WTO框架下服务贸易补贴的立法构想

鉴于服务贸易补贴的广泛性，及其对服务贸易可能产生的扭曲作用，建立和完善服务贸易补贴的多边纪律无疑是十分重要的。世贸组织成立后，其关于服务贸易补贴议题的讨论，主要是朝成员信息交换、多边谈判、贸易政策审议三个方向发展。信息交换方面，由于服务贸易补贴定义尚不确定，成员方对信息交换的范围持不同意见，导致这种交换事实上比较失败。而以贸易政策审议为基础所收集的补贴信息，具有片面性和局限性。至于服务贸易补贴谈判方面，迄今尚未取得重要进展，成员方在一些基本问题，尤其是何谓“服务贸易补贴”及“扭曲贸易的服务贸易补贴”，尚未达成一致看法。鉴于货物贸易补贴规范存在已久，未来的服务贸易补贴纪律，可在货物贸易补贴规范的基础上建构，但考虑到两者的差异，需做一定调整。具体而言，采纳《补贴与反补贴措施协议》关于补贴的定义和基本分类，摈弃法律上的出口补贴和事实上的出口补贴之划分。受服务贸易补贴影响的成员方，可以诉诸WTO争端解决机制，相关的规则和程序可直接借鉴《补贴与反补贴措施协议》。但是，出于政策目标和技术原因，反补贴措施目前还不宜引入服务贸易。考虑到出口补贴对发展中国家发展服务贸易具有重要的促进作用，一般发展中国家可以在一定期限内维持出口补贴，而最不发达国家在授予出口补贴方面则不受任何限制。此外，发展中国家为缩小数字鸿沟、减轻对服务出口的过度依赖等而提供的补贴，可免受争端解决机制的管辖。

Suggestions for Legislative in Term of Subsidies on Trade in Services under the Framework of WTO

In light of the fact that subsidies on trade in services are extensive and may have distortive influences on service trade,it is essential to develop and perfect multilateral disciplines on them.Discussions on service subsidies in the WTO mainly cover exchange of information required by Article XV,proposals made by members in multilateral negotiation and information contained in the Trade Policy Reviews(TPRS).Since there is no standard definition of service subsidy under present law,WTO members have different views on what to be shared and the information exchange turns out to be a failure.On the other hand,the TPRS-based data on subsidies are somewhat biased and limited.As to negotiation on subsidies of trade in services,no great headway has yet been made and the members remain contentious on some key issues,especially what are "subsidies on trade in services" and "subsidies on trade distortion".It is suggested that new disciplines be established on the time-honored rules of subsidies on goods trade with some adjustments in view of the differences between service and goods.In more detail,the definition and categorization of subsidy in Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures(SCM agreement) can be adopted while the distinctions between legal export subsidies and actual export subsidies are eliminated.The affected WTO members may have recourse to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism,the rules and procedures for which can be directly borrowed from SCM agreement.But from both a policy and technical viewpoint,the consideration of countervailing mechanism might appear undesirable.As it is essential for developing countries to grant export subsidies to promote service trade,the prohibition of export subsidies shall not be applied to developing countries for a certain period and never to the least developed countries.In addition,it is proposed that subsidies to mitigate the digital divide and reduce dependency on service export be free from the jurisdiction of the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism(DSM).