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“By agreeing on ways for providing special priority to LDCs in the
services negotiations, WTO Members continue to put into action the
overarching commitment in the Doha Development Agenda,”said WTO
Director-General Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi. “This agreement is a timely
boost to LDC participation in these negotiations as Members intensify
their bilateral market access bargaining.”
“We consider the negotiations on services as of prime importance to the
LDC group,” said H.E. Dr Toufiq Ali, Ambassador of Bangladesh, speaking
on behalf of the 30 LDC Members of the WTO, at the Special Session of
the Council for Trade in Services. “There are numerous estimates that
indicate that the potential benefit of free trade in services may be
several times that of free trade in goods.” He emphasised that the most
important means of supplying services was through “the export of
services supplied by less skilled persons”, estimating that “a temporary
visa scheme that amounts to no more than 3 per cent of the OECD labour
force would yield economic benefits for both developed and developing
countries equivalent to almost US$150-200 billion.”
Modalities for the special treatment for
least-developed country members in the negotiations on trade in services
Adopted by the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services on
3 September 2003
I. Objectives and principles
1. In pursuance of the objectives of the GATS and as required by
Article XIX:3 of the GATS special treatment for least-developed country
Members (LDCs) shall be granted by providing special priority to LDCs in
the implementation of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article IV of the GATS.
Particular account shall be taken of the serious difficulty of LDCs in
undertaking negotiated specific commitments in view of their special
economic situation and their development, trade and financial needs.
2. The importance of trade in services for LDCs goes beyond pure
economic significance due to the major role services play for achieving
social and development objectives and as a means of addressing poverty,
upgrading welfare, improving universal availability and access to basic
services, and in ensuring sustainable development, including its social
dimension. LDCs are facing serious difficulty in addressing a number of
complex issues simultaneously, and lack institutional and human
capacities to analyse and respond to offers and requests. This should be
factored into the negotiating process in general and regarding the
individual requests made to LDCs.
3. Together with the Guidelines and Procedures for the Negotiations on
Trade in Services (S/L/93), the Modalities for the Special Treatment for
Least-Developed Country Members in the Negotiations on Trade in Services
shall ensure maximum flexibility for LDCs and shall form the basis for
the negotiations.
II. Scope
4. Members shall take into account the serious difficulty of LDCs in
undertaking negotiated specific commitments in view of their special
economic situation, and therefore shall exercise restraint in seeking
commitments from LDCs. In particular, they shall generally not seek the
removal of conditions which LDCs may attach when making access to their
markets available to foreign service suppliers to the extent that those
conditions are aimed at achieving the objectives of Article IV of the
GATS.
5. There shall be flexibility for LDCs for opening fewer sectors,
liberalizing fewer types of transactions, and progressively extending
market access in line with their development situation. LDCs shall not
be expected to offer full national treatment, nor are they expected to
undertake additional commitments under Article XVIII of the GATS on
regulatory issues which may go beyond their institutional, regulatory,
and administrative capacities. In response to requests, LDCs may make
commitments compatible with their development, trade and financial needs
and which are limited in terms of sectors, modes of supply and scope.
6. Members shall, as provided for in Articles IV and XIX of the GATS,
give special priority to providing effective market access in sectors
and modes of supply of export interest to LDCs, through negotiated
specific commitments pursuant to Parts III and IV of the GATS. LDCs
should indicate those sectors and modes of supply that represent
priority in their development policies, so that Members take these
priorities into account in the negotiations.
7. Members shall work to develop appropriate mechanisms with a view to
achieving full implementation of Article IV:3 of the GATS and
facilitating effective access of LDCs' services and service suppliers to
foreign markets.
8. Members shall take measures, in accordance with their individual
capacities, aimed at increasing the participation of LDCs in trade in
services. Such measures could include:
-
strengthening programmes to promote investment in LDCs, with a view to
building their domestic services capacity and enhancing their
efficiency and export competitiveness;
-
reinforcing export/import promotion programmes;
-
promoting the development of LDCs' infrastructure and services exports
through training, technology transfer, enterprise level actions and
schemes, intergovernmental cooperation programmes, and where feasible,
financial resources; and
-
improving the access of LDCs' services and service suppliers to
distribution channels and information networks, especially in sectors
and modes of supply of interest to LDCs.
9. It is recognized that the temporary movement of natural persons
supplying services (Mode 4) provides potential benefits to the sending
and recipient Members. LDCs have indicated that this is one of the most
important means of supplying services internationally. Members shall to
the extent possible, and consistently with Article XIX of the GATS,
consider undertaking commitments to provide access in mode 4, taking
into account all categories of natural persons identified by LDCs in
their requests.
10. LDCs shall be granted appropriate credit for their autonomous
trade liberalization. In addition, Members shall refrain from requesting
credits from LDCs.
11. In developing any multilateral rules and disciplines, including
under GATS Articles VI:4 (Domestic regulation), X (Emergency safeguard
measures), XIII (Government procurement) and XV (Subsidies), Members
shall take into account the specific interests and difficulties of LDCs.
III. Principles for the provision of technical assistance with regard
to trade in services
12. Targeted and coordinated technical assistance and capacity
building programmes shall continue to be provided to LDCs in order to
strengthen their domestic services capacity, build institutional and
human capacity, and enable them to undertake appropriate regulatory
reforms. In pursuance of Paragraph 14 of the Guidelines and Procedures
for the Negotiations on Trade in Services (S/L/93), technical assistance
shall also be provided to LDCs to carry out national assessments of
trade in services in overall terms and on a sectoral basis with
reference to the objectives of the GATS and Article IV in particular.
IV. Mechanisms and procedures
13. The Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services shall
review, as necessary, the implementation of these modalities under the
standing item on “Review of Progress in the Negotiations”.
14. In his report to the Trade Negotiations Committee, the Chairman of
the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services will include
the issues raised by Members with regard to these modalities. |
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