THIRD MEETING OF THE FTAA NEGOTIATING GROUP
ON SERVICES

Miami, April 12-15, 1999

PRESS RELEASE

The third meeting of the FTAA Negotiating Group on Services – NGS, was held April 12-15, 1999, in Miami.

The meeting began with an analysis of the six elements of consensus on services that the NGS had agreed upon during the preparatory phase of the FTAA. These include: sectoral coverage, most-favored nation treatment, market access, national treatment, denial of benefits, and transparency. These six elements, among others, will constitute part of a hemispheric agreement on Trade in Services within the context of the FTAA.

The NGS analyzed several contributions by delegations covering the needs and interests of smaller economies and alternative liberalization mechanisms for services. A document containing an inventory of Provisions on Trade in Services in Trade and Integration Agreements of the Western Hemisphere was also discussed.

A presentation was made to the Group by a representative of the Inter-American Committee on Telecommunications – CITEL, on the organization, nature of work, and achievements of this organization in the area of telecommunications.

The Group was informed of the “Conference on Trade in Services and the Americas” that will be held in San José, Costa Rica, July 8-9, 1999. This conference will be hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica and co-sponsored by the Organization of American States and the Institute for Integration of Latin America and the Caribbean/ Inter-American Development Bank.

The next meeting of the FTAA Negotiating Group on Services will take place in Miami July 12-15, 1999.

Attached to this press release is the agenda for the third meeting

List of countries present: Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela