US embassy cable - 03ANKARA1705

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001705 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR 
USDOC FOR ITA/MAC/DDEFALCO 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD, TU, USTR, WTO 
SUBJECT:  GOT Response on WTO Services Negotiations 
Demarche 
 
 
Ref: State 50753 
 
 
Oya Karakas, Head of Department in the MFA General 
Directorate of Multilateral Economic Affairs, sent 
Embassy the following reply on March 11 to reftel 
demarche on the WTO services negotiations.  The reply 
indicates that the GOT may not meet the March 31 
deadline for submission of initial services offers. 
 
 
Begin Text MFA Reply: 
 
 
7.03.2003 
EGY-I 
 
 
SOME PRELIMINARY VIEWS ON THE WTO GATS NEGOTIATIONS 
 
 
Trade in services has always been an area priority for 
Turkey, in the context of multilateral trade 
negotiations throughout the Uruguay Round. We have not 
only actively participated in the work of the WTO 
Council for Trade in Services and its subsidiary bodies, 
but we have also taken our part in the negotiations 
mandated by the GATS. The extent of our Uruguay Round 
commitments and the level of liberalisation in our 
services sector clearly show our intentions. Moreover, 
since the beginning of these mandated negotiations, we 
have supported the process with our flexible approach 
and made our contribution. 
 
 
In this spirit, we have received initial requests from 
some of our trade partners and presented ours to some of 
them. We have also carried out some bilateral contacts 
with them, including the US. We are pleased with the 
level of interaction and cooperation among the 
negotiation teams of members in services negotiations 
and we happily observe a certain degree of progress. 
 
 
We are well aware of timeframes of the Doha Development 
Agenda, but as we all know, these indicative timeframes 
are foreseen for all areas of negotiation and services 
negotiations cannot be excluded from the whole picture. 
We should not forget the fact that these timeframes of 
the DDA concerning different areas are all interrelated. 
 
 
At this stage of the negotiations, while some deadlines 
are approaching and some are already met, unfortunately 
we are still far from substantial achievements in some 
areas. We also see a certain reluctance shown by some 
members. For instance, there is not yet enough progress 
in the TRIPS Agreement negotiations such as protection 
for geographical indications and access to medicines. 
 
 
As for the 31 March 2003 deadline for initial offers in 
services, we are not yet certain about whether we will 
be able to meet this deadline or not. Although we are in 
process of assessing our interests and the priorities of 
our sectors, as well as the initial requests that we 
have received so far, we are not yet in a position to 
set an exact date for conclusion of our initial study. 
 
 
In addition to general concerns about liberalization and 
greater market access for foreigners, we also have 
certain sensitivities concerning our existing bilateral 
commitments with our certain trading partners, such as 
the EU. 
 
 
Needless to say, conclusion of the required "modalities" 
is not only important, but it is a prerequisite for the 
negotiations. Since the beginning, we have been as 
flexible as possible, so that the discussions for 
modalities should not be an obstacle for negotiations. 
Similarly, we have also been flexible in the issue of 
assessment of trade. In order not to delay the 
negotiations, we accepted that it is an ongoing process. 
 
 
We fully understand the importance of "autonomous 
liberalization" for certain members and we are following 
the discussions on this issue and we are quite flexible 
on it. Since, we expect the outcome to be a voluntary 
mechanism, we see this issue as a secondary one. 
 
 
We understand the importance of liberalization in 
certain sectors, for your service suppliers. In fact, 
all members have their own priorities and hopefully 
throughout the negotiations we will accommodate all 
these in a manner beneficial and acceptable for all. 
 
 
Among some sectors, commitments and market access for 
natural persons, or "Mode 4" commitments are 
particularly important for us. This comes as a result of 
the demands of our dynamic population. 
 
 
At this stage, our initial consultations with our 
relevant authorities and related sectors are still under 
way and we are preparing our initial offers. We 
understand that we may later revise them according to 
the offers and requests of other members. 
 
 
In this connection, we are looking forward to initial 
offers of developed members. In our view, these offers 
will be an important indicator for the direction of the 
negotiations. The response of the developed members for 
the requests of the developing members may have positive 
or negative ramifications in other negotiation fora at 
the WTO. 
End Text. 
Pearson