ACTION REQUESTED
[14199]
November 30, 2001
TO: INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE No. 62-01
RE: WTO SERVICES NEGOTIATIONS -- SURVEY OF BARRIERS TO TRADE
In preparation for the new round of negotiations starting in January, US negotiators
from the Department of the Treasury and the Office of the US Trade Representative have
requested information about barriers to trade that they should address in the World Trade
Organization. The Institute must submit this information to US negotiators in January.
Attached is another copy of the questionnaire that the Institute developed to assess the
foreign regulatory restrictions that operate as trade barriers in 20 different countries. The
information solicited in this questionnaire will assist the Institute to develop a priority list of
countries for the negotiations and identify the issues in each country on which we should focus.
This copy of the questionnaire includes the information that we have gathered thus far.
We would appreciate you or someone in your organization completing this questionnaire. For
each country, the questionnaire provides a brief description of the commitments made in the
1997 Financial Services Agreement, including any restrictions on those commitments, followed
by questions regarding barriers faced by foreign firms in that country.
The questionnaire covers the following countries: Argentina; Brazil; Chile; Colombia;
Czech Republic; Egypt; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; Peru; Philippines;
Poland; Singapore; South Africa; Thailand; Turkey; and Venezuela. Please feel free to complete
as much of the questionnaire for each country and to choose countries in which you are most
interested.
The US negotiators have requested the list of barriers by mid-January. Accordingly,
please return the completed questionnaire to me by January 11, 2002. If you have any
questions, please contact me at (202) 326-5810 or jchoi@ici.org.
Jennifer S. Choi
Associate Counsel
Attachment (in .pdf format)