SERVICES: SEMINAR
Dedicated session of the Council for Trade in Services — Review of the operation of preferences notified under the LDC services waiver
Facilitating the increasing participation of least-developed countries in trade in services
The Council for Trade in Services (CTS) agreed on 27 June 2019 to hold a Dedicated Session as part of the mandate in the Nairobi Ministerial Decision that the Council initiate a process to review the operation of preferences notified under the LDC Services Waiver. The Dedicated Session, which was held on 29 and 30 October 2019, consisted of a Workshop and a formal meeting of the CTS.
10:00- 10:20
Welcome by the chairman of the workshop
H.E. Mr Geert MUYLLE, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ, Chairman of the Council for Trade in Services
Remarks
Opening remarks
10:20-11:20 - SESSION 1
LDC performance in services exports
The introductory session provided an overview of LDC services exports. It discussed the factors that may explain the current performance. The session set the scene for the three subsequent sessions.
- Ms Barbara D'ANDREA ADRIAN, Senior Statistician, Economic Research and Statistics Division, °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ
Presentation - Mr Bernard HOEKMAN, Director, Global Economics at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute
Presentation - Mr Pierre SAUVÉ, Senior Trade Specialist, Macroeconomics, Trade and Investment Global Practice, World Bank Group
Presentation
Questions and Answers
11:20-13:00 - SESSION 2
Enhancing LDCS services export performance — what have we learnt?
Session 2 of the Workshop provided information on efforts to enhance LDC services export performance. Representatives from LDCs, international organizations, as well as Members' development cooperation agencies reported on their strategies, highlighted certain programmes, shared lessons learnt, and any best practices they had developed in this context.
- Ms. Liping ZHANG, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Division of International Trade in Goods and Services, and Commodities, UNCTAD
Presentation - Mr Jean-Philippe RODDE, Economic Affairs Officer, Technical Cooperation Section, UNCTAD
Presentation - Mr Quan ZHAO, Trade Policy Advisor, Research and Strategies for Exports, ITC
Presentation - Mr. Jib Rab KOIRALA, Former Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Government of Nepal
Presentation - Dr Christian PITSCHAS, Advisor, Sector Project “Trade and Investment for Sustainable Development”, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
Presentation - Mr Oscar GROSSER-KENNEDY, Services and Digital Trade Section, Office of Trade Negotiations, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia
Presentation - Ms Sheri-Nouane DUNCAN-JONES, Senior Development Advisor (USAID) to USUN Mission Geneva
Remarks - Dr Yahya GÜLSEVEN, Senior Expert in Development Cooperation, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA)
Presentation
Other representatives from °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members shared their experiences from the floor.
Questions and Answers
13:00-15:00
Lunch break
15:00-17:00 - SESSION 3
Success factors, main difficulties, and issues to address
LDC services exporters shared their experiences, describing the factors that allowed them to develop into successful exporters, highlight difficulties and set out the most important issues that needed to be addressed to improve LDC participation in services trade.
- Mr Peter VAN GILST, Chief Technical Advisor, CBI, Netherlands
Presentation - Mr Patrick KAGENDA, CEO, Data Care, Uganda
Presentation - Mr Mahamadi ROUAMBA, CEO, TICANALYSE and BeoogoLAB, Burkina Faso
Presentation - Ms Fatimata Kouyate ep CISSE, General Director, Timbuctours, Mali
Remarks - Mr Sowany Joseph MATOU, CEO, Entani Tours, Vanuatu
Presentation
Questions and Answers
17:00-17:50 - SESSION 4
Services waiver preferences — what are they and how can they best be used?
The °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Secretariat provided background to, and an overview of current preferences notified under the LDC Services Waiver. Representatives from °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members shared their experiences on how preferences have been used and how their use can be optimised
- Mr Markus JELITTO, Counsellor, Trade in Services and Investment Division, °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Secretariat
Presentation - Representatives from °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ Members are invited to share their experiences on how preferences have been used and how their use can be optimised.
Questions and Answers
17:50-18:00 - CLOSING REMARKS
H.E. Mr Geert MUYLLE, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²Ê¹ÙÍø×ÊÁÏ, Chairman of the Council for Trade in Services
Remarks
For further information on Services and LDCs, including the LDC Services Waiver, see Trade in services and LDCs
The objective of the workshop is to allow Members and relevant stakeholders to share information related to the participation of least-developed countries (LDCs) in trade in services and the expansion of their services trade.
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