INF/MSME/W/22/Rev.1  
 
5 February 2020  
(20-0920) Page: 1/2 
  Original: English  
 
INFORMAL WORKING GRO UP ON MSMES  
DRAFT MINISTERIAL RE COMMENDATION ON PROM OTING MSMES INCLUSIO N 
IN REGULATORY DEVELO PMENT IN THE AREA OF  TRADE  
Communication from the Russian Federation and Uruguay  
Revision  
The following communication, dated 4 February 2020, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of the Russian Federation and Uruguay.  
 
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Recalling  the Declaration on the Establishment of the WTO Informal Work Programme for MSMEs 
(WT/MIN(17)/58 /Rev.1);  
 
Recognizing  that regulatory changes may be particularly burdensome for MSMEs and that WTO 
Members could minimize potential challenges by assessing the impact of new rules on MSMEs and 
by providing adequate opportunity for MSMEs to comment on and adapt to new regulatory 
requirements;  
 
Noting  the discussions by the MSME Informal Working Group of horizontal and non -discriminatory 
solutions in the area of regulatory practices, which are likely to yield benefits for the participation of 
MSMEs in intern ational trade;  
 
Noting  that principles of MSME inclusion in regulatory development have been established in a 
number of Members ' domestic jurisdictions and included in a number of regional trade agreements;  
 
Noting  that WTO agreements include rules on cons ultations with stakeholders in the process of 
regulatory development but do not explicitly refer to MSMEs;  
 
Building  on the implementation of Articles 1 and 2 of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation and 
Article  X of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade;  
 
We recommend  that WTO Members:  
 
1. Promote the consideration of the specific needs of MSMEs in domestic trade -related regulatory 
development. For this purpose, WTO Members are encouraged, consistent with their 
implementation capacities, to establish domestic regulatory procedures that include:  
a) Consultation with MSMEs in the process of developing new regulations r elated to issues 
covered by the WTO agreements;  
b) Publication of drafts of such regulations before their adoption, or of consultation 
documents that provide sufficient details about a possible new regulatory measure related 
to issues covered by the WTO ag reements, preferably at an early stage of their 
development;  INF/MSME/W/22/Rev.1  
 
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  c) An assessment of the impact of possible new regulatory measures on MSMEs and, as 
appropriate, consideration of potential steps to identify and mitigate potential economic 
impacts on MSMEs – including alternative compliance approaches where appropriate – 
while allowing the Member to fulfil its regulatory objectives;  
d) Provision of a reasonable period of time for all the interested parties to comment on 
possible new regulatory measures;  
e) The p ublication of such adopted regulations [within a reasonable period of time before the 
entry into force of such regulations – EU] no later than the date of their entry into force, 
so as to allow economic operators to adapt to the new regulatory requirements ; 
f) A retrospective review of adopted regulations to assess, among other things, their impact 
on MSMEs and any need for modification to address that impact.  
2. Publish any available documents referred to in paragraph 1 in electronic form and provide free 
public access to them . 
 
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