready
tosubmit afinaldraftofferwellbefore 12December 1997. TheCzech Republic waspursuing further
liberalization ofitsfinancial sector through privatization ofmajor commercial banks, improvement
ofthefunctioning ofcapital markets andstrengthening offinancial sector supervision.S/FIN/M/18
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17. Japanappreciatedalltheeffortsmadebycountriesinspiteofthedomesticeconomicandfinancial
difficulties confronted bymany countries. Members could notafford tofailinthenegotiations, since
afailure toachieve asuccessful result would besufficient tosendanunintended negative signal to
themarkets. Itwasimperative toachieve apermanent MFN-based agreement bythedeadline. Italso
emphasized theimportance offlexible andrealistic attitudes inassessing theoffers fromotherMembers.
Japan encouraged allMembers tofurther improve theiroffers intheremaining daysofthenegotiations,
sincethesubmission ofoffers wasonlyastarting pointforthenegotiations. AsforJapan'scontribution,
itwasconsidering theissueofbinding itsbilateral measures agreed withtheU.S., although thecontent
ofthemeasures didnotcontain anyelements which fellunder theconcepts ofmarket access ornational
treatment asdefined bytheGATS. Itwas,however, prepared todiscuss intensively withinterested
parties ontheincorporation ofrelevant elements ofthebilateral measures intoitsoffer inorder to
make apositive contribution totheprocess, oncondition thatitsmajor trading partners made balancing
commitments additionally.
18. Switzerland stated thatitwelcomed thesubmission ofnewoffers, andfeltthatthegoalofa
satisfactory agreement by12December 1997waswithin reach. However, ithadsignificant concerns
since therewasalarge number ofcountries which hadnotyetimproved their1995commitments, and
therewereanumber ofcountries which hadkepttheiroffers below thelevelofwhattheycould actually
provide. Itbelieved thatacritical masswasinfactavailable within theexisting national legislations.
With additional efforts from allsides, asuccessful conclusion ofthenegotiations waspossible.
TheEuropean Communities welcomed thenewoffers andstated thattheoverall situation would be
veryencouraging, haditnotbeenthecasethatonly30daysremained before theconclusion ofthe
negotiations. Theamount ofwork required wasstillconsiderable. Theoffers hadtobesubmitted
inwriting immediately, since Members needed timetoassess whatwasintheoffers. Notonlywas
thesubmission ofoffers being delayed, butalsothequality oftheoffers hadnotyetreached expectations.
Itunderstood theconcerns anddifficult circumstances ofemerging market countries. Onsupervision,
itrecognized thevitalimportance ofupgrading supervisory structures. Inthisregard, itwaswilling
toprovide technical assistance inthetraining ofsupervisors. Regarding theconcern thatindigenous
industries might bewiped outbyforeign competition, itsawnoevidence ofnegative impact onthe
localindustries incountries which hadgranted significant market access toforeign players. Withregard
tofinancialinstability,theprocessofgrantinggreaterlevelsofmarketaccesscontributedtotheresolution
oftheproblems byattracting long-term investment capital through thecreation ofatransparent and
stable legislative environment forinvestors. Studies bytheWorld Bankhadprovided empirical evidence
thatmoreforeignpresenceinthemarketwouldmakemorefundsavailableforinfrastructureandbusiness
development. Thepotential gains ofasuccessful agreement were important.
19. Hungary reiterated itscommitment toasuccessful conclusion ofthenegotiations. Itemphasized
thebenefits ofliberalization infinancial services, andurged other delegations todotheirbesttoreach
anagreement bythedeadline. Nigeria explained itsexperiences inthestructural adjustment programme
started in1986. Nigeria hadbeenexperiencing acurrency crisis since then, which hadyettobe
overcome. However, ithadnotabandoned thepolicy ofliberalization, andhadrecently promulgated
theInvestment Promotion Decree, which provided for100percentforeign ownership inmany key
sectors oftheeconomy, provided thatthecompanies hadbeendulyincorporated locally. Itasked its
trading partners tobemodest intheirexpectations. Canada, while being pleased toseethenumber
ofnewoffers, stated thatmoreneeded tobedone. Itwasasking otherdelegations toreflect theirexisting
regimes fullyintheiroffers, tograndfather theexisting operations offoreign financial service suppliers
andtoprovide some opportunities forfuture liberalization. Canada wasoffering tobindfuture
liberalization andwascalling onothers todothesame. Given thefinancial difficulties facing anumber
ofcountries, thiswasnotthetimetosendanynegative signals tothefinancial community. Egypt
stated thatitsoffer hadincluded significant improvements toitsexisting commitments infinancial
services; moreover, itwasconsidering thesubmission ofafinaloffer. Itsfinalposition depended onS/FIN/M/18
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thelevelofliberalization undertaken byother WTO Members andapractical response fromitsmain
trading partners concerning itsrequest fortechnical assistance according toArticle IVoftheGATS.
20. TheUnited States stated thatithaddoneeverything possible tomake thenegotiation asuccess.
Ithadtabled detailed requests tooverfortycountries, taking caretoensure thatithadmade norequest
which would affect good financial supervision. Ithadmetwithvirtually every country participating
inthenegotiations atalllevels andatalllocations. Itsrequests hadnotchanged substantially from
those made in1995. Itcommended theefforts ofcountries -bothdeveloped anddeveloping -sofar.
However, improved commitments frommany ofitskeytrading partners hadnotbeensubmitted. This
wasofgreat concern given theshortness oftime; despite allthegood willthathadbeenexpressed,
alotofwork stillhadtobedone. Ithoped toseeinwriting verysoonthepromises thathadbeen
made. Theproblem wasnottechnical, butamatter ofpolicy. Ithadalsodetected among anumber
ofdelegations asense thattheactofjoining amultilateral dealwasmore important thantheterms
ofjoining. Thiswastroubling. FortheMFN principle tosurvive, allcritical markets hadtomake
meaningful market-opening commitments. Inconclusion, some progress hadbeenmade, butthere
wasstillalotofwork left;thenegotiations hadnotyetreached theirgoal, andthere wasnothing
inevitable about theirdoing so.However, Members didhavetheability tosucceed.
21. TheChairman thanked delegations fortheviews expressed, andreiterated thattherewasonly
amonth leftbefore thedeadline of12December 1997. Delegations needed tofurther intensify their
efforts intheremaining fewweeks. Hecalled ondelegations topursue bilateral negotiations using
allavailable opportunities, andtodotheirverybesttoachieve thegoalofasuccessful conclusion.
Anyneworrevised offers hadtobesubmitted asquickly aspossible inorder toachieve thisgoal.
ItemC: Procedural Issues Regarding Modification andEntry intoForce ofSchedules
(S/FIN/W/11)
22. TheChairman asked theSecretariat toexplain therevised drafts ofaProtocol andtwo
accompanying decisions, onetobemade bytheCommittee andtheother bytheCouncil forTrade
inServices, which hadbeencirculated ahead ofthemeeting. TheSecretariat mentioned thattheonly
amendments made hadbeen theinsertion ofsuggested dates insquare brackets. Thedatein
paragraph 2ofthedraftProtocol, which wasthelastdayoftheperiod fortheacceptance oftheProtocol,
wasindicated as31January 1999andthedateinparagraph 3ofthesame draftwas1February 1999,
bothinsquare brackets. Thedateinparagraph 1(a)ofthedraftCouncil Decision wassuggested as
3March 1999. Ininformal discussions, some delegations hadsuggested alonger period untilFebruary
orMarch 1999 inorder toprovide ample timeforratification andacceptance oftheProtocol bythe
Members concerned, while others hadcalled foranearlier implementation ofliberalizing commitments,
possibly intheautumn of1998. Thedatessuggested seemed tobethemedian ofthose differing views.
23. TheEuropean Communities pointed outthat,although itcould nowgoalong withasuggestion
tosetthefinaldatefortheacceptance oftheProtocol inJanuary 1999, the31stofJanuary 1999 was
aSunday. Ittherefore suggested thatthisdatebemoved forward to29January 1999inorder toavoid
acceptance during aweekend. Thedates inparagraph 3ofthedraftProtocol andparagraph 1(a)of
thedraftDecision bytheCouncil would beadjusted accordingly to30January 1999and1March 1999
respectively.
24. Australia andNewZealand stated thatalthough theywould notoppose adecision toadopt those
datesassuggested, theywould havepreferred anearlier datefortheentryintoforceofthenewProtocol,
asthecurrent negotiations wereanextension oftheUruguay Round negotiations onfinancial services,
andanewround ofservices negotiations wasstarting already intheyear2000. Itwasapitythatsuch
alongtimeperiod wasnecessary fortheProtocol toenter intoforce.S/FIN/M/18
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25. Inresponse toaquestion, theSecretariat noted thatiftheProtocol wasnotaccepted byall
Members concerned, Members which hadaccepted itwould decide whether ornottolettheProtocol
enterintoforce, andthatthecommitments inforce untilthedateofentry intoforceofthenewProtocol
would betheexisting commitments currently inforce. IftheProtocol didnotenter intoforce on
1March 1999, Members would thenhave another chance tomodify orwithdraw their existing
commitments byvirtue oftheDecision bytheCouncil being discussed.
26. TheChairman suggested thattheCommittee adopt thetextsoftheProtocol andtheDecision
bytheCommitteewithamendmentstothedatesassuggestedbytheEuropeanCommunities.Concerning
theDecision bytheCouncil, hesuggested thattheCommittee recommend totheCouncil thatitadopt
theDecision inasubsequent meeting based onthedraftasdiscussed. TheCommittee soagreed.
ItemD: Annual Report totheCouncil forTrade inServices
27. TheChairman stated thatafactual report totheCouncil forTrade inServices onthework
undertaken bytheCommittee in1997wasrequired tobesubmitted totheCouncil bythenextmeeting
oftheCouncil on26November. Adrafthadbeencirculated toMembers ahead ofthemeeting.
28. After some discussion andanumber ofamendments tothedraft, theCommittee adopted the
report circulated subsequently asdocument S/FIN/3 of17November 1997.
ItemE: Organization ofFuture Work
29. TheChairman observed that,according totheindicative timetable, thenextmeeting ofthe
Committee wastobeheldon12December 1997, butitwasclearthatatleastanother formal meeting
would benecessary before thatdate. Based onsome informal consultations, hewasinclined tosuggest
thattheafternoon ofWednesday, 3December 1997might beanappropriate timing forsuchameeting.
Thepurpose ofthemeeting wastotakestock oftheprogress inbilateral negotiations before thefinal
week ofthenegotiations.
30. Onedelegationthoughtthatthosedateswereacceptable,butsuggestedthathigh-rankingofficials
orexperts beinvited tothismeeting, andadded thatoffers hadtobepresented fromMembers before
end-November inorder tomake themeeting productive. Anumber ofdelegations, however, expressed
difficulties inhaving senior level officials, orexperts from capitals, attend ameeting on
3December 1997, duetootherimportant meetings involving financial officials. After somediscussion,
theChairman suggested thataformal meeting oftheCommittee beheldon8December 1997atsenior
level, while aninformal meeting oftheCommittee would beorganized on3December 1997 inthe
afternoon. TheCommittee agreed tothissuggestion bytheChairman.
ItemF: Other Business
31. Noissues were raised under thisagenda item.