Global Services Network Alert
January 27, 2005

EU tables revised WTO services requests
Eminent Persons Group Issues Report on "The Future of the WTO"
Council for Trade in Services Issues Annual Report
UNCTAD Holds Professional Services Conference

EU tables revised WTO services requests

On January 25, 2005, the EU submitted requests for improved services market access to 103 WTO Members. The requests generally cover the following sectors: professional services, other business services, telecommunications, postal and courier services, distribution, construction and related engineering services, financial services, environmental services, tourism, news agency services and energy services. Least developed countries are only being requested to make offers in two of the following five sectors: telecommunication, financial services, transport, construction and environmental services. The requests themselves are not publicly available, but a summary of the requests is available on the European Commission web site at http://trade-info.cec.eu.int/doclib/html/121197.htm.

 
Eminent Persons Group Issues Report on "The Future of the WTO"

In a report commissioned by WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi, a leading group of global trade experts put forward a list of conclusions and recommendations on the operation and future of the WTO. The report expressed concern about the proliferation of Preferential Trade Agreements, arguing that they could undermine progress on multilateral trade liberalization. The report also called for greater transparency in the dispute settlement process, and a re-examination of the principle of plurilateral approaches to WTO negotiations.  In addition, it called for more high-level political involvement, including annual WTO Ministerial conferences, a WTO Summit of World Leaders every five years, and semi-annual trade policy reports by the
Director-General. The report is available at http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/10anniv_e/10anniv_e.htm#future.

 
Council for Trade in Services Issues Annual Report
 
The annual report of the WTO Council for Trade in Services to the General Council has been made available on the WTO website. The report summarizes CTS activities over the past year, including the work of subsidiary bodies. The report (S/C/22) is available at http://docsonline.wto.org:80/DDFDocuments/t/S/C/22.doc.


UNCTAD Holds Professional Services Conference

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held a conference on trade and development aspects of professional services, and regulatory frameworks, on January 17-19 in Geneva. Discussions centered around policy options to enhance the growth of and trade in professional services, trade and development benchmarks for the industry, and means of liberalization and recognition of professional qualifications.  Professional services have achieved double-digit growth rates over the past five years, with global exports of professional services reaching $270 billion in 2002. A broader summary of the event is available at http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/c1em25d2_en.pdf, and an UNCTAD background paper on professional services is available at http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Download.asp?docid=5644⟨=1&intItemID=194