JOINT STATEMENT

Benefit for the Global Economy

(This statement has been endorsed by the HKCSI on 30 May)

The world’s three leading service industry organizations -- the Coalition of Service Industries (CSI), the European Services Forum (ESF), and the Japan Services Network (JSN) -- call on their Governments to make necessary preparations to launch a new Round of trade negotiations at the Qatar WTO Ministerial in November 2001.

The three organisations consider that a substantial agreement on services will most likely be achieved in the context of a wider and broad based WTO Round. The new Round will build upon the significant success already achieved in Geneva during the March “stocktaking” session, which resulted in the adoption of the GATS 2000 negotiating guidelines and procedures by the Special Session of the Council of Trade in Services on 28 March 2001. The three organizations believe a new Round will help motivate success in the “request/offer” phase of the services negotiations, expected to begin soon after the Ministerial.

The volume of trade in services is already significant, amounting to $1.35 trillion in cross-border transactions in 1999. Services account for a large percentage of both developed and developing country economies, representing 51% to 77% of GDP. Services play a key role in creating investment in essential infrastructure of all economies, and in contributing to employment across the world. The liberalization process will encourage efficient service industries, a fundamental component of attracting inward direct investment and promoting competition. Manufacturers also benefit from innovative and efficient services.

If barriers to trade in goods and services were completely eliminated, world economic welfare would increase an additional $1.9 trillion, benefiting developed and developing countries alike. A broader WTO Round should be able to reduce barriers to trade in goods and services by one-third, which would still add approximately $613 billion to the world economy.