Brussels, 14/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 13 June, the European Commission published its report on the 18th round of negotiations for a Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA). The round was held in Geneva from 26 May to 3 June and was chaired by the European Union.
The 18th round of negotiations enabled an assessment of the revised offers on access to the services market. These offers were put forward in early May by 22 of the 23 stakeholders (Taiwan was not able to put forward its offer due to its recent change of government) and the Commission's report states that this round of negotiations enabled positions to be brought closer on text in annexes on telecoms, e-commerce, localisation, financial services and Mode 4 of the WTO Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement. In addition, the parties discussed all the annexes on transport (maritime, air and road) and the institutional framework of TiSA, the report adds.
“Overall, there was good engagement in the discussion of revised offers and progress was made in working towards agreed text”, the Commission comments.
Chaired by European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström, a ministerial meeting of the TiSA negotiation countries took place on the sidelines of the OECD ministerial meeting in Paris on 1 June.
The next round of TiSA negotiations will be held in Geneva from 8 to 18 July and will be chaired by Australia. Two further rounds have been scheduled for the end of September and in November, and a final round could take place in December.
Noting a re-balancing between the market access offers on the negotiating table, the EU has said it is ready to improve its revised offer in order to support the conclusion of an agreement before the end of 2016 (see EUROPE 11569). Another exchange of revised offers is planned in October.
The Commission's report is available at: http://goo.gl/Jyxk4m . (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)