Cluster of plurilateral services meetings at WTO

A two-week 'cluster' on services ended at the WTO last Friday (7 April), after a flurry of meetings on several sectors, which marked the start of the new 'plurilateral method' of negotiations.

There were plurilateral meetings on 20 sectors and modes of supply of services during the fortnight, at which members making demands in a particular sector or mode held discussions with members to whom the request were made.

The meetings were well attended, and there was the presence of capital-based officials from several countries that deal with various service sectors.

Sectors covered by the meetings included financial services, telecommunications, professional services, construction and distribution. Meetings were also held on the four modes of services supply.

While WTO trade officials said the new plurilateral mode of negotiations 'definitely injected new momentum' in the services negotiations, trade diplomats from some developing countries that are on the receiving end of the plurilateral requests were less up-beat.

'We attended all the meetings to which we were invited,' said the Ambassador of a developing country which had received requests to participate in many of the sectoral meetings. 'We were willing to listen carefully to what the demandeurs had to say. But many of the countries said they have to refer the requests to their capitals.

'For those of us whose capital-based officials were present, it was a good opportunity for them to exchange views. However, this does not mean that we are already persuaded to make offers in response to the requests.'

Another diplomat of a 'recipient country', who was heavily involved in the plurilateral talks, said that the mood was good, as the demanding countries themselves agreed that participation in the process is voluntary. 'They wanted feedback on what we thought of their requests, but they did not try to force us to accept their views. So we were able to sit there, listen and ask some questions.'

In his view, the plurilateral process would not achieve much in this Round in terms of getting members to increase their liberalization offers. 'Countries seem to have already made up their minds on what they are able to offer in this Round.'

Some developing countries had been apprehensive that pressure would be put on them to open up in several more key sectors, or in more depth, or both.

However, they were able to assure themselves that there was no compulsion to participate, or to make offers in response. 'We kept in mind that the plurilateral approach is only a complementary method to the bilateral request-and-offer negotiations and that the key GATS principle is that developing countries can choose in which sector to liberalise and when.

'If the plurilateral method is made into a pressure point to attempt to force us to commit, then it would go against the mandate and it will be counter-productive.'

At a meeting of the services council (in special session) on 7 April, at the end of the fortnight, there were differences over whether to hold another 'cluster' of meetings in May. According to the original schedule, there would be only one more cluster (in June) before the deadline of end-July for the submission of revised offers.

Some developing countries were against another series of services meetings in May, arguing that smaller delegations would especially be put under pressure of time and personnel, especially since negotiations in other areas would be intensifying.

However, the Chair of the services negotiations, Ambassador Fernando de Mateo, announced that an additional cluster of request-offer negotiations (both plurilateral and bilateral) would be held, starting on 15 May.

Also at the meeting, South Africa announced the tabling of its initial services offer, explaining it had to go through a thorough legislative and consultative process before doing so.

In its statement, South Africa said that it would continue to voluntarily participate in the plurilateral request discussions as it was a means to supplement the bilateral process. 'We reaffirm our belief that the strengthening of the plurilateral process should not in any way dilute the developmental and positive list approach of the GATS modalities.

'While the plurilateral process may assist in terms of information-sharing between requesters and requestees, we would caution against this process becoming a negotiating goal in itself. Recognising that the individual plurilateral meetings are not representative of the total membership, we are concerned by plurilateral requests that have resulted in classification and rules-based issues being deliberated in the plurilaterals themselves. The various subsidiary bodies of the Services Council must continue to be the primary forums for the transparent resolution of these issues.

'We also caution against the perception being created by the plurilateral process that the demandeurs have delivered on their offers and the onus is now on the requestees to make new or additional commitments.

'Developed countries must make substantive improvements in their offers and not just technical changes as is currently the case for many of their revised offers. The ambitious stance displayed by their plurilateral requests must be matched, if not exceeded, in their offers.'

At the meeting, the Philippines, represented by Ambassador Manuel Teehankee, said his delegation had received 18 plurilateral requests. While there is broad agreement that attendance in the plurilateral meetings is purely voluntary, his delegation attended almost all the 18 plurilateral meetings.

'We found the meetings useful in clarifying the contents of and concerns arising from the requests. We appreciate the willingness of requesting Members to address both general concerns and specific questions,' he said.

'However, a number of issues raised were not sufficiently addressed