Global Coalition Calls WTO Service Proposals Disappointing

A new set of proposals to open services such as banking and telecoms to more global trade falls significantly short of what is needed to reach a world trade deal, an international coalition of service industry groups said Tuesday.

“At this point in the negotiations, a text is needed that provides political guidance on the level of ambition in the Doha round services negotiations,” members of the Global Services Coalition said in a statement. “This version illustrates that members are still ‘consulting’ and demonstrates how little progress has been made in the services negotiations,” the group said.

The coalition includes service industry groups from Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, the United States and other countries.

Its harsh reaction to the services text unveiled Monday by Mexico’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization, Fernando de Mateo y Venturini, is another sign of trouble in the long-running Doha round of world trade talks.

The coalition members complained that negotiations on services still lag badly behind those on agriculture and industrial goods, even though the nearly 7-year-old talks are suppose to open markets in all three areas.

“The three are inextricably linked, and the round will only be brought to a successful conclusion when there is substantial progress in all three,” the coalition said.

It called for a text that makes clear countries must maintain current service market openness, as well as provide new market access opportunities.

(Editing by Sandra Maler)