1 MAIN CROSS CUTTING ISSUES RAISED BY THE PROPOSALS TABLED DURING THE 1 ST STAGE OF THE NEGOTIATIONS ON SERVICES UNCTAD, Commercial Diplomacy Programme UNCTAD

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 UNCTAD

3 MODES OF SUPPLY Emphasis on Mode 3 (commercial presence) and Mode 1 (cross-border trade) On Mode 4: India’s 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) UNCTAD

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) UNCTAD

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). UNCTAD

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) UNCTAD

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 UNCTAD

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.) UNCTAD

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 UNCTAD

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”? UNCTAD

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 UNCTAD

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. UNCTAD

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 UNCTAD