Services meetings focus on LDCs, remittance costs and environmental services classification

Follow-up to MC13 mandates

Members continued discussing how to reinvigorate the Council's work on trade in services through more in-depth information-sharing on important topics, in line with the guidance of the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13). Members noted the useful exchanges in December's thematic session on green services and in other thematic sessions on topics such as the recognition of professional qualifications. Many expressed their desire to continue thematic sessions in 2026 and suggested possible topics.

The Chair, Ambassador Ram Prasad Subedi of Nepal, encouraged members to consult with one another and decide on next steps.

Participation of LDCs in services trade

Members continued reporting on their efforts to gather information on LDCs' services exports and how LDC services suppliers interact with consumers and businesses in other economies. This ongoing work was mainly conducted in those economies that have notified preferences in favour of LDC services and service suppliers under the LDC waiver, including through a questionnaire the LDC Group has developed.

Some members shared the challenges in collecting information across various sectors. Preliminary findings highlighted the need to increase awareness of the waiver among LDC members, improve service quality, streamline regulations, and enhance understanding of the local business environment.

The LDC Group noted that more time is needed to collect comprehensive information. The Group will seek an extension on the MC13 Declaration to allow continued work toward MC15. They said this request has been submitted formally and is being proposed as part of an LDC package for MC14.

Facilitating recognition of professional qualifications

Following members' discussion in their December meeting, Bangladesh, India, the Kyrgyz Republic, Nepal and Pakistan addressed the questions raised regarding their joint proposal (JOB/SERV/CTS/46) to strengthen the implementation of Article VII on recognition of professional qualifications in the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). 

They reiterated their aim of enhancing information sharing and capacity building without creating new obligations for members. They outlined concrete ways of achieving the goal, including improving members' notifications, creating a database on recognition arrangements, developing voluntary guidelines, and offering technical assistance focused on mutual recognition agreements.

Members welcomed the proponents' responses and generally supported the efforts to enhance transparency. Some said more time was needed to reflect on the inputs, while others flagged the risk of moving beyond mandates. The Chair asked members to continue discussing the issue at the next meeting. 

Other issues

Several members shared views on the work programme on electronic commerce, with some calling for focusing on the development dimension and bridging the digital gaps.

The WTO Secretariat introduced its new AI-powered "WTO Discovery" platform, an online tool that helps members search and analyse WTO official documents.

The Council also reviewed several recurring specific trade concerns, including some cybersecurity measures implemented by China and Viet Nam, certain US services measures and India's measures affecting mobile applications.

Trade in financial services

On 19 February, the Committee on Trade in Financial Services continued discussing the issue of cross-border digital payments and costs of remittances. Mr. Will Nixon of Australia, Chair of the Committee, facilitated the discussion.

Members continued discussing possible next steps following the September thematic session on "Facilitating Digital Payment Systems and Cross-Border Remittances", with proponents highlighting the value of further work within the Committee's mandate and outlining possible areas for future discussions.

The Committee continued discussing a draft Ministerial Declaration on "Reducing the Cost of Cross-Border Remittances" proposed by Morocco and the African Group for ministers to consider at the upcoming 14th Ministerial Conference in March in Cameroon. They reiterated the strategic significance of remittances for developing economies and stressed the need to seek ministers' political guidance to advance the Committee's work in promoting cooperation to improve remittance transfers, reduce costs and increase transparency.

While some members repeated their support for the draft Ministerial Declaration highlighting that the WTO had a role to play, others argued that it is premature to pursue a ministerial declaration and cautioned against the risk of duplicating work undertaken in other fora. The Chair asked members to reflect on the different views and to continue engaging with one another with the aim of finding a way forward.

Classification of environmental services

On 18 February, the Committee on Specific Commitments continued its discussions on classification issues related to environmental services. The United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD) presented its main statistical classification frameworks relevant to this sector.

UNSD highlighted that the new version of the Central Product Classification (CPC 3.0) expands the categories related to environmental services. It also introduced the Classification of Environmental Purposes (CEP), a purpose-based framework that organizes activities according to environmental objectives and is used to support environmental-economic accounting. In addition, UNSD presented the Extended Balance of Payments Services Classification (EBOPS 2026), which aligns closely with the CPC, although it does not include a standalone environmental services category.

UNSD noted that the scope of environmental services continues to evolve. It emphasized the need to enhance measurement, comparability and the overall statistical basis for environmental services.

Members revisited two submissions on the classification of environmental services: the United Kingdom's paper (S/CSC/W/80/Add.1) and the joint paper by Switzerland and New Zealand (S/CSC/W/82). The three members said they will update the Committee on possible next steps later in 2026. The Chair, Mr. Sirapat Vajraphai of Thailand, welcomed members' efforts to maintain momentum on this topic.

Recent developments in services trade policy

At an event held on 19 February, entitled "Assessing restrictiveness in multilateral and preferential commitments on services," the World Bank and the WTO Secretariat introduced two new tools based on the Services Trade Restrictions Index (STRI) - the Bound STRI (BSTRI) and the Preferential STRI (PSTRI), which measure the maximum degree of restrictiveness permitted in commitments under the GATS and preferential trade agreements, respectively. The BSTRI/PSTRI dashboard was also presented. Participants discussed the potential applications of these indices in trade research and policymaking, with particular attention paid to how they can inform evidence-based analysis and decision-making.

The event was organized by the WTO's Trade in Services and Investment Division as part of the "Simply Services" speaker series, an informal platform for sharing the latest information on services trade trends. More information about the event is available here.