other services negotiation ( gats , comesa and epa)
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Other Services Negotiation ( GATS , COMESA and EPA). Mauritius National Consultation Workshop on SADC Services Negotiation Port Louis, 16 th July, 2012 . Prepared By: Mrs Viola S. Nanyaro SADC Secretariat . outline. Introduction GATS Negotiation Introduction (basic GATS information) - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Other Services Negotiation
(GATS, COMESA and EPA)
Mauritius National Consultation Workshop on
SADC Services NegotiationPort Louis, 16th July, 2012
Prepared By:Mrs Viola S. NanyaroSADC Secretariat
outline Introduction GATS Negotiation
o Introduction (basic GATS information)o State of play in main areas of negotiations
COMESA Services negotiations EPA Services Negotiation
o SADCo ESA (Mauritius)
General Agreement on Trade in Services
GATS Introduction (Basic info.) Services negotiation started during Uruguay round
resulting to General Agreement on Trade in Services – GATS
Basic principles of GATSo All services are covered by GATS o Most-favoured-nation treatment (MFN) applies to all
services, except the one-off temporary exemptions o National treatment (NT) applies in the areas where
commitments are made o Transparency in regulations, inquiry points o Regulations have to be objective and reasonable o International payments: normally unrestrictedo Individual countries’ commitments: negotiated and boundo Progressive liberalization: through further negotiations
GATS Introduction (Basics Info.) Ctd. Modes of supply
o Mode 1- services supplied from one country to another (e.g. international telephone calls) = Cross-border
o Mode 2 - consumers or firms making use of a service in another country (e.g. tourism)= Consumption abroad
o Mode 3 - a foreign company setting up subsidiaries or branches to provide services in another country (e.g. foreign banks setting up operations in a country)= commercial presence
o Mode 4 - individuals travelling from their own country to supply services in another (e.g. fashion models or consultants) = presence of Natural persons
Liberalization Commitments ( Market Access & National Treatment) o Specific Sector through Schedules of commitment o list limitations such as quantitative limitations (suppliers, operations, transactions,
natural persons); legal entity requirements; and capital requirements. Article V: Economic integration (e.g. SADC, COMESA, etc.)
GATS Negotiation Area There are four major areas of services
negotiations: • market access (bilateral, plurilateral & multilateral)• domestic regulation• GATS rules on emergency safeguard measures,
government procurement and subsidies• Implementation of LDC modalities (i.e. special treatment
for least-developed countries under GATS Article IV.3)
Market Access Negotiations under article XIX: Negotiations on
Specific commitment (successive rounds) Negotiation in each round through bilateral,
plurilateral or multilateral o Phase I: started in 2000 by developing guidelines and
procedures for Negotiationso In 2001: Doha Ministerial Declaration incorporate
negotiations under Art. XIX as single undertaking of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA)
o Bilateral negotiations has been underway since 2002o Plurilateral negotiations started during Hong Kong
Ministerial meeting in 2005
Market Access cont. Bilateral negotiations
o Started in 2001 and adopted as part of DDA single undertaking
o DMC established June 2003 as deadline for submission of offers and conclusion of negotiation January 2005
o Cancun revised the dates to May 2005 then Hon Kong to July 2006 due to stalemate in NAMA postponed to July 2007, Since then no new timelines
o April 2011, 71 initial offers and 31 revised offers had been submitted
Members are considering plulateral negotiations
GATS Neg. Cont. (Plurilateral)
Plurilateral negotiations started during Hong Kong ministerial meeting 2005 (voluntary participation, direct engagement among MS) o About 21 collective requests submitted by early 2006 (2
rounds of negotiation) from 2007 cluster discussion to allow for Capital experts to attend
o By July 2012 : 19 participating member (engage in technical talks on the legal structure)
o The approach receives a lot of challenges • Closed Article V sessions?? Non-MFN?? Negative List? Future
incorporation into GATS! Dispute settlement mechanism! • seen as ill-founded on the current stalemate of DDA
o Actual negotiations on the services liberalization to likely start in 2013
Domestic Regulation(art. VI:4)
Working party on DR established in 1999 Negotiations continues as part of regular work
o Developed discipline in the accountancy sector o On-going work on horizontal disciplines (will apply to all
measures affecting trade in services within the scope of the GATS)
o So me progress has been registered on horizontal disciplines
o Last meeting held June 2012 • Technical issues related to draft discipline (applications)• Reflected on the implication of draft discipline • Secretariat Background Note (regulatory practice and
issues in various sectors )
Negotiations on GATS rules
Covers rules on emergency safeguard measures, government procurement and subsidies
Working Party on GATS Rules was established in March 1995
focused discussions as mandated in the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration
Not able to move to a text-based processo fundamental divergences over the objectives and
expected outcome of the negotiations Engaged in substantive technical discussions to
better understand the proposals and the options available
Implementation of LDC modalities (Art. IV.3) a set of LDC modalities established
o Urge members in making specific commitments, to give special priority to providing “effective market access” in sectors and modes of supply of export interest to LDCs and develop “appropriate mechanisms” with a view to achieving full implementation
o to the extent possible, to consider making commitments providing access in Mode 4 (in the categories of M4 identified by LDCs in their requests
o In 2008, the ministerial meeting it was decided for a waiver which was adopted during MC8 • allows WTO members to deviate from their most-favoured
nation obligation of non-discrimination in order to grant preferential treatment to service suppliers (including under Mode 4) from LDC members
COMESA Services
COMESA Services Negotiations Framework for liberalizing trade in services in
COMESA adopted by Council in June 2009 o The Regulations on Trade in services (provides for
Committee on Trade in Services) o Annex on the temporary movement of persons
1st meeting of the Committee in Sept. 2009 o Services negotiating guidelines developed o Identified 7 priority sectors (business, communication,
construction, energy, financial, tourism and transport) for initiating negotiations
COMESA Services Neg. Ctd.
2nd meeting in May 2010 o Agreed on 4 priority sectors (communication, financial,
tourism and transport) as point of start for negotiationso The other 3 sectors to be included once schedules of
commitments are done in the 4 priority sectors 3rd meeting of the Committee was held in May 2011
o States initiated the process of exchange of information based on their draft schedules of commitments
o Member States agreed to finalize their schedules of commitments and submit to the COMESA Secretariat
o 9 validated schedules in the four priority sectors by July 2012 (DRC, Djibout, Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Swaziland and Rwanda)
4th Meeting in July, 2012
COMESA services Neg. Ctd.
Complimentary process o Sector meetings for consideration of the
specificities of each sector/sub-sector • started with insurance sub-sector in Nov. 2011• Next sector????
o Services statistics collection in the 4 sectors • pilot project covering Kenya, Mauritius, Uganda
and Zambia• Roll out in the other Member States and sectors???
EPA Negotiations
SADC EPA Services Negotiation
Four SADC EPA Participating Countries (SEPC) o Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique (Angola, Namibia
+ South Africa as observers) Negotiations started in May/June 2008 in
Brussels o EC submitted a Draft Text on Services for consideration by SADC
EPA Groupo Clarification on the text was made in Sept. 2011
SADC EPA countries developed a text in reaction to EU text o considered during a Joint technical meeting Nov. 2011
SADC EPA Services Negotiation Ctd. SADC TWG on services and Investment in May
2012 o Considered points of divergence from the JTWG
For convergence of the two text, agreed as followo SADC Texts:
• improve some articles (Definitions, Right to Regulate, Transparency, Regional Integration, Other Agreements, Subsidies, Business Visitors, and Intra-Corporate Transfers)
• Rationalizes provisions on Domestic Regulations and Economic integration through technical edits and deleting duplicative and unnecessary language
• Modality for MR to be negotiated in tandem with liberalisation commitments and
• Disciplines on DR to await for finalisation under WTO on the same and the determine whether there is need to supplement the same in the sectors of interest to SEPC
SADC EPA Services ctd. From EU’s text the agreement was:
o Adopt EC’s position on : • Emergency Safeguards Measures; Modification of Schedules; Electronic Commerce; and
Administration of Measures of General Applicationo It EU’s proposal to exclude subsidies from the scope ,
and MFN obligation is unacceptable • Subsides and Mode 4
o Issues to be addressed in drafting the comprehensive agreement • preamble, MFN, RI and Confidential information
o Provisions to be finalised towards the end of negotiation in the final text including • scheduling commitments; Asymmetric Development; and Timeframes for categories of
natural persons)o Seek further clarification from EU on
• Security Exceptions; Progressive and Asymmetric liberalization; and the definition of Direct Taxes in the EU text
EPA Negotiations
EPA Negotiation: ESA .• Services negotiations (a chapter under
Comprehensive EPA) • Substantive progress made in developing the
text • Principle: emphasize on the need to have coherence between regional
TIS framework and liberalization with the EC party) o Although provisions under RI provides that EPA shall guide ESA’s
regional services integration In developing the text a number of agreement have bee
reached on several articles dealing with o Principles, Market access, other agreements and o Sectoral tourism and travel, Postal, maritime and computer
services (expect development aspects)o Capital movement
ESA Services Cont. No agreement articles on
o MFN, MFN exceptions and review, anti-competitive practices and safeguard measures
o New financial services Both parties to consult on these
Consultation by EU on o new positions or proposals, (GATS based proposal for DR
and more information on MR) Consultation by ESA on
o new proposals by EU on telecommunications and e-commerce
o Transparency and
EPA Negotiations: ESA Mauritius
o Participate in EPA negotiation under ESA group (Madagascar, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe)
o Signed the interim agreement in 2009 entry into force May 2012
o Currently negotiating Comprehensive EPA which including services chapter
o Prepared a draft offer already in 10 sectors • Recreational, Sporting and Cultural services• Excluded sub-sectors include: postal and courier, primary
and secondary educational services; Transport (road, rail, pipeline and internal water ways)
Updates from Division of International Trade
WTO Negotiation o A signatory to Telecommunication
reference paper?o Revised offers and new offer (which
sectors)?o Plurilateral discussions?
COMESAo Progress by the Trade in Services
Committee?o Progress on the EPA consultations?
Q &A