Jan 31, 1987

SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS WILL ADDRESS RBPS TOO.

GENEVA, JANUARY 29 (IFDA/CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN) – The programme for the initial phase of negotiations in services approved Thursday suggests that the negotiations for a multilateral framework could address not only governmental actions but also other practices and measures, like Restrictive Business Practices (RBPS) that have a bearing on trade in services.

In the initial phase of negotiations, the Group of Negotiations on Services (GNS) has agreed to address five elements in conformity with the negotiating objectives set out in the Punta del Este declaration. These are:

--Definitional and structural issues,

--Broad concepts on which principles and rules for trade in services, including possible disciplines for individual sectors, might be based,

--Coverage of the multilateral framework for trade in services,

--Existing international disciplines and arrangements,

--Measures and practices contributing to or limiting the expansion of trade in services, including specifically any barriers perceived by individual participants, to which the conditions of transparency and progressive liberalisation might be applicable.

The U.S. had sought to focus in the discussions on services, on national regulations in countries that are "barriers" to international trade or prevent access to markets.

Brazil, India and a number of third world countries had been opposed to this, underscoring the Punta del Este wording that any multilateral framework "shall respect the policy objectives of national laws and regulations applying to services".

Also, they underlined, the Punta del Este wording had no reference to any "trade Barriers" or "access to markets" of countries in this area.

Rather, the negotiating objectives for establishment of a multilateral framework for trade in services was to be "with a view to expansion of such trade under conditions of transparency and progressive liberalisation and as a means of promoting economic growth of all trading partners and the development of developing countries".

And unlike the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which related to goods and incorporated only a portion of the Havana charter, the proposed new multilateral framework in services, which would be a new one, would have to deal with both government actions as well as actions and practices of the private enterprises, particularly TNCS, who through their RBPS can limit the expansion of trade in services.

The U.S. would appear to have initially objected to this, arguing that the question of inclusion of RBPS in the MTNS was yet to be agreed upon, but later gave way when it was noted that this applied only to the issue of RBPS in the area of goods under the GNG, and not to the issue of services which was a legally separate exercise for an entirely new multilateral framework.