1. Mode 4 under the DDA negotiations Hamid Mamdouh Director, Trade in Services Division, WTO September 2007

2. DDA negotiations - Mode 4 8 specific proposals –Developing economies- India, Colombia, Kenya –Developed economies - EC, US, Japan, Canada –15 Developing economies as co-sponsors Other sector-specific proposals relate to mode 4, e.g., professional services 1 collective proposal reviewing progress in mode 4 negotiations

3. Current negotiations Mode 4 barriers identified Structure and coverage of existing commitments Economic Needs Tests (ENTs) Definitional problems Administrative practices: no access to information and lack of transparency Lack of recognition of qualifications

4. Some of the solutions proposed... More and better commitments more categories, improved definitions, finer classification, “sector-specific” commitments Removal of barriers multilateral criteria for ENTs - more specific, transparent and non-discriminatory Greater transparency and predictability GATS visa

5. Mode 4 - Offers so far… Over 30 of around 70 offers propose some improvement to horizontal commitments (half developed, half developing countries) Of the eight ESCWA WTO Members, six have submitted initial offers (i.e. Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Oman, Qatar and UEA) and two (i.e. Bahrain and Egypt) also revised offers

6. Improvements in offers under mode 4 New categories, broader coverage Expanded list of sectors to which the commitments apply Extended periods of stay; possibility of renewal Clarification of the application/reduction of the scope of ENTs Reduction of discriminatory measures Some improvements in transparency

7. Mode 4 improvements in offers by ESCWA WTO Members CategoriesNumber of undertakings ENTs/ Quotas Usual duration of stay Business visitors 7 (4)-90 days ICT and M, E, S 8 (7)2 ENTs 5 quotas 2-4 years CSS2 (1)2 ENT1 year IP1 (-)1 ENT90 days – 1 year Other1 (-)-90 days Numbers in parenthesis reflect the situation with respect to commitments ICT = Intra-Corporate Transferees; E,M,S = Executives, Managers, Specialists; CSS = Contractual Services Suppliers; IP = Independent Professionals

8. Overall state of play in the DDA negotiations Number and quality of offers has thus far been unsatisfactory, including on Mode 4 Hong Kong Ministerial (December 2005) provided timelines and more guidance

9. Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration – Mode 4 Members to be guided, to the maximum extent possible, by the following mode 4 objectives: New or improved commitments on: –Contractual Services Suppliers (CSS), Independent Professionals (IP) and others de- linked from commercial presence –ICT, Business Visitors to reflect inter alia –removal or substantial reduction of ENTs –indication of duration of stay and renewal

10. Plurilateral Requests - Mode 4 Hong Kong Declaration set end February 2006 for the submission of plurilateral requests: Request on mode 4 From 15 developing to 9 developed countries Seeks commitments on CSS and IP Commitments are sought in a number of sectors, falling under business, construction, environmental, tourism and recreational services Asks for the removal/clarification of Economic Needs Tests Least-developed countries have also submitted a mode 4 request, with a largely similar focus

11. Timelines Hong Kong services timelines for 2006: –Plurilateral requests – end of February –(2 nd round of revised offers – end July) –(Final draft schedules – end October) BUT... negotiations suspended in July 06 “Soft resumption” in November 2006 Formal resumption in February 2007

12. Plurilateral mode 4 process Two meetings to discuss the plurilateral request were held in 2006, prior to the suspension of the negotiations Since the resumption, one more plurilateral meeting was held in April 2007 and a further one is scheduled for the latter part of September

13. THANK YOU