RESTRICTED
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/SCS/W/5
FOR THE 15September 1994
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(94-1863)
SUB-COMMITTEE ONSERVICES
PARTICIPATION OFOBSERVERS
Note bytheSecretariat
1. Atitsmeeting on15July1994, theSub-Committee onServices requested theSecretariat to
providebackgroundinformationontheparticipationofobserversduringtheUruguayRoundnegotiations,
aswellasontheparticipation ofnon-governmental andregional organizations. ThisNoteisprepared
inresponse tothatrequest.
2. Withrespect totheparticipation ofobservers intheUruguay Round negotiations, therelevant
information isprovided inparagraphs 13to19oftheNote prepared bytheSecretariat fortheSub-
Committee onInstitutional, Procedural andLegal Matters (PC/IPL/W/3). Those paragraphs are
reproduced inAnnex AtothisNote. Itwillbenoted thatnoobserver status hadbeengranted toany
non-governmental organization. TheAnnex alsoindicates thatsomeregional organizations wereinvited
toparticipate asobservers intheMarrakesh Ministerial meeting.
3. InsofarastheSub-Committee onServices andtheNegotiating Groups areconcerned, the
current situation isasfollows:
(a) TheSub-Committee onServices hasgranted observer status totheWorld Bank, IMF,
UNandUNCTAD. Arequest fromtheInternational Chamber ofCommerce isstill
pending.
(b) TheNegotiating Group onBasic Telecommunications hasgranted observer status to
theITUandUNCTAD. Requests from theWorld Bank andtheAsia-Pacific
Telecommunity areunder consideration.
(c) TheNegotiating Group onMaritime Transport Services hasgranted observer status
toUNCTAD. Requests fromtheWorld Bank, theOECD andtheCouncil ofEuropean
andJapanese National Shipowners Associations areunder consideration.
(d) TheNegotiatingGrouponMovementofNaturalPersonshasnotgrantedobserverstatus
toanyinternational organizations sofar.Requests from theWorld Bank andthe
International Organization forMigration areunder consideration.
4. Insofarasgovernments areconcerned, theSub-Committee onServices hasdecided initsfirst
meeting, on19May1994, thatthose governments which hadbeenassociated withthework ofthe
Trade Negotiations Committee oftheUruguay Round willbeinvited toattend formal meetings ofthe
Sub-Committee asobservers. Anyfurther requests forobservership willbeaddressed onacaseby
casebasis. With respect totheNegotiating Groups onBasic Telecommunications andMaritime
Transport, observership isopentothose governments which havesigned theFinal Actbuthavenot
announced theirintention toparticipate inthenegotiations. Requests ofother governments willbe
addressed onacasebycasebasis. IntheNegotiating Group onMovement ofNatural Persons, where
allsignatories totheFinal Actareparticipants inthenegotiations, requests from other governments
aretobeaddressed onacasebycasebasis. AlistofMembers andObservers tothePreparatory
Committee isinAnnex BtothisNote(PC/INF/1). Italsoapplies totheSub-Committee onServices.PC/SCS/W/5
Page2
ANNEX A
III. Arrangements forobserver status ofinternational organizations intheUruguay Round
13. Atitsmeeting on3July1987, theTrade Negotiations Committee (TNC) adopted thefollowing
Decision1concerning attendance ofinternational organizations intheproceedings oftheUruguay Round:
"1. Inrecognitionofthefactthattheattendanceofinternationalorganizationscouldfacilitate
theattainment oftheobjective ofstrengthening theinterrelationship between trade policies
andother economic policies affecting trade anddevelopment, representatives ofinternational
organizations would beinvited toattend formal meetings ofnegotiating bodies during theinitial
phase asindicated below. Itisopen tonegotiating bodies torecommend theattendance of
other international organizations. Since thenegotiations aretaking place among participants,
thesolepurpose ofsuchattendance istoenable negotiating bodies toseekappropriate technical
support inthefieldofexpertise ofthese organizations, tocomplement theexpertise primarily
available fromparticipants. Thistechnical support might taketheformoforalresponses during
themeetings torequests through theChairman forfactual information onandclarification of
matters concerning therelevant instruments andactivities ofanysuchorganization, andfactual
papers tobeprepared attherequest ofthebody.
2. Itisunderstood thattherulesontheconfidentiality oftheproceedings ofthenegotiating
bodies willalsoapply tosuchrepresentatives andthatthecontent ofdiscussions anddocuments
would notbeavailable foruseoutside international secretariats attending meetings.
3. Itisalsounderstood thatsupport byinvited international organizations would begiven
inamanner which doesnotaffect thenegotiating positions ofparticipants andinformation
obtained would beusedonlyforthepurpose indicated inparagraph 1above.
4. Itisalsounderstood that,following normal practice, negotiating bodies maydecide
toholdclosed meetings when theyconsider them necessary."
14. TheDecision wasaccompanied bythefollowing listing:
Negotiating Group Area Organizations
Group 1 Tariffs CCC
Group 2 Non-Tariff Measures CCC, UNCTAD
Group 3 Natural Resource-Based Products None
Group 4 Textiles andClothing None
Group 5 Agriculture FAO
Group 6 Tropical Products FAO
Group 7 GATT Articles IMF
Group 8 MTN Agreements andArrangements CCC when valuation code is
discussed. ISOandIECwhen
TBTcodeisdiscussed.
Group 9 Safeguards None
Group 10 Subsidies andCountervailing Measures None
1MTN.TNC/3, Annex.PC/SCS/W/5
Page3
Group 11 Trade-Related Aspects ofIntellectual CCC, UNCTAD, WIPO
Property Rights including Trade in
Counterfeit Goods
Group 12 Trade-Related Investment Measures IBRD, IMF
Group 13 Dispute Settlement None
Group 14 Functioning oftheGATT System IBRD, IMF, UNCTAD
Surveillance Body None
GNG IBRD, IMF, UN,UNCTAD
GNS IBRD, IMF, UN,UNCTAD
TNC IBRD, IMF, UN,UNCTAD
15. FollowingtherestructuringoftheUruguayRoundnegotiatinggroupsinApril1991,thequestion
ofparticipation ofinternational organizations wasagain considered. AtaTNC meeting inJune1991,
theChairman noted thatthere-allocation ofnegotiating subjects insome ofthenewgroups would mean
thatinternational organizations would either beinvited toonlypartsofformal meetings oftherelevant
negotiating groups dealing withareasofspecific concern tothem, ortotheentire meetings. Forpractical
reasons, thelattercourse ofaction wasagreed to.Thelistbelow indicates theinternational organizations
invited tomeetings oftheindividual negotiating groups inthenewstructure, inkeeping withthebasis
oftheirparticipation intheformer negotiating groups.2
Negotiating Group Organization
Agriculture FAO
(exNG5)
Institutions IBRD, IMF, UNCTAD
(exNG13and14)
Market Access CCC, FAO, IBRD, IMF, UNCTAD
(exNG1,2,3and6)
RuleMaking andTRIMS CCC, IBRD, IEC, IMF, ISO
(exNG2,7,8,9,10,and12)
Textiles andClothing None
(exNG4)
TRIPS CCC, UNCTAD, WIPO, UNESCO
(exNG11)
Surveillance Body None
Services IBRD, IMF, UN,UNCTAD
GNG IBRD, IMF, UN,UNCTAD
TNC IBRD, IMF, UN,UNCTAD
16. Thequestion oftheparticipation ofinternational organizations wasalsoraised inthecontext
ofthepreparations fortheMarrakesh Ministerial meeting. Itwasagreed thatthefourorganizations
thathadregularly attended meetings oftheTNC, namely theUN,UNCTAD, IMFandtheWorld
Bank, aswellasthose thathadparticipated intheearlier Negotiating Groups, namely theCCC, FAO,
ISO,IEC,UNESCOandWIPO,wouldbeinvited.TheChairmansaidheproposedtorespondpositively
tolikely requests from various regional intergovernmental organizations toattend theMarrakesh
Ministerial meeting asobservers, andthatsuchorganizations would not,inprinciple, beinvited to
speak unless sufficient timewasavailable, although theycould, iftheywished, circulate written
statements forinclusion intherecord.3Theorganizations hehadinmind were regional economic
2MTN.TNC/21, Annex, pages 5and6,andCorr.1.
3MTN.TNC/W/135.PC/SCS/W/5
Page4
intergovernmental organizations which haddemonstrated acontinuing interest intheworkoftheGATT
andtheUruguay Round either through theirobserver status atGATT CONTRACTING PARTIES '
sessions ormeetings oftheCouncil, orwhich hadmade useful technical contributions tothediscussions
among theparticipants throughout thenegotiations. Onthisbasis, theInter-American Development
Bank (IDB), theEuropean Free-Trade Association (EFTA), theLatin American Economic System
(SELA), theInternational Textiles andClothing Bureau (ITCB) andtheArab Monetary Fund would
beinvited inresponse totheirrequest orexpressed interest, asalsowould theInternational Trade Centre
(ITC).
17. TheChairman added thatinorder tomaintain abalance between regions, theUNregional
economic commissions, namely theEconomic Commissions forAfrica (ECA), forEurope (ECE),
forLatin America andtheCaribbean (ECLAC), andtheEconomic andSocial Commissions forAsia
andthePacific (ESCAP) andforWestern Asia(ESCWA), andregional development banks should
beinvited. AstheInter-American Development Bank (IDB) hadalready beeninvited, onewould also
needtoinvite theAfrican andAsian Development Banks. TheChairman 'ssuggestions wereagreed
to.
18. Onthebasis oftheabove understandings, thefollowing organizations were invited tothe
Marrakesh Ministerial meeting:
ACPSecretariat,AfricanDevelopmentBank,ALADI,ArabMonetaryFund,AsianDevelopment
Bank, CCC, EBRD, ECA, ECE, ECLAC, EFTA, ESCAP, ESCWA, FAO, IEC, ILO, IMF,
Inter-American Development Bank, ISO,ITC,ITCB, OECD, OIC,SELA, UN,UNCTAD, UNESCO,
WIPO, World Bank, World Tourism Organization.
19. Thedegree ofparticipation ofinternational organizations intheUruguay Round negotiations
varied considerably according towhich negotiating group theyparticipated in.Some organizations
made contributions intheformoftechnical briefs, e.g.,inthenegotiations onthefunctioning ofthe
GATT system, others byassociation withvarious negotiating areas, suchasinagriculture andsanitary
andphytosanitary measures (Codex Alimentarius Commission, International Office ofEpizootics and
theSecretariat oftheInternational Plant Protection Convention), customs valuation (CCC), rules of
origin (CCC), technical barriers totrade (ISOandIEC) ,TRIPS (WIPO andUNESCO), coherence
inglobal economic policymaking (IMF andIBRD), balance ofpayments (IMF), andservices (IMF,
IBRD andUNCTAD). Inmost ofthese cases theprovisions oftherelevant WTO Agreements and
arrangements reflect thissituation.PC/SCS/W/5
Page5
ANNEX B
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE PC/INF/1
FOR THE 2August 1994
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
(94-1565)
PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE
WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION
MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS OFTHE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE
AND ITSSUB-COMMITTEES1
(asat1August 1994)
MEMBERS (114):
ALGERIA
ANGOLA
ANTIGUA &
BARBUDA
ARGENTINA
AUSTRALIA
AUSTRIA
BAHRAIN
BANGLADESH
BARBADOS
BELGIUM
BELIZE
BENIN
BOLIVIA
BOTSWANA
BRAZIL
BRUNEI
DARUSSALAM
BURKINA FASO
BURUNDI
CAMEROON
CANADA
CENTRAL
AFRICAN REP.
CHILE
CHINA
COLOMBIA
CONGO
COSTA RICA
COTE D'IVOIRE
CUBA
CYPRUS
CZECH REP.
DENMARK
DOMINICA
DOMINICAN REP.
EGYPT
ELSALVADOR
EUROPEAN
COMMUNITIES
FIJI
FINLANDFRANCE
GABON
GERMANY
GHANA
GREECE
GUATEMALA
GUINEA BISSAU
GUYANA
HONDURAS
HONG KONG
HUNGARY
ICELAND
INDIA
INDONESIA
IRELAND
ISRAEL
ITALY
JAMAICA
JAPAN
KENYA
KOREA, REP. OF
KUWAIT
LIECHTENSTEIN
LUXEMBOURG
MACAU
MADAGASCAR
MALAWI
MALAYSIA
MALI
MALTA
MAURITANIA
MAURITIUS
MEXICO
MOROCCO
MOZAMBIQUE
MYANMAR
NAMIBIA
NETHERLANDS
NEW ZEALAND
NICARAGUA
NIGER
NIGERIANORWAY
PAKISTAN
PARAGUAY
PERU
PHILIPPINES
POLAND
PORTUGAL
QATAR
ROMANIA
SAINT LUCIA
SENEGAL
SINGAPORE
SLOVAK REP.
SOUTH AFRICA
SPAIN
SRILANKA
SURINAME
SWEDEN
SWITZERLAND
TANZANIA
THAILAND
TOGO
TRINIDAD &
TOBAGO
TUNISIA
TURKEY
UGANDA
UNITED ARAB
EMIRATES
UNITED KINGDOM
UNITED STATES
URUGUAY
VENEZUELA
ZAIRE
ZAMBIA
ZIMBABWE20.OBSERVERS:
ASSOCIATED
GOVERNMENTS (19)
ALBANIA
ARMENIA
BELARUS
BULGARIA
CROATIA
ECUADOR
ESTONIA
JORDAN
LATVIA
LITHUANIA
MOLDOVA
MONGOLIA
NEPAL
PANAMA
RUSSIAN
FEDERATION
SAUDI ARABIA
SLOVENIA
UKRAINE
CHINESE TAIPEI
ORGANIZATIONS (4)
IMF
UN
UNCTAD
WORLD BANK
1TheSub-Committee onBudget, Finance andAdministration hasnoobservers.