Commerce may get free hand for making offer: liberalisation of services sector under WTO

The Cabinet may give free hand to Commerce Ministry for making initial offer to start negotiations on the extent of liberalisation of services sector under World Trade Organisation (WTO), it is learnt. During the negotiation process, 21 member countries have submitted initial requests so far, whereas Pakistan, in consultation with the concerned stakeholders, has also made initial requests in the sector of its export interest to 19 countries.
Sources said that during the Uruguay Round, negotiations leading to the finalisation of GATS, various countries had filed their individual schedules of commitments.
In these schedules each country had indicated which service sector it was willing to open up to foreign participation and to what extent. By implication, whatever opening up was committed in this schedule, could not be reversed unilaterally by the concerned national government without the concurrence of the WTO membership.
Pakistan had made modest liberalisation commitments in some service sectors and sub-sectors. In 1997, however, along with other WTO members, Pakistan increased its level of commitment in the financial services sector and the telecommunications sub-sector. In November, 2001, the 4th WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha launched a new round of multilateral trade negotiations, known as the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in which one of the items was further 'liberalisation' of trade in services.
Subsequently, a number of WTO members also came up with their respective initial offers, and therefore Pakistan also needed to do the same as soon as possible. In the next phase, WTO members would be making revised requests and offers, respectively.
Commerce Ministry says that a number of enabling measures had been undertaken by it. To begin with, a series of awareness creation seminars/workshops was organised regarding WTO system in general and GATS negotiations in particular.
Participation in these workshops etc, was from the government as well as the private and non-government sectors. In these workshops the participants were briefed on advantages of opening Pakistan's service sectors. These workshops also provided a valuable opportunity for consultation with non-government representatives of various service sectors. In addition inter-ministerial consultations were also held.
In 2005, however, the Ministry intensified this consultation process, by holding individual meetings with their counterparts in all concerned Ministries. As a consequence of these meetings, various ministries have now formally communicated their respective viewpoints in this regard.
The culmination point of this consultation process was the holding of a meeting of the Council of WTO on March 22, 2005 under the chairmanship of Commerce Minister, at which a consensus was arrived at regarding the strategy to be followed by Pakistan in GATS negotiations.
Based on these inter-ministerial consultations, a services offer has been drafted on behalf of Pakistan. An explanatory note provides necessary information regarding the terminology and format used.
This offer represents the maximum extent of liberalisation commitments that the concerned stakeholders feel can be made.
Sources said that based on the above mandate, the Ministry plans to make an initial offer, which is less than what has been indicated. Subsequently revised offers will also be made keeping in view the above mandate as approved.
The ministry said that this approach would allow Pakistan's negotiators the necessary bargaining and negotiating space they would require for arriving at a final agreement which would best serve national interests.