RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE S/NGBT/18
30April 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-1837)
Negotiating Group onBasic Telecommunications
REPORT OFTHE NEGOTIATING GROUP ONBASIC TELECOMMUNICATIONS
1. Thisreport ismade inaccordance withtheMinisterial Decision onNegotiations onBasic
Telecommunications, which requires theNegotiating Group onBasic Telecommunications toconclude
these negotiations andmake afinalreport nolaterthan30April 1996.
Background
2. Ministers agreed attheMarrakesh meeting thatnegotiations oncommitments inbasic
telecommunications should becontinued aftertheWTO Agreement came intoforce. TheMinisterial
Decision onNegotiations onBasic Telecommunications andtheAnnex onNegotiations onBasic
Telecommunications allowed Members anextended period during which tonegotiate commitments
relating tobasic telecommunications, toinscribe those commitments intheSchedules annexed tothe
General Agreement onTrade inServices andtofinalize theirpositions relating toMFN exemptions
inthissector. Under theterms oftheAnnex onNegotiations onBasic Telecommunications, Article
IIandtheAnnex onArticle IIExemptions, including therequirement tolistinthatAnnex anymeasure
inconsistent withmost-favoured-nation treatment, were suspended untilthedatefortheimplementation
oftheresults ofthenegotiations, which would becitedinthisreport.
3. TheDecision established theNegotiating Group onBasic Telecommunications tocarry out
thenegotiations. TheNegotiating Group hasheld16meetings since itsinception inApril 1994 and
hasreported periodically onitsprogress totheCouncil onTrade inServices. TheDecision specified
thatparticipation inthenegotiations would beentered intoonavoluntary basis. Bytheconclusion
ofthenegotiations, 53governments (including theEuropean Communities anditsMember States) had
elected toparticipate fullyinthenegotiations. Another 24governments wereparticipating intheprocess
asobservers.
Activities oftheNegotiating Group
4. InJuly1994, theNegotiating Group issued aQuestionnaire onBasic Telecommunications
covering definitions andmarket structure, competition, andregulatory issues. TheGroup reviewed
participants 'responses tothequestionnaire. Inall,37ofthefullparticipants andtwoobserver
governmentssubmittedquestionnaireresponses.AnotheractivityoftheGroupwastoexamineoutstanding
technical andconceptual issues. Among suchissues discussed weretechnical matters relating tothe
scheduling ofcommitments andregulatory issues suchaslicensing, interconnection, competition
safeguards, transparency, independent regulatory bodies, frequency andnumbering, standards andtype
approval, tariffs andaccounting rates, termination services, rights ofwayandplanning anduniversal
service. Oneresult ofthese discussions wasaninformal Reference Paper onregulatory disciplines
intended tobeusedasanaidbyparticipants intheirscheduling ofadditional commitments. Atthe
endofJuly, participants agreed tobegin submitting draft offers ofcommitments onbasic
telecommunications toserve asthebasis forbilateral request/offer negotiations. Throughout the
negotiations, participants made itclearthattheiroffers wereconditional upon thequality andextent
ofthecommitments made byothers. TheGroup sponsored frequent rounds ofbilateral negotiations
among participants.S/NGBT/18
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Conclusions
5. Atitsfinalmeeting on30April 1996, theNegotiating Group agreed toforward totheCouncil
forTrade inServices thisreport andtheattached listoftheSchedules ofCommitments andLists of
Article IIExemptions, together withthedraftFourth Protocol totheGeneral Agreement onTrade
inServices andadraft Decision onCommitments inBasic Telecommunications. Thedateforthe
implementation oftheresults ofthesenegotiations shallbe1January 1998, asspecified inparagraph 3
oftheProtocol.S/NGBT/18
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ATTACHMENT
Schedules ofCommitments andLists ofArticle IIExemptions
tobeannexed totheFourth Protocol oftheGeneral
Agreement onTrade inServices
Argentina S/NGBT/W/12/Add.27/Rev.1
Australia S/NGBT/W/12/Add.6/Rev.2
Brazil S/NGBT/W/12/Add.21/Rev.1
Canada S/NGBT/W/12/Add.7/Rev.3
Chile S/NGBT/W/12/Add.16/Rev.1
Colombia S/NGBT/W/12/Add.34
Côte d'Ivoire S/NGBT/W/12/Add.31/Rev.1
Czech Republic S/NGBT/W/12/Add.11/Rev.2
Dominican Republic S/NGBT/W/12/Add.24/Rev.1
Ecuador S/NGBT/W/12/Add.26
European Communities andtheir
Member StatesS/NGBT/W/12/Add.10/Rev.1
Hong Kong S/NGBT/W/12/Add.4/Rev.4
Hungary S/NGBT/W/12/Add.17/Rev.1
Iceland S/NGBT/W/12/Add.33/Rev.1
India S/NGBT/W/12/Add.32
India S/NGBT/W/19
(ListofArticle IIExemptions)
Israel S/NGBT/W/12/Add.20/Rev.1
Japan S/NGBT/W/12/Add.2/Rev.3
Korea, Republic of S/NGBT/W/12/Add.15/Rev.1
Mauritius S/NGBT/W/12/Add.23/Rev.1
Mexico S/NGBT/W/12/Add.5/Rev.2
Morocco S/NGBT/W/12/Add.30/Rev.1
NewZealand S/NGBT/W/12/Add.1/Rev.2
Norway S/NGBT/W/12/Add.12/Rev.1
Pakistan S/NGBT/W/12/Add.28/Rev.1
Peru S/NGBT/W/12/Add.25/Rev.1S/NGBT/18
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Philippines S/NGBT/W/12/Add.18/Rev.1
Poland S/NGBT/W/12/Add.22/Rev.2
Singapore S/NGBT/W/12/Add.13/Rev.2
Slovak Republic S/NGBT/W/12/Add.8/Rev.2
Switzerland S/NGBT/W/12/Add.9/Rev.2
Thailand S/NGBT/W/12/Add.29
Turkey S/NGBT/W/12/Add.19
United States ofAmerica S/NGBT/W/12/Add.3/Rev.2
Venezuela S/NGBT/W/12/Add.14/Rev.2