MAIN CROSS CUTTING ISSUES RAISED BY THE PROPOSALS TABLED DURING THE 1ST STAGE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS ON SERVICES

1
MAIN CROSS CUTTING ISSUES RAISED BY THE PROPOSALS
TABLED DURING THE 1ST STAGE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS
ON SERVICES

• UNCTAD,
• Commercial Diplomacy Programme

2
IMPLEMENTATION OF ART.IV

• Most proposals do not address art. IV, except
• Venezuela (energy services)
• Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador
  (tourism)
• And the proposals of Canada and Australia that
  mention
• Periods of transition
• Programs of capacity building

3
MODES OF SUPPLY

• Emphasis on Mode 3 (commercial presence) and Mode
  1 (cross-border trade)
• On Mode 4 Indias proposal based on the ILO
  categories of occupations and aimed at reducing
  the scope of the economic needs tests
• Other proposals on Mode 4 refer to the
  intra-corporate movements of professionals, or
  the temporary movement of contractual services
  suppliers (EC)

4
THE STARTING POINT OF THE NEGOTIATIONS AND THE
NOTION OF STANDSTILL

• 2 kinds of proposals on these issues
• Those suggesting that the present situation of
  the trade in services is the starting point for
  the negotiations (US) and that a standstill
  commitment should be taken (EC)
• Those suggesting to consider the current
  schedules of commitments as the starting point
  (in accordance with para.10 of the Guidelines)
  (many developing countries)

5
THE SCOPE OF THE GATS

• The negotiations should aim at
•  Full privatization  and deregulation (US
  proposal)
• Considering the  ownership/acquisition of
  property or land  as a limitation to the
  national treatment (EC, Japan).

6
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

• Some proposals concern
• the obstacles to the transmission of services
  across national borders through electronic means
  (US on education services, Korea on distribution
  services)
• The services that can be delivered electronically
  (US on telecommunications)
• The role of e-commerce on trade in services
  (Canada on financial services, Hong Kong)
• The electronic means used in certain services (US
  on express delivery)
• The need for technological neutrality
• (US on audiovisual)

7
LINKING GOODS AND SERVICES

• The proposals on energy, environmental,
  distribution and audiovisual services provide for
  the  movement  of goods and equipments related
  to those services

8
CLASSIFICATION ISSUES

• Some proposals aim at improving the current
  classification (W120), by including
• New services (audiovisuals)
• additional activities (distribution services)
• complementary services (telecommunications)
• related services (energy, environmental,
  tourism, etc.)

9
THE  CLUSTER  APPROACH

• This approach implies to consider a whole sector
  of services (i.e. energy services, environmental
  services, tourism) as a  cluster  of different
  intertwined or  related  services

10
THE  CLUSTER  APPROACH IMPLIES 2 NEGOTIATING
OPTIONS

• 1) The whole  cluster  is the basis for the
  offers/requests negotiations, with all the
   related  services that it contains
• 2) the  cluster  is only a technical check
  list used as a tool in the negotiations
• Implications
• how to define a  related  service?
• how to define the borders of the clusters?

11
ADDITIONAL COMMITMENTS ON REGULATORY ISSUES

• Some proposals address issues related to
  regulatory principles and disciplines, such as
• Transparency of procedures
• Fairness of administration
• These issues could be addressed horizontally in
  the Working Party on Domestic Regulation, or
  through sectoral-specific negotiations

12
ANTI-COMPETITIVE PRACTICES

• Two main ideas raised by some proposals in order
  to avoid anti-competitive practices
• Adopt a reference paper such as the one
  established for the telecommunication services
• Adopt competitive safeguards
• No proposals on strengthening art.IX of GATS on
  business practices.

13
SUBSIDIES

• References on subsidies in the trade in services
  are made in the EC proposal on construction
  services, Chile on energy services, US on
  audiovisuals, and EC on environmental services
• See paper UNCTAD/DITC/TNCD/6, 7 February 2001
   negotiations in WTO on the rules of the GATS in
  Services the case of Venezuela 

14
TECHNOLOGICAL NEUTRALITY

• This notion means that the specific commitments
  will automatically cover all means of technology,
  unless a certain type of technology is specified.
• This notion was used in the negotiations on Basic
  Telecommunications regarding technological means
  such as cable, wireless or satellites.
• It could be considered a sectoral or a horizontal
  issue