Considerations for the Submission of Initial Offers in Light of the Current State of Play of Negotiations.
This note discusses the differing negotiating scenarios for individual Members and aims to present a clearer picture of the near term prospects for market access negotiations. From this, general considerations and options are provided for Members facing pressure to submit initial offers. (more…)
Analysis of Actual Liberalisation versus GATS Commitments of Quad Members: Mode 4 and Health Services.
This note is the first of a series assessing the actual or current level of trade liberalisation in select modes and sectors of the Quad members (Canada, European Communities, Japan and the United States) compared with their General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commitments in the respective areas. (more…)
Background Note: Article VI (Domestic Regulations) with Emphasis on Paragraph 4 and the EU and Japanese Proposals.
Many subsectors within the service sector, such as infrastructure services, are regulated with the aim to ensure a certain level of quality, to protect consumers, or the environment. (more…)
Linking Mode 4 and Domestic Regulation.
This note discusses some possible ways in which Mode 4 could be addressed within Article VI:4 on domestic regulation. More specifically it tries to show how qualification requirements and procedures, technical standards and licensing requirements may impact the movement of natural persons under Mode 4. (more…)
Checklist of Questions for the Analysis of Initial Offers.
This note focuses on the analysis of initial offers for specific commitments that Members have started submitting since March 2003 in the context of the current services negotiations. Indeed, in order to facilitate and streamline the analysis of the initial offers it may be useful to identify several key questions that can be used as a guide in the analysis of offers. (more…)
The Balance of Negotiations and Discussions in the Doha Work Programme: Overview Matrix of Negotiating and Non-Negotiating Areas.
The Doha Ministerial Conference of the WTO, held in November 2001, launched an ambitious work programme. The discussions/ negotiations initiated under this work programme include a number of issues in addition to the WTO built-in agenda and purely trade-related issues. (more…)
Classification Issues in the Current GATS Negotiations: A Review of the Different Proposals and Some Preliminary Considerations.
The main objective of this paper is to review some of the classification proposals that have been submitted so far by various WTO Members in the current GATS negotiations and to assist developing countries in understanding the implications of adopting these different classifications. (more…)
Background note on the implementation-related issues: History, Implementation, and Negotiating strategy for developing countries.
First, this paper looks at the history of implementation issues in the GATT/WTO system, and how such issues were dealt with up to the conclusion of the Uruguay Round. (more…)
