TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE: PROGRAMME AND PRESENTATIONS
Workshop on Good Regulatory Practice
(18-19 March 2008)
Over the last 13 years, delegates to the TBT Committee have stressed the importance of good regulatory practice in avoiding unnecessary trade barriers and facilitating trade. Good regulatory practice is, essentially, about the practical implementation of all the provisions contained in the TBT Agreement.
Note:
Downloadable files in Powerpoint, Word and pdf (portable document format).
> Guide to downloading files.
N.B. You should download these
documents rather than calling them into view through the browser since the formatting may change
(eg. paragraph numbering) when viewed through the browser.
At the Fourth Triennial Review of the TBT Agreement, concluded in November 2006, the TBT Committee agreed to share experiences on a number of aspects relevant to good regulatory practice with a view to deepening understanding of the contribution good regulatory practice can make to the implementation of the TBT Agreement. At the March 2007 meeting, Members decided to hold a workshop in March 2008 back-to-back with the TBT Committee's regular meeting.
> Summary Report by the Chairman Mr. Raiminder S. SIDHU (Regular Meeting of the TBT Committee on 20 March 2008)
back to top
Programme
18 March 2008
|
10h00 - 13h00 |
Session 1: General Approaches Good regulatory practice can help avoid unnecessary obstacles to trade in the preparation, adoption and application of technical regulations, standards and conformity assessment procedures. This session is intended to exemplify different general approaches taken by Members to good regulatory practice when implementing the disciplines of the TBT Agreement. Panel Moderator: Mr. Jeff Weiss (i) Brazil's new National Guide on
Good Practice (Mr. Alfredo Carlos Orphão Lobo)
(ii) Canada's new standards guide for regulators developed by the
Standards Council of Canada (Mr. David Shortall)
(iii) Chile's experience with Good Regulatory Practice (Mrs. Ana María
Vallina)
(iv) European Communities: The European Commission’s Better Regulation
Strategy (Mr. Cavan O'Connor Close)
(v) Japan's experience and perspectives on good regulatory practice
(Mr. Masafumi Sugano)
(vi) Korea's Approach to Good Regulatory Practice (Dr. Gyung Ihm Rhyu)
(vii) Malaysia's experience in the preparation for the implementation of Good
Regulatory Practice (Mr. Rajinder Raj) Discussion |
|
|
|
|
15h00 - 18h00 |
Session 2: Internal Transparency and Consultative Mechanisms Members have attributed importance to openness, transparency and accountability in the regulatory processes. This session will consider examples, based on Members' experiences, of domestic administrative mechanisms established to facilitate cooperation and coordination between competent authorities and co-ordination with other stakeholders. This could, for instance, include means by which local governments as well as non-governmental parties are included in domestic consultation activities. Panel Moderator: Peter Bischoff-Everding
(i) Colombia: Experience with domestic mechanisms
for transparency and consultation (Mr. Ramón Madriñan)
(ii) South Africa: South Africa's Technical Regulatory
Framework — A focus on transparency and consultation
(iii) United States: The importance of transparency in
regulatory reform (Mr. Jeff Weiss) Discussion |
|
19 March 2008 back to top |
|
|
10h00 - 13h00 |
Session 3: Regulatory Impact Assessment RIAs have been identified as one tool to assist regulatory decision-making. This session will address how RIAs can assist regulatory decision-making, including with respect to factors used by regulators to determine whether there is a need to regulate in a given situation or whether other instruments are better suited to fulfil the legitimate objective sought. Members may also wish to discuss the assessment of costs and benefits of proposed regulations, including the likely impact on consumers, trade and industry. Panel Moderator: Mr. Rajinder Raj
(i) Overview: Benefits and Application (Mr.
Scott Jacobs)
(ii) Canada's experience with RIAs (Ms. Karen M.
Zarrouki)
(iii) Chinese Taipei: The experience of Chinese Taipei in
promoting Regulatory Impact Assessment (Ms. Jennifer Fang-Yu
Huang)
(iv) European Communities: Impact Assessment and Reducing
Administrative Burdens in the EU (Mr. Cavan O'Connor Close)
(v) United States: How to Determine If/When to Regulate
(Mr. Neil Eisner)
(vi) OECD: Strengthening Trade-Related Policy Coherence In
Assessment Tools: The Experience Of Emerging Economies (Mrs.
Barbara Fliess) Discussion |
|
15h00 - 18h00 |
Session 4: Regulatory Cooperation Initiatives Regulatory cooperation between regulators from different Members, whether informal or formal in nature, can help achieve a better understanding of different regulatory systems. This session will consider how regulatory cooperation has promoted harmonization, mutual recognition and equivalency, thereby contributing to the avoidance of unnecessary regulatory differences and to the reduction of unnecessary barriers to trade. Panel Moderator: Mrs. Ana María Vallina (i) European Communities and the
United States: The US-EU regulatory cooperation initiative (joint presentation
by Mr. Jim Sanford and Mr. Simon Holland) (ii) Israel's Experience in Cooperation
between Regulators (Mr. Grisha Deitsch) (iii) India and Regulatory Cooperation (Mr. Chandrasekher) Discussion |