South Centre Analytical Note - August 2004

INTRODUCTION

Recently, developed countries have heightened their calls for the submission of initial offers by Members who have not done so. In light of this elevated pressure, this note provides some considerations negotiators can take into account when engaging in market access negotiations in the near term. The discussion in this note is written in the context of the current state of play of negotiations.

At the time of writing, 25 initial offers have been submitted by developing country Members. Many developing country and especially least developed country (LDC) Members continue to face resource constraints and technical challenges when it comes to formulating an initial offer. These same challenges also extends to the submission of initial requests. Additionally, some Members are weary of moving further ahead with market access negotiations while rules negotiations increasingly lag far behind. Still, for other Members the movement in market access negotiations in trade in services is dependent on movement in other WTO negotiating areas, such as agriculture. This complex set of elements should be kept in perspective as negotiators face possible impending movements, e.g. services as part of the July package, in negotiations.

This note discusses the differing negotiating scenarios for individual Members and aims to present a clearer picture of the near term prospects for market access negotiations. From this, general considerations and options are provided for Members facing pressure to submit initial offers. Some of these points may also be relevant for Members considering the submission of improved offers. This note does not present a checklist for formulating initial offers since much has been written on this topic. Complementarily, this note provides a few guidelines for negotiators to consider in the near term based on opportunities and challenges within the current market access negotiations.

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