World Trade
Organization RESTRICTED S/WPGR/M/35
7 December 2001 (01-6241) Working Party on GATS Rules

REPORT OF THE MEETING OF 28 NOVEMBER 2001

Note by the Secretariat

The Working Party on GATS Rules held its thirty-fifth meeting under the chairmanship of Mr.
It consisted of five items: negotiations on safeguards under GATS Article X; negotiations on subsidies under GATS Article XV; negotiations on government procurement under GATS Article XIII; date of the next meeting; and other business.
However, in view of the difficulty of implementing and withdrawing compensation, a short period of time should be determined during which no compensation was required.
In fact, the link between an ESM and increased liberalization worked the other way round: Members would feel comfortable having an ESM before making additional specific commitments.
Mexico's reading of the US contribution was that an ESM would be less undesirable if it were scheduled, but not that it was desirable per se.
It might then be better to develop a horizontal mechanism and let Members decide – if and when a safeguard action took place – whether such action was justified given the circumstances, without predefining in great detail what was justifiable, what were the right circumstances, etc.
He informed that, on 19 and 20 November, he had held informal consultations, which had allowed him to hear some thirty delegations on this issue, including on the question of whether or not work should start on a draft text.
On 23 November, he had made two suggestions that delegations could take into account in the preparation of future meetings: (i) with respect to the different elements contained in the Synopsis, delegations might want to examine where, in their views, there was possible common ground and where positions differed; (ii) delegations might also want to consider which elements might be common to both an horizontal and a scheduled safeguard.
At the very least, the Working Group should start examining areas of common ground, which would facilitate a platform for subsequent drafting.
negotiations on subsidies under article xv of the gats
The Chairperson said that, in the absence of new contributions, delegations were invited to address the issue of subsidies on the basis of the Chairperson's Checklist contained in Job No.
Members, especially those who had raised subsidy-related issues in their sectoral proposals, should share their experience in this field.
negotiations on government procurement under article xiii of the gats
The Chairperson proposed that delegations should continue their general exchange of views on any aspect of government procurement of services.