./.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/WPDR/M/2
2 September 1999
(99-3646)
Working Party on Domestic Regulation
REPORT ON THE MEETING HELD ON 14 JULY 1999
Note by the Secretariat
1. The Working Party on Domestic Regulation held a meeting on 14 July 1999.  The agenda for
the meeting is contained in Airgram WTO/AIR/1135.  The main item on the agenda was further
discussion of the four concepts addressed in the Secretariat paper S/C/W/96, i.e. necessity,transparency, equivalence and international standards, together with continued discussion, and
adoption, of the proposal by Hong Kong, China regarding professional services.
(a) Discussion of necessity, transparency, equivalence and international standards
2. Discussion was held in informal mode, and included comments on necessity and transparency
only.  At the conclusion of the discussion, the Chairperson asked the Secretariat to summarize
Members' comments for circulation.  The delegation of Australia submitted a paper concerning GATS
Article VI (to be circulated as S/WPDR/W1), and in presenting it gave a summary of the contents.
This was followed by preliminary comments by Members.
Necessity
3. Delegations commented that the concept of necessity was directly linked to that of legitimate
objectives.  Although it was desirable to create a list of legitimate objectives, most Members agreed it
would not be practical to attempt to create an exhaustive one.  Some were of the view that legitimate
objectives might vary between Members.
4. One delegation recommended that the Working Party examine necessity from the perspective
of the five areas addressed in the accountancy disciplines, i.e. qualification requirements, qualification
procedures, licensing requirements, licensing procedures, and technical standards.  Additional
examination of the TBT and SPS Agreements was also recommended;  in this regard, several of the
interventions included a request for further Secretariat input on necessity-related issues.
Transparency
5. The Chairperson noted that Members had previously suggested creating a listing of
transparency objectives.  One delegation requested that the Secretariat compile a summary of
discussions on transparency by the previous Working Party on Professional Services.
6. The recommendation was made to also examine transparency issues from the perspective of
the five areas addressed in the accountancy disciplines.  One delegation observed that the TBT and
SPS Agreements contained provisions regarding prior consultations on proposed measures;  it wassuggested that the Working Party should explore the ap plication of similar provisions to at least some
services sectors.S/WPDR/M/2
Page 2
(b) Discussion of Hong Kong, China informal papers
7. Discussion of the two informal papers previous ly introduced by Hong Kong, China, entitled
Horizontal Work in Professional Services  and Clarification of Issues concerning the Proposal by
Hong Kong, China to Pursue Disciplines in Professional Services , respectively (Job Nos. 2784 and
3547, respectively) was also held in informal mode.
8. Upon returning to formal mode, the Chairperson summarized by stating that the consultations
were a voluntary process.  Members had agreed to consult as wide a cross-section of competent
authorities in the professions as possible, as identified in I.A of MTN.GNS/W/120.  It was noted that
individual Members were, naturally, free to consult whichever professions they wished, but the value
of the exercise would be enhanced if the scope of consultations covered all professions.  The exercisewould occur in two stages, with the Secretariat consultations with international professional
associations taking place on a slower track.  The Secretariat was waiting for information from
delegations concerning relevant international organizations.
9. Agreed deadlines for the voluntary consultations were:  31 December 1999 to complete
domestic consultations;  and 31 March 2000 for Members to notify the WTO.
(c) Dates of Next Meeting10. The Chairperson said that the next meeting would be held in September, near the next
Services Council meeting.
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