Negotiating Trade in Services in the Post-Doha Work Programme

1
Negotiating Trade in Services in the Post-Doha
Work Programme

• UNCTAD
• Commercial Diplomacy Programme
• May 2002

2
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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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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GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES

• Within the framework of Article IV
• All sectors of services are included
• Request and offer approach

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MAIN CHALLENGES FOR DCs

• Identify interests and objectives
• Preserve the positive list approach
• Implement the SDT

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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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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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THE REQUEST / OFFER PROCESS

Timeframe (Doha Ministerial Declaration) Submiss
ion of initial requests by 30 June
2002 Submission of initial offers by 31 March
2003 Conclusion by 1 January 2005
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FORMULATING INITIAL REQUESTS

• Evaluation of Trading Opportunities to establish
• Export market value
• Current barriers to trade in services

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FORMULATING INITIAL REQUESTS

• Assessment of the current GATS situation
• Inclusion of sectors of export interest
• Market Access and National Treatment Commitments
• MFN exemptions

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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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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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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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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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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