SERVICES NEGOTIATORS INCH FORWARD WHILE WAITING FOR AG, NAMA BREAKTHROUGH

WTO services negotiators are continuing their attempts to make progress in the shadow of the stalemate in the agricultural and non-agricultural market access (NAMA) talks.

At a Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services held on 8 June, 'demandeur' countries, such as the EU and the US, repeated their calls for expanded market access commitments from their trading partners and urged other Members to match the level of ambition in services to that in agriculture and NAMA. At the same time, Uganda and Bangladesh, on behalf of the LDC Group, reiterated its call for more meaningful progress on their interests, particularly the temporary labour mobility (so-called Mode 4).

Many developing countries have been loath to contemplate new market access offers until they have a clearer sense of what will happen in other areas of the talks. Sources acknowledge that new offers are unlikely until Members agree on tariff and subsidy cuts for agriculture and NAMA.

Nevertheless, services Chair Ambassador Fernando de Mateo (Mexico) will hold the next in his series of informal high-level political discussions among a group of about 20 ambassadors -- dubbed the 'enchilada' talks -- on 26 June. The gathering will focus on plurilateral requests made in the sectors of financial, air transport, environment, construction, legal services, and architecture and engineering services, as well as cross-border services supply. The next 'cluster' of services meetings will follow in early July.

De Mateo's meeting comes quick on the heels of the ongoing meeting between trade ministers from the EU, the US, Brazil, and India in Potsdam, Germany. Some delegates hope that the so-called G-4 will bridge enough of their longstanding differences to pave the way for the broader WTO Membership to strike a framework 'modalities' agreement on agriculture and industrial goods trade. If such a deal is within reach, negotiators expect a broader ministerial-level meeting of representatives from at least 40 countries to be called at the end of July to finalise it. Sources indicate that certain members would try to use this gathering to obtain pledges from selected trading partners to substantially improve their services market access offers in their areas of interest.

ICTSD reporting.