Subject: World Services Congress notes
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Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1999 07:52:00 -0800 (PST)

Please see the report on the World Services Congress.

I. Exhibit

The WTO Energy Services Coalition booth was a great opportunity to spread the 
word on the goals of ESC.  We manned the booth during the Global Marketplace 
- the name of the exhibition.  We distributed hundreds of the one-pager on 
energy services, as well as the bound ESC briefing book.  In the time I was 
at the booth there was a significant interest in the ESC.  Thanks to Marc 
Eichman for dedicating significant time to managing the booth and to the 
Enron graphics department for the outstanding display.  Below find a photo of 
our display:

II.  Energy Services Panel: How the Energy Services Industry Can Use Trade 
Negotiating to Secure and Expand Markets

Chair:
Terry Thorn,  Senior VP, Enron
Panelists: 
John Easton, VP, Int'l Programs, Edison Electric Institute
Ian Miller, President, EDS Global Energy Business
Tim Richards, Sr. Manager, Int'l & Gov't Affairs, GE
Rachel Thompson, Administrator, Trade Directorate, OECD

Attendance at the panel was impressive with over 40 academic, government 
(officials from the US, Norway, Portugal, Costa Rica, Holland, and Israel) 
and private sector participants - in fact, we had to keep adding more chairs.

Terry Thorn began the panel with a history of energy services and the future 
of the industry in a liberalized market.  Tim Richards provided a summary of 
GE's view of energy services, outlined the current WTO commitments related to 
energy services and discussed the issues of defining energy services, 
identifying barriers, and setting a negotiating approach.  John Easton 
outlined the debate on classification of energy services (goods vs. 
services).  Ian Miller followed on the classification issue and applied it to 
the EU (especially the German and French) liberalization experience.  Rachel 
Thompson outlined her paper on trade in environmental services.  Rachel went 
on to describe her lead in the OECD work program on trade in environmental 
services with its focus on a win-win approach to trade and environment (this 
is similar the win-win-win approach USTR has adopted).  The OECD work program 
on environmental services could easily be adopted for energy services. 

A lively discussion ensued on the following:  the link between environmental 
and energy services, the NAFTA (negative list) negotiating strategies, 
challenges of definition and classification, and e-commerce effect on energy 
services.

Terry suggested that interested persons attending the panel provide him 
contact information so we can create a global network on energy services.  We 
can do this independently or through the CSI Global Services Network, which 
is an informal, private sector-led on-line community dedicated to 
liberalization of services (we can start a sector specific network).

Thanks to all the panelists for your time and talent in making the panel such 
a success.

Please see Terry's and Tim's panel presentations attached below:

WSC Plenary

On Tuesday morning all the sector specific panelists chairs presented the 
panel recommendation to the WSC Plenary.  Each chair was given 3 minutes to 
present its recommendation and 4 Gov't representatives then responded.  The 
recommendations will be collected and presented to the trade ministers in 
advance of Seattle.

In addition to energy services, recommendations were delivered on e-commerce, 
banking, insurance, entertainment, transportation, China, accounting, legal 
services, and express delivery.

Terry Thorn delivered the ESC recommendation.  Attached below are Terry's 
transcribed comments to the Plenary and the official panel recommendation.  

The government responses were as follows:
Stuart Harbinson, Permanent Rep. of Hong Kong to the WTO and Chairman of the 
WTO Council on Trade in Services: 

Any guidelines on energy services must be general in nature.  
Industry must move thoroughly make the case to its respective governments to 
raise energy services as a priority. 
 Gov't of Hong Kong will focus on Energy Services.

Joseph Papovich, Assistant USTR, Services, Investment & Intellectual 
Property: 
Energy Services are now in need of further analytical work supported by the 
private sector.  
Energy Services are similar to telecommunication and could be negotiated 
accordingly.  
Note of caution:  attempts to liberalize energy services will be derailed if 
countries (often developing countries) view this as a mandate for gov'ts to 
privatize energy assets.  Instead, it should encourage open and transparent 
regulatory processes when privatization occurs.
U.S. supports including energy services in the services round.

Katsuhiro Nakagawa, Special Advisor, Ministry of Int'l Trade and Industry, 
Japan: 
Japan is currently deregulating its energy sector
 A "primitive" debate needs to occur on defining electricity as good vs. 
service
Resource limitations and environmental aspects will be important to Japanese 
negotiation.

In summary, I believe we made significant movement on mobilizing global 
allies in our efforts.  Numerous colleagues commented on how impressed they 
were in our raising energy services to such a level of interest in such a 
short time and many acknowledged Joe Hillings' outstanding leadership of the 
ESC.  Thanks to all for making the World Services Congress a success.

Please contact me with any questions or concerns.