RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/WPPS/M/25
5 March 1999
(99-0854)
Working Party on Professional Services
NOTE ON THE MEETING HELD ON 9 FEBRUARY 1999
Note by the Secretariat
1. The Working Party on Professional Services held its twenty-fifth meeting on 9 February
1999.  The agenda for the meeting was contained in airgram WTO/AIR/1015.  The single major item
on the agenda was the discussion of future work.
(a) Discussion of Future Work
2. The discussion was held in informal mode in order to permit a free exchange of views.  At the
conclusion of the discussion, the Chairman concluded that a wide range of views had indeed been
expressed but that it was nevertheless possible to discern some widely-shared opinions.  First, it was
the general view that the Council for Trade in Services would need to decide on the organization of
future work on the question of domestic regulation, and particularly on the relationship between the
general mandate to establish disciplines under Article VI:4 of the GATS and the continuing workprogramme of the WPPS.  It was noted that this issue would appear on the agenda of the next meeting
of the Council. There was also a widely-held view that all work on domestic regulation should ideally
take place in a single forum.  This should probably be the WPPS – perhaps under a new name
reflecting a wider remit. It was also the view of most speakers that work should proceed on a
horizontal rather than a sectoral basis, and that the accountancy disciplines would provide a useful
starting-point for such work.
(b) Date of Next Meeting
3. The Chairman stated that the date of the next meeting would be decided in consultation with
Members.
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