SERVICES: WORKSHOP, GENEVA, 31 MARCH 2009
Workshop to mark the tenth anniversary of the Fifth Protocol to the
GATS
31 March 2009
The workshop marks the tenth anniversary of the Fifth Protocol to the GATS embodying the results of the financial services negotiations concluded in December 1997, which entered into force on 1 March 1999. The event provides a forum for analyzing those negotiations' achievements, and discussing the challenges ahead.
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An introductory session, outlining GATS provisions particularly relevant
for financial services, is followed by two other sessions. These address
the following:
(i) the post-Uruguay Round negotiations on financial services, from the
perspective of a developed country, a developing country, and the WTO
Secretariat; and
(ii) the current and future challenges for the financial sector, from
a government and industry perspectives.
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Programme
31 March 2009
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Chair: Mr. Tom Goodwin,
Chairperson, |
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9h00-9h15 |
Welcome and Opening Remarks by Mr. Harsha V. Singh, Deputy Director-General, WTO
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9h15-10h00 |
Session A:
Specific GATS/WTO provisions on financial services |
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Topics: |
GATS provisions. The Annex on Financial Services. The Understanding on Commitments in Financial Services. The Fifth Protocol. |
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Speaker: |
Hamid Mamdouh, Director, Trade in Services Division, WTO. > Paper |
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Q&A
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10h00-11h30 |
Session B:
The post-Uruguay Round negotiations on financial services |
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Topics: |
Background to the negotiation of the Fifth Protocol. The 1997 financial crisis and its effect on the negotiations. Results achieved and lessons learned. Developments in financial services trade policy since agreement on the Fifth Protocol. |
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Speakers: |
Ms. Sydney Key, Lecturer, Graduate Program in Banking and Financial Law, Boston
University School of Law. > Paper Ms. Latifah Merican Cheong, Formerly Program Director of the Financial Market Integrity Group in the World Bank and Assistant Governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia. > Paper Mr. Juan A. Marchetti, Counsellor, Trade in Services Division, WTO. > Paper |
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Q&A
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11h30-13h00 |
Session C:
Current and future challenges for the financial sector |
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Topics: |
Overview of recent developments in the sector. The current crisis and trade in financial services from a GATS perspective. Opportunities and challenges facing the industry in developed and developing countries. |
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Speakers: |
Mr. Masamichi Kono, Deputy Director-General, Supervisory Bureau, Financial
Services Agency (FSA), Japan. > Paper Mr. Chris Gentle, Global Head of Research, Deloitte. > Paper |
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Q&A
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13h00 |
Concluding remarks by the Chair |
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