GENERAL AGREEMENT TS/NGNP/W/1
ONTRADE INSERVICES 2May1994
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Negotiating Group onMovement ofNatural Persons Original: English
Negotiations onMovement ofNatural Persons
Note bytheSecretariat
Atitsfinalmeeting atMinisterial level heldinMarrakesh (12-15 April 1994), theTrade
Negotiations Committee adopted the"Decision onNegotiations onMovement ofNatural Persons",
thetextofwhich isappended tothisnote. TheDecision establishes aNegotiating Group tocarry out
negotiations onthefurther liberalization ofthemovement ofnatural persons forthepurpose ofsupplying
services. TheDecision specifies thatthenegotiating group istoholditsfirstmeeting nolaterthan
16May1994andthatitshallconclude negotiations andproduce afinalreport nolaterthansixmonths
afterentry intoforce oftheWTO.
Multilateral discussion onthemovement ofnatural persons during thenegotiations was
concentrated ontheelaboration oftheAnnex onMovement ofNatural Persons Supplying Services
Under TheAgreement. TheAnnex isalsoappended tothisdocument foreaseofreference. Negotiations
onspecific commitments under thismode ofsupply tookplace essentially inbilateral meetings inwhich
theSecretariat wasnotinvolved, andonthese itistherefore impossible tooffer anyhistorical
background.
However, itcanbesaidthatwithrespect tothecommitments onthemovement ofpersons,
thegreatmajorityarehorizontalinnature,applyingtoallservicesectorscoveredinaparticularschedule.
Inoverall terms thecommitments fallintooneoftwobroad categories, although insome schedules
elements ofbothmaybefound. Ontheonehand, there arethose participants thatinscribed market
access limitations covered byArticle XVIsub-paragraph 2(d)which arelimitations onthetotalnumber
ofnatural persons supplying theservice expressed intheform ofaquota (usually apercentage) or
therequirement ofalabour market test. Ontheother hand, aconsiderable number ofparticipants
entered intotheirschedules abinding ofmeasures affecting theentryandtemporary stayofsomedefined
categories ofnatural persons (themain categories being business visitors, intra-corporate transferees
andprofessionals) while leaving other categories unbound.
Note: Theheading ofthisdocument, andthesymbol, aretoberegarded asprovisional pending general
decisions ondocument series andsymbols. Ifnecessary theywillberevised andthedocument re-issued.
94-0800TS/NGNP/W/1
Page2
DECISION ONNEGOTIATIONS ONMOVEMENT OFNATURAL PERSONS
Ministers,
Noting thecommitments resulting fromtheUruguay Round negotiations onthemovement of
natural persons forthepurpose ofsupplying services;
MindfuloftheobjectivesoftheGeneralAgreementonTradeinServices,includingtheincreasing
participation ofdeveloping countries intrade inservices andtheexpansion oftheirservice
exports;
Recognizing theimportance ofachieving higher levels ofcommitments onthemovement of
natural persons, inorder toprovide forabalance ofbenefits under theGeneral Agreement onTrade
inServices;
Decide asfollows:
1. Negotiationsonfurtherliberalizationofmovementofnaturalpersonsforthepurposeofsupplying
services shallcontinue beyond theconclusion oftheUruguay Round, withaview toallowing the
achievement ofhigher levels ofcommitments byparticipants under theGeneral Agreement onTrade
inServices.
2. ANegotiatingGrouponMovementofNaturalPersonsisestablishedtocarryoutthenegotiations.
Thegroup shallestablish itsownprocedures andshallreport periodically totheCouncil onTrade in
Services.
3. Thenegotiating group shallholditsfirstnegotiating session nolaterthan16May1994. It
shallconclude these negotiations andproduce afinalreport nolaterthansixmonths aftertheentry
intoforce oftheAgreement Establishing theWorld Trade Organization.
4. Commitments resulting fromthese negotiations shallbeinscribed inMembers 'Schedules of
specific commitments.TS/NGNP/W/1
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ANNEX ONMOVEMENT OFNATURAL PERSONS
SUPPLYING SERVICES UNDER THE AGREEMENT
1. ThisAnnexappliestomeasuresaffectingnaturalpersonswhoareservicesuppliersofaMember,
andnatural persons ofaMember whoareemployed byaservice supplier ofaMember, inrespect
ofthesupply ofaservice.
2. TheAgreement shallnotapply tomeasures affecting natural persons seeking access tothe
employment market ofaMember, norshallitapply tomeasures regarding citizenship, residence or
employment onapermanent basis.
3. Inaccordance withParts IIIandIVoftheAgreement, Members maynegotiate specific
commitments applying tothemovement ofallcategories ofnatural persons supplying services under
theAgreement. Natural persons covered byaspecific commitment shallbeallowed tosupply theservice
inaccordance withtheterms ofthatcommitment.
4. TheAgreement shallnotprevent aMember from applying measures toregulate theentry of
natural persons into,ortheirtemporary stayin,itsterritory, including those measures necessary to
protect theintegrity of,andtoensure theorderly movement ofnatural persons across, itsborders,
provided thatsuchmeasures arenotapplied insuchamanner astonullify orimpair thebenefits accruing
toanyMember under theterms ofaspecific commitment.1
1Thesolefactofrequiring avisafornatural persons ofcertain members andnotforthose of
others shallnotberegarded asnullifying orimpairing benefits under aspecific commitment.