Special session for the Council in Trades and Services: Report by the Chairman to the Trade Negotiations Committee

The Council for Trade in Services in Special Session met on 26, 29 and 30 September 2005.

Subsequent to a communication from the Chair of the General Council contained in WT/GC/96, the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services confirmed, on 30 September, the appointment of H.E. Fernando de Mateo of Mexico as its new Chairman.

As my successor was confirmed in his functions at the close of the last day of the meeting, this report is made solely under my own responsibility.

REVIEW OF PROGRESS

Members of the Council are aware of their collective responsibility to produce a draft services text for the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference within the next few weeks that will provide guidance for the concluding months of the negotiations.

The services negotiations need at present to better specify the objectives which will translate the repeatedly expressed desire of Members to attain a high level of ambition. From my point of view, it is imperative to produce clear and specific objectives for services at Hong Kong.

The lack of offers, I believe, results from this sense of a lack of direction. Since the last formal meeting, only one new initial offer and four new revised offers have been tabled. The total number of initial offers submitted is 69 (representing 93 Members); including LDCs, 54 initial offers remain outstanding. I recall that we are now 2