A dedicated session of the WTO Services Council – held yesterday and today – reviewed how World Trade Organisation (WTO) members are making use of the services waiver that allows them to grant more favourable treatment to service suppliers from least-developed countries (LDCs). Members also discussed transparency issues and cybersecurity measures in a regular meeting of the Services Council today.
The dedicated session on the WTO Services Waiver consisted of a workshop and a formal meeting of the Council for Trade in Services. The workshop provided an opportunity to ‘focus our attention on the task of better integrating LDCs into international services trade’ and of ‘making the trading system more inclusive’, director-general Roberto Azevêdo said in his opening remarks yesterday.
A total of 36 WTO members are classified as LDCs.
The workshop reviewed ways of increasing LDCs' services exports, including through maximising the use of the preferences available, and the challenges lying ahead. The participants noted that LDCs account for 1 per cent of world services and only 0.3 per cent of world services exports. LDCs' exports are expanding rapidly – 11 per cent per year on average – but from a low base. Bangladesh is the leading LDC services exporter, followed by Cambodia and Myanmar, and tourism is the LDCs' most traded services sector. To date, 51 WTO members – both developed and developing countries – have notified preferences under the Services Waiver. “These members together account for 86 per cent of global GDP and 86 per cent of global trade,” a press note from the WTO reads.
A review of the waiver was mandated by the 2015 Nairobi Decision. A services waiver was first established in 2011 allowing WTO members to grant more favourable treatment to LDC service suppliers. The Nairobi Decision extended the waiver until December 31, 2030. The purpose of the waiver is to enhance the participation of the world's poorest countries in world trade.
One theme emerging from the dedicated session of the Services Council was the need for more detailed trade data and for reporting of bilateral trade flows. The European Union (EU) was cited as one of the few members to report on the evolution of its imports of LDC services. It was noted that Bangladesh was one of the few LDCs to publish data about its services exports. The EU was reported as being the top destination for Bangladesh's services exports.
The LDCs also drew attention to the potentially restrictive effect regulations can have on market access for LDC service suppliers, including raising the costs of trade. They called on preference-granting members to tailor their preferences to the collective request tabled by the LDCs in 2014, which calls for, among other things, to end requirements for the recognition of qualifications and market access restrictions, including residence obligation for professionals from LDCs. Strategies on strengthening national capacities for service supply should be tailor-made to respond to the specific capacity constraints LDCs are facing, the group said.
In addition, an overview of the recent improvements to the services-related statistics databases was presented, including the TiVA database – developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the WTO – that measures trade in value added (TiVA) terms, and the Trade in Services database by mode of supply, which measures services trade by sector.
The dedicated session highlighted the need for efforts from national agencies in charge of statistics for financial resources to collect and compile data and to promote multi-level cooperation. The need for specific technical assistance for LDCs was also emphasized. Improving data collection at the national, regional and international levels will be essential to better capture the progress made on implementing the Services Waiver.
Another issue highlighted, on the occasion, was the regional disparity among LDCs. For example, tourism services are concentrated mainly in Asian countries, and while the share of LDCs' services exports is growing in Asia, it has been declining in Africa since 2005.
The preference-granting members shared recent initiatives and practices to translate the waiver into concrete market share for LDCs. These include easing the granting of visas for service suppliers seeking to access foreign markets, assisting LDCs in building a robust and sustainable tourism sector by helping to build roads and hotels and enhancing presence on the Internet, organising traineeships and organising targeted technical assistance activities. It was also stressed that the waiver should complement other efforts.
Several LDC service suppliers presented their success stories, the challenges they face and made suggestions on how to facilitate their further integration into the global trading system. It was said that certification remains a key challenge for service suppliers from LDCs, especially given its close link with consumer confidence.
LDCs called on members to grant additional preferences and to reduce regulatory barriers.
Improving transparency
In a meeting of the Council for Trade in Services today, WTO members discussed transparency and notification requirements for services-related measures following a communication sponsored by several developing countries. All members that intervened said that they shared the proponents' objective to improve transparency, although many noted the capacity constraints faced by developing countries and LDCs in complying with notification requirements, including internal coordination challenges. Several indicated that they were ready to engage in a conversation on how the transparency of services trade measures could be improved.
The dedicated session on the WTO Services Waiver consisted of a workshop and a formal meeting of the Council for Trade in Services. The workshop provided an opportunity to ‘focus our attention on the task of better integrating LDCs into international services trade’ and of ‘making the trading system more inclusive’, director-general Roberto Azevêdo said in his opening remarks yesterday.
A total of 36 WTO members are classified as LDCs.
The workshop reviewed ways of increasing LDCs' services exports, including through maximising the use of the preferences available, and the challenges lying ahead. The participants noted that LDCs account for 1 per cent of world services and only 0.3 per cent of world services exports. LDCs' exports are expanding rapidly – 11 per cent per year on average – but from a low base. Bangladesh is the leading LDC services exporter, followed by Cambodia and Myanmar, and tourism is the LDCs' most traded services sector. To date, 51 WTO members – both developed and developing countries – have notified preferences under the Services Waiver. “These members together account for 86 per cent of global GDP and 86 per cent of global trade,” a press note from the WTO reads.
A review of the waiver was mandated by the 2015 Nairobi Decision. A services waiver was first established in 2011 allowing WTO members to grant more favourable treatment to LDC service suppliers. The Nairobi Decision extended the waiver until December 31, 2030. The purpose of the waiver is to enhance the participation of the world's poorest countries in world trade.
One theme emerging from the dedicated session of the Services Council was the need for more detailed trade data and for reporting of bilateral trade flows. The European Union (EU) was cited as one of the few members to report on the evolution of its imports of LDC services. It was noted that Bangladesh was one of the few LDCs to publish data about its services exports. The EU was reported as being the top destination for Bangladesh's services exports.
The LDCs also drew attention to the potentially restrictive effect regulations can have on market access for LDC service suppliers, including raising the costs of trade. They called on preference-granting members to tailor their preferences to the collective request tabled by the LDCs in 2014, which calls for, among other things, to end requirements for the recognition of qualifications and market access restrictions, including residence obligation for professionals from LDCs. Strategies on strengthening national capacities for service supply should be tailor-made to respond to the specific capacity constraints LDCs are facing, the group said.
In addition, an overview of the recent improvements to the services-related statistics databases was presented, including the TiVA database – developed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the WTO – that measures trade in value added (TiVA) terms, and the Trade in Services database by mode of supply, which measures services trade by sector.
The dedicated session highlighted the need for efforts from national agencies in charge of statistics for financial resources to collect and compile data and to promote multi-level cooperation. The need for specific technical assistance for LDCs was also emphasized. Improving data collection at the national, regional and international levels will be essential to better capture the progress made on implementing the Services Waiver.
Another issue highlighted, on the occasion, was the regional disparity among LDCs. For example, tourism services are concentrated mainly in Asian countries, and while the share of LDCs' services exports is growing in Asia, it has been declining in Africa since 2005.
The preference-granting members shared recent initiatives and practices to translate the waiver into concrete market share for LDCs. These include easing the granting of visas for service suppliers seeking to access foreign markets, assisting LDCs in building a robust and sustainable tourism sector by helping to build roads and hotels and enhancing presence on the Internet, organising traineeships and organising targeted technical assistance activities. It was also stressed that the waiver should complement other efforts.
Several LDC service suppliers presented their success stories, the challenges they face and made suggestions on how to facilitate their further integration into the global trading system. It was said that certification remains a key challenge for service suppliers from LDCs, especially given its close link with consumer confidence.
LDCs called on members to grant additional preferences and to reduce regulatory barriers.
Improving transparency
In a meeting of the Council for Trade in Services today, WTO members discussed transparency and notification requirements for services-related measures following a communication sponsored by several developing countries. All members that intervened said that they shared the proponents' objective to improve transparency, although many noted the capacity constraints faced by developing countries and LDCs in complying with notification requirements, including internal coordination challenges. Several indicated that they were ready to engage in a conversation on how the transparency of services trade measures could be improved.
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