UNCTAD
Negotiating Trade in Services in the
Post-Doha Work Programme
UNCTAD
Commercial Diplomacy Programme
May 2002
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UNCTAD
THE BUILT-IN AGENDA ON
SERVICES
•The mandate of article XIX of the GATS
•The GATS rules
– Safeguards
– Subsidies
– Government Procurement
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UNCTAD
GATS 2000 - THE BEGINNING
• The first stage (February 2000-March 2001)
– Results of the « stocktaking »
• More than 80 proposals
• The second stage (April 2001-March 2002)
– “Guidelines and procedures for the
negotiations on trade in services”
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UNCTAD
GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
• Within the framework of Article IV
• All sectors of services are included
• Request and offer approach
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UNCTAD
MAIN CHALLENGES FOR DCs
• Identify interests and objectives
• Preserve the «positive list» approach
• Implement the SDT
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UNCTAD
SDT Provisions (Article IV)
• Strengthen domestic service capacity and
efficiency
• Improve access to distribution channels and
information networks
• Liberalize market access in sectors of interest
• However, Article IV does not specify the actions
required to achieve these goals
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UNCTAD
IMPLEMENTING THE SDT
• Identify and formulate sector-specific
development needs in line with SDT
• Identify key issues to include in the
negotiations.
• Link market access commitments to
capacity-building programmes
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UNCTAD
THE REQUEST / OFFER PROCESS
Timeframe
(Doha Ministerial Declaration)
Submission of initial requests by 30 June 2002
Submission of initial offers by 31 March 2003
Conclusion: by 1 January 2005
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UNCTAD
I.
FORMULATING INITIAL REQUESTS
Evaluation of Trading Opportunities to
establish:
•
Export market value
•
Current barriers to trade in services
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UNCTAD
FORMULATING INITIAL REQUESTS
II. Assessment of the current GATS situation:
•
Inclusion of sectors of export interest
•
Market Access and National Treatment
Commitments
•
MFN exemptions
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UNCTAD
FORMULATING INITIAL REQUESTS
III. Defining Negotiating Objectives
• Including addtional sectors/subsectors
• Improving Market Access and National
Treatment commitments
• Scheduling of addtional commitments
• Removing MFN exemptions
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UNCTAD
FORMULATING INITIAL REQUESTS
IV. Circulation of REQUESTS
• No specified format, a simple letter will do.
• Circulated bilaterally, only to relevant trading
partners
• Without further procedural obligations
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UNCTAD
FORMULATING INITIAL OFFERS
Initial Offers are the “real start” of advanced bilateral
negotiations.
I.
•
•
•
•
•
Should reflect Trade and Developmental Interests:
Promotion of FDI
Infrastructural improvements
Transfer of technology
Reduction/elimination of domestic supply gaps
Other social/economic/ national policy objectives
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UNCTAD
FORMULATING INITIAL OFFERS
II.
Base offers on an assessment of
the totality of received requests
•
Offers need not address each and every
specific request
Offers should address the four main
request areas
•
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UNCTAD
FORMULATING INITIAL OFFERS
III. Preparation and Circulation of initial OFFERS
• Circulated multilaterally to all WTO members
• Presented in the form of a draft schedule of
commitments
• Require considerable technical cooperation
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