UNCTAD ASKED TO ESTABLISH SERVICES DATABASE

5:55 AM Jul 25, 1994

UNCTAD ASKED TO ESTABLISH SERVICES DATABASE
Geneva 23 July (Chakravarthi Raghavan) -- The secretariat of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) was given the green signal Friday to implement as soon as possible its proposals for establishing a computerised data base on measures affecting trade in Services.

The go-ahead for implementing the database, and request to member countries to actively collaborate in this effort, came at the meeting of the UNCTAD 'Standing Committee on Developing Services Sectors: Fostering Competitive Services Sectors in Developing Countries'.

UNCTAD secretariat was also asked to undertake further sector-specific studies on subsidies in trade in services and on temporary movement of persons which is acknowledged to be an important means for developing country participation in the international trade in services,

The secretariat was also commended for the high quality of its documentation and its wider dissemination recommended.

The Standing Committee, was chaired by Peru's Gonzalo Guterrez, ended a week-long meeting with adoption of a set of recommendations on the future work of the secretariat, which put considerable emphasis on focusing on the 'trade in services' aspects and helping developing countries in this area.

The Officer-in-Charge of UNCTAD's Services Development and Trade Efficiency Division, Rainer Vogel, expressed great satisfaction at the considerable encouragement and supported expressed by delegations. Vogel noted that the database was an extremely useful tool for supporting the efforts of developing countries service suppliers to access world markets. It was also a challenging and ambitious task that would require the concerted efforts of all concerned.

The Standing Committee's recommendation said the database should:

* facilitate access of services and services suppliers from developing countries to world markets by providing structured information on measures, including laws and regulations,

* focus on sectors of interest to services suppliers from developing countries and covering all measures affecting their service exports,

* given its large scope, give priority to inclusion of information on measures relating to those sectors, modes of supply and markets that are of major interest to developing countries, including currently subject to negotiations at multilateral or regional levels,

The secretariat was asked to seek collaboration of relevant regional or international organizations and institutions in the technical design of the database and in compiling information for the database.

Also, member-countries wishing to collaborate with the secretariat in the were requested to make appropriate arrangements with the secretariat which was asked to assist countries, on request, in implementation and possible adaptation of the database for use at the national level.

On the question of identifying policy options for developing countries to strengthen their domestic service sectors and make them more efficient and competitive, including problems of adaptation of domestic regulation of services sectors in the context of liberalization, the Committee said analysis of this issue required in-depth coverage of relevant policy measures affecting the trade in services used by member countries and of their experience with implementation of such policies. For this end, the secretariat was asked to prepare a questionnaire and distribute it to countries before end of 1994.

On the issue of subsidies in trade in services, the secretariat was asked to continue its work aimed at assessing the impact of subsidies on trade in services, especially on sectors of interest to developing countries. In particular, the secretariat was asked:

* to carry out sector-specific studies to obtain further insight into the forms of subsidization, their extent and their impact on trade in services,

* to obtain more information on subsidizing practices, including through questionnaires on the different types of current practices.

Member countries were requested to assist the secretariat by providing information on subsidies as well as relevant publications and studies that would assist the secretariat in this area.

On the issue of temporary movement of persons for supply of a service, the Standing Committee recognized that in a large number of cases, this was an important mode (of supply) through which developing countries can participate in the international trade in services. The Committee requested the secretariat to focus its analysis on the issues identified in the secretariat paper to the meeting (see SUNS 3342) with respect to the temporary movement of persons, bearing in mind the clear distinction between temporary and permanent stay.

The secretariat, the Committee added, should continue to focus on barriers to trade in services carried out through the temporary movement of natural persons and the regulations that affect this, with a view to identifying the problems and opportunities faced by developing countries.

This analysis, the Committee said, should cover, inter alia:

* identifying specific entry requirements and criteria used by countries in regulating temporary entry (e.g. visa, work permits, business visitors),

* how economic needs test and similar conditions could be made more stable and predictable so as to protect the integrity of specific commitments in this area,

* how to enhance the ability of developing countries to take advantage of the specific commitments with respect to this mode of supply and to identify specific mechanisms that could be developed to this end, and

* collecting information on experience of countries in organizing enterprises to take advantage of the specific commitments with respect to the movement of natural persons.

The Committee also agreed that the UNCTAD secretariat, in close consultation with the GATT/WTO and other relevant organizations including private bodies with a view to ensuring complementarity, should compile information on processes of recognition and harmonization of professional qualifications with a view to identifying more specifically the problems facing developing countries. Member countries were urged to assist the secretariat in this by providing information on relevant professional associations in their countries.

The Standing Committee recognized the important contribution made within available resources by the secretariat in its UNCTAD technical assistance in this entire area, and took note of the reduction in the capacity of the UNDO to support such activities. The Committee decided to ask the Trade and Development Board to request the international donor community to provide resources and allow UNCTAD to establish a trust fund to assist developing countries in strengthening the competitiveness of their services sectors, as well as in strengthening their negotiating capacity in the present and future negotiations on trade in services.

The Standing Committee also welcomed the UNCTAD Secretary-General's intention to organize an expert group to examine ways of enhancing the access to and use of information networks and distribution channels.