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1 GATS - WHAT IS IT? - TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003
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1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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Page 1: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS

- WHAT IS IT?

- TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT?

Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003

Page 2: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT?

• One of the three pillars of WTO• WTO, founded 1995• Successor GATT (1947)• Which successfully liberalized and expanded trade in

goods, by applying:– most-favoured-nation principle– National treatment principle– Tariff bindings– Dispute settlement mechanism

Page 3: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT?

• WTO Coverage: goods, services, intellectual property, with integrated dispute settlement

• The General Agreement on Trade in Services lowers barriers to trade through:– MFN– Market access/national treatment bindings– Transparency, rules on domestic regulation– Dispute settlement

Page 4: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT?

GATS principles applying across the board

(i.e. regardless of the presence

of absence of commitments)

• Most-Favoured-Nation Treatment (no discrimination among Members or preferences to non Members)

• Transparency (publication of measures)

• Domestic Regulation (mechanisms for appeal of administrative decisions)

• Recognition (of licenses and certifications and licensing and qualification criteria)

• Monopolies & exclusive providers (prevent actions affecting MFN obligation)

• Business Practices (consultations on anti-competitive practices of companies)

Page 5: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT?

GATS commitments:• Guarantee the conditions of operation of

foreign services suppliers at a certain negotiated level of market access and national treatment

• Ensure that this level cannot be deteriorated• Make this level available as a minimum to all

WTO Members • Are subject to periodic negotiations with a

view to improve them

Page 6: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT? GATS PRINCIPLES APPLYING TO COMMITTED SERVICES

• Transparency (notification of new or revised measures to WTO)

• Domestic Regulation (requirements, criteria & standards to be objective, publicly known and not unnecessarily onerous, procedures not restrictive, implement measures impartially, promptly inform applicants for licenses or other authorizations)

• Monopolies & exclusive providers (prevent actions adversely affecting commitments)

• Payments & Transfers (no restrictions affecting commitments)

Page 7: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT?AREAS FOR FUTURE NEGOTIATIONS

• Emergency Safeguard Measures

• Government Procurement

• Subsidies

• Domestic Regulation: A work program to elaborate more specific disciplines.

Page 8: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT?

“Scheduling” principles:

• Positive listing of sectors

• Negative listing of restrictions

• Market Access:

– discriminatory and non-discriminatory measures

– 6 exhaustive categories:• number of suppliers,

• value of transactions/assets,

• number of operations,

• number of persons,

• legal form,

• foreign capital

Page 9: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT?

Scheduling principles: (continued)

• NT: any discriminatory measure de facto or de jure

• The modes of delivery: cross-border, consumption abroad, commercial presence, temporary movement of natural persons

• The additional commitments

• The freedom to modulate

• The minimum MFN standard effect

Page 10: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS: WHAT IS IT?

Sector or subsector Limitations onmarket access

Limitations onnational treatment

Additionalcommitments

11. TRANSPORTSERVICES

C. Air TransportServices

d. maintenanceand repair

(1)None

(2)None

(3)Maximum foreignparticipation: 40%

(4)Unbound

(1) None

(2) None

(3) None

(4) Unbound

Page 11: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT

• The annex on air transport excludes from the scope of the GATS :– traffic rights, however granted or– services related to the exercise of traffic rights

except:• aircraft repair and maintenance services

• selling and marketing of air transport services

• computer reservation system services

Page 12: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT

• Traffic rights are defined in a wide manner:

“the right for scheduled and non-scheduled services to operate and/or to carry passengers, cargo and mail for remuneration or hire from, to, within, or over the territory of a Member, including points to be served, routes to be operated, types of traffic to be carried, capacity to be provided, tariffs to be charged and their conditions, and criteria for designation of airlines, including such criteria as number, ownership, and control.”

Page 13: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT

• The ”services directly related to traffic rights” are not defined except for the three of them explicitly included in the scope of the GATS:

• "Aircraft repair and maintenance services" mean such activities when undertaken on an aircraft or a part thereof while it is withdrawn from service and do not include so-called line maintenance.

Page 14: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT

• "Selling and marketing of air transport services" mean opportunities for the air carrier concerned to sell and market freely its air transport services including all aspects of marketing such as market research, advertising and distribution. These activities do not include the pricing of air transport services nor the applicable conditions.

• "Computer reservation system (CRS) services" mean services provided by computerised systems that contain information about air carriers' schedules, availability, fares and fare rules, through which reservations can be made or tickets may be issued

Page 15: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT

• Results of the negotiations (1990-1993):

– maintenance: 34 commitments 2 MFN exemptions

– marketing: 23 commitments 17 MFN exemptions

– CRS: 28 commitments 16 MFN exemptions

Page 16: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTAnalysis of Commitments Made by Members on Maintenance Services(Number of Full, Partial and Non-Commitments by Mode of Supply)

Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4Maintenance f p n f p n f p n F p nAustralia x* x x xAustria x x x xBulgaria x* x x xCanada x x x xChile x x x xCuba x x x xCzech Rep. x* x x xEcuador x x x xEl Salvador x x x xEC x* x x xFinland x* x x xGambia x x x xGuatemala x x x xGuyana x x x xHonduras x* x x xHungary x x x xIceland x* x x xJapan x* x x xKenya x* x x xKoreaMorocco x x x x xNicaragua x x x xNorway x* x x xPanama x x x xPhilippines x* x x xPoland x x x xRomania x* x x xSlovak Rep. x* x x xSlovenia x* x x xSuriname x x x xSweden x* x x xSwitzerland x* x x xThailand x x x xTurkey x x x xUSA x* x x xTOTAL 15 0 17* 31 0 3 23 8 4 1 32 1

Page 17: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTAnalysis of Commitments Made by Members on Selling and Marketing Services

(Number of Full, Partial and Non-Commitments by Mode of Supply)

Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4Selling andMarketing

f p n f P n f p n f P n

Austria x x x XBulgaria x x x XChile x* x x XCuba x x x XCzech Rep. x x x XEC x x x XFinland x x x XGuatemala x x x xHonduras x x x xIceland x x x XJapan x x x XKenya x x x x XKorea x* x x XMorocco x x x XNew Zealand x x x x x x XNorway x x x XRomania x x x XSlovak Rep. x x x XSlovenia x x x XSuriname x x x XSweden x x x XThailand x x x XTurkey x x x xTOTAL 15 1 8 21 0 3 17 1 7 1 20 2

Page 18: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT Analysis of Commitments Made by Members on Computer Reservation Services

(Number of Full, Partial and Non-Commitments by Mode of Supply)

Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4CRS f p n f P n f p n F p nAustralia x x x xAustria x x x xBulgaria x x x xCanada x x x xChile x x x xCosta Rica x x x xCuba x x x xCzech Rep. x x x xEcuador x x x xEC x x x xFinland x x x xGuatemala x x x xGuyana x x x xHonduras x x x xHungary x x x xIceland x x x xJapan x x x xKenya x x x xKorea x x x xMorocco x x x xNew Zealand x x x xNorway x x x xRomania x x x xSlovak Rep. x x x xSlovenia x x x xSuriname x x x xSweden x x x xTurkey x x x xTOTAL 24 1 3 27 0 1 22 1 5 1 26 1

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT WHAT NEXT?

Other Commitments taken in Air Transport Services (Number of Full, Partial and Non-Commitments by Mode of Supply)

Mode 1 Mode 2 Mode 3 Mode 4f p n f p n f p n F p n

CPC 731passengertransportationby air

SierraLGambia

Sierra LGambia

Sierra LGambia

Sierra LGambia

CPC 732freighttransportationby airCPC 734rentalservices ofaircraft withoperator

Nic.GambiaPoland

Brunei Nic.GambiaBruneiPoland

Nic.GambiaPoland

Brunei Nic.GambiaBruneiPoland

CPC 746supportingservices forair transport

SierraLMex.GambiaCubaNic.

Mex. Sierra LMex.GambiaCubaNic.

Sierra LGambiaCubaNic.

Mex. Sierra LMex.GambiaCubaNic.

Groundoperation ofsupportequipment

Chile* Chile Chile Chile

Page 20: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTMFN Exemptions in Air Transport Services

Members MaintenanceSelling/Marketing

CRS Others

Austria x xBulgaria x xCanada x x xEuropeanCommunity

x x

Finland x xIceland x xKorea xKuwait x x xLiechtenstein x xNorway x xPoland x x xRomania xSingapore xSlovenia x xSweden x xSwitzerland x xThailand x x xTurkey xUSA x x xTOTAL 2 17 16 7

Page 21: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT

Between 1995 and 2003, 14 acceding countries out of 22 have taken air transport commitments, namely:

• Albania, Bulgaria, China, Chinese Taipei, Croatia, Ecuador, Estonia, Georgia, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Latvia, Oman, Panama and Armenia

Page 22: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT

• Among the 13 offers of acceding countries that are presently discussed, 5 contain air transport draft commitments, namely:

– Cambodia, FYROM, Russia, Saudia Arabia, Ukraine

• Two parallel processes started in 2000:– the review– the GATS 2000 Negotiations

Page 23: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORT WHAT NEXT?

• 1° Doha Development Agenda:

– like all other services, the three explicitly covered services will be the subject of new negotiations as of November 1999 in order to :

• add or improve commitments

• reduce or suppress MFN exemptions

Page 24: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTWHAT NEXT?

• Negotiations started January 2000

• Exchange of requests June 2002

• Exchange of offers March 2003

• Cancun Min. Conference September 2003

• End of Negotiations December 2004

Page 25: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTWHAT NEXT?

• Discussions based on “negotiating proposals”

• Over 100 proposals, among which 6 are on air transport (EU, Norway, Chile, New Zealand and Colombia & Costa Rica)

Page 26: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTWHAT NEXT?

• Except for Colombia and Costa Rica...• Great similarities in the proposals:

Inclusion of ancillary services such as ground handling, leasing, catering, airport management, services auxiliary to all modes of transport

• But also some variations:- Norway: Over flight and transit

- Australia*: Non-scheduled, dedicated freight, ownership

* No formal proposal yet

Page 27: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTWHAT NEXT?

• 2° “review”:

The annex stipulates that:” The Council for Trade in Services shall review periodically, and at least every five years, developments in the air transport sector and the operation of this Annex with a view to considering the possible further application of the Agreement in this sector.”

Page 28: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTWHAT NEXT?

A) Review of developments in 14 subsectors1. Aircraft repair and maintenance

2. Selling and marketing including e-com

3. Computer reservation services

4. Franchising

5. Services auxiliary to all modes of transport

6. Rental and leasing

7. Catering

Page 29: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTWHAT NEXT?

(cont’d)

8. Refuelling

9. Ground handling

10. Airport management services

11. Air traffic control services

12. General aviation services

13. Other auxiliary services

14. Commercial aviation

Page 30: 1 GATS -WHAT IS IT? -TO WHAT EXTENT DOES IT APPLY TO AIR TRANSPORT? Pierre Latrille - WTO - March 2003.

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GATS AND AIR TRANSPORTWHAT NEXT?

B) Operation of the Annex:– Conflicting views

C) Extension of the Annex:– No consensus for an extension of the Annex– No consensus to undertake work of

clarification on the Annex– 4 Meetings so far:

Sept & Dec 2000, October 2001 & March 2002