WORLD TRADE S/FIN/3
17November 1997
ORGANIZATION
(97-5083)
Committee onTrade inFinancial Services
REPORT OFTHE COMMITTEE ONTRADE INFINANCIAL SERVICES
TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INSERVICES
I. Activities oftheCommittee in1997
1. TheCommittee onTrade inFinancial Services heldseven formal meetings intheperiod from
April toNovember 1997, including onemeeting atsenior levelon12November, based onanindicative
timetable agreed atitsmeeting on10April 1997. More meetings areexpected totakeplace towards
thedeadline forthenegotiations which is12December 1997. Theactivities oftheCommittee in1997
focused ontheresumed financial services negotiations withtheaimofachieving asuccessful conclusion.
TherewerealsoreportsfromMembersofrecentdevelopmentsinfinancialservicestrade,anddiscussions
ontechnical issues regarding thescheduling ofcommitments infinancial services.
2. Indiscussion oftheprogress ofthenegotiations onfinancial services, Members confirmed
theircommitment toachieve asuccessful conclusion ofthenegotiations intheagreed timeframe, in
pursuit oftheobjectives andprinciples laiddown intheMinisterial Declaration inSingapore of
13December 1996. Ateachmeeting views wereexchanged onprogress inbilateral meetings. Atotal
of32offers representing 46Members hadbeensubmitted asof14November 1997.
3. TheCommittee alsodiscussed procedural issues regarding themodification andentryintoforce
oftheschedules onthebasis ofanotebytheSecretariat (S/FIN/W/11 of1May1997), andadopted
thetextsofaprotocol andanaccompanying decision. TheCommittee alsorecommended totheCouncil
forTrade inServices thatitadopt arelated procedural decision.
4. Concerning theexchange ofinformation onrecent developments infinancial services trade,
many Members reported ontheirrecent liberalization measures. These developments werewelcomed,
andMembers wereencouraged toreport anyrelated developments totheCommittee fortransparency
purposes.
5. With regard totheconsideration oftechnical issues inthescheduling offinancial services
commitments, theCommittee undertook informal consultations onthedistinction between Modes 1
and2infinancial services. TheCommittee tooknoteoftheresult oftheconsultations, asreported
inaninformal notebytheSecretariat dated 3July1997 (jobnumber 3706).