Plurilateral services negotiations set to start on Mar 27, 2006
23 Mar '06
7 min read
They also explicitly say that each of the requesting Members is deemed to be a recipient of the request, which responds to the question of whether plurilateral demandeurs would be expected to undertake the same level of liberalisation commitments they were requesting from other Members.
Delegates say that this was the only way that plurilateral requests could contain commitments that did not meet a 'least common denominator' of acceptability among all demandeur Members.
The requests generally refer to the the sub-sectors and activities in which binding market access is sought, as well as specific commitments sought for each mode for such sub-sectors or activities.
Mostly, they seek the removal or substantial reduction of limitations and conditions to market access. In some cases, such as for maritime transport and computer and related services, model commitment schedules are attached.
Philippines receives 19 requests; Brazil 18
Sources indicate that the Philippines led all countries, receiving 19 plurilateral requests involving 15 services sectors.
Indonesia and Thailand follow close behind, with 17 requests covering 15 sectors. Malaysia received 15 requests spanning 13 sectors. China received 17 requests in 15 sectors, while India received 15 requests over 14 sectors.
Among the countries in Latin America, Brazil received plurilateral requests in all but the sector it made a request in -- a total of 18 requests. Argentina received 14 requests in 12 sectors.
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