WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONS/WPDR/2
24 November 2000
(00-5026)
REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON DOMESTIC REGULATION
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN SERVICES
1. The Working Party on Domestic Regulation (WPDR) as of November 1999 held eight formal
meetings and two informal meetings since it was created in April 1999.  Minutes of the formalmeeting are found in WTO documents S/WPDR/M/1 to M/8.  The ninth formal meeting was
scheduled for 29 November, 2000.
2. Discussions of the Working Party focused mainly on issues related to the development of
horizontally applicable disciplines on domestic regulation.  This, however, did not rule out the
possibility of developing sectoral disciplines.  To facilitate discussions, the Secretariat prepared twobackground papers (S/C/W/96 and W/97).  Formal papers were also submitted by Australia; the
European Communities;  Hong Kong, China;  Japan;  Korea;  Poland and the United States
(S/WPDR/W/1 and W/3 to W/10), together with informal papers from the Chairpersons, Members
and the Secretariat.  At the request of Members, the Secretariat prepared an informal Checklist of
Issues for WPDR .  The Checklist was used as basis for the discussion of substantive issues at an
informal meeting preceeding the formal WPDR meeting on 2 October 2000.
3. The mandate of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation (S/L/70, 28 April 1999), included
also the development of horizontal disciplines for professional services.  To help advance this work,
the delegation of Hong, Kong, China submitted two informal papers on the subject.  Following
discussions, the WPDR decided at its second meeting on 14 July 1999 that Members would consult on
a voluntary basis with their domestic professional associations concerning the potential applicability
of the accountancy disciplines for their professions, while the Secretariat would consult with relevantinternational organizations to be identified by Members.  Agreed deadlines for the voluntary
consultations by Members were 31 December 1999 to complete domestic consultations, and 31 March
2000 for Members to notify the WTO of the results of their consultations.
4. Members reporting on their domestic consultations stated that the initial responses, although
limited in number, were generally positive.  Some professions requested additional disciplines tocover the specificities of their particular sector.  A number of Members circulated formal and informal
written reports of their consultations, including Australia;  the European Communities;  Hong Kong,
China;  Japan;  Poland;  the United States and Uruguay.  The Secretariat was asked to compile a
synthesis of Member responses to date.  Regarding international professional services organizations,
the Secretariat prepared and revised a listing of the organizations identified by Members.  As of theOctober 2000 meeting, Members had not yet determined the procedures for Secretariat consultations.
5. At the WPDR meeting of 14 April, the OECD gave an informal presentation of their work on
domestic regulation, including a paper on strengthening regulatory transparency. Current objectives of
the Working Party include further discussion of necessity, transparency and other related concepts
leading to the creation of disciplines on domestic regulation.
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