G/TBT/GEN/180  
 
15 June 2015  
(15-3090)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 RECENT AND ONGOING ACTIVITIES OF OECD RELATED TO THE WORK OF  
THE WTO COMMITTEE  ON TECHNICAL  BARRIERS  TO TRADE 
The following communication, dated 11 June 2015, is being circulated at the request of the 
OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). 
 
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 1  RECENT ANALYTICAL WORK IN OECD 
1.1  IRC work of the Regulatory Policy Committee 
1.1.  OECD countries have acknowledged the importance and contribution of international 
regulatory co-operation (IRC) to regulatory quality. The 2012 OECD Recommendation of the 
Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance (see Principle 12) 
http://www.oecd.org/gov/regulator y-policy/2012-recommendation.htm ) invites governments, "In 
developing regulatory measures, give consideration to all relevant international standards and 
frameworks for co-operation in the same field and, where appropriate, their likely effects on 
parties outside the jurisdiction".  
1.2.  However, the Recommendation and further work by the OECD also recognise that formalised 
governance arrangements for international regulatory co-operation, and their practical 
consequences, are not well understood. Consequently, the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) is 
collecting evidence on the practices of regula tors and their oversigh t bodies to implement 
international regulatory co-operation and is working towards the development of a toolkit of IRC mechanisms.  
1.3.  The strategic aim of this work is to support  countries' understanding of the benefits and costs 
of the 11 IRC mechanisms identified in OECD (2013), International Re gulatory Co-operation, 
Addressing Global Challenges ( http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/gove rnance/internati onal-regulatory-
co-operation_9789264200463-en ) and illustrated in the Figure below. To this effect, the RPC is 
developing work-streams and studies on mutual recognition agreements, the role of international 
organisations and the role of good regulatory practices.   G/TBT/GEN/180 
 
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  Figure: The typology of IRC mechanisms 
 
Source:   OECD (2013), International Regulatory Co-operation, Addressing Global Challenges  
(http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/governance/in ternational-regulatory-co-operation_9789264200463-
en) 
1.2  IRC work of the Committees on Trade and Agriculture 
1.4.  The Trade and Agriculture Committees identi fied international regulatory cooperation (IRC) 
as an area of interest and work in their respective Programmes of Work for 2015-16. The objective 
is to enhance the understanding of IRC as a mech anism to reduce or avoid unnecessary barriers to 
trade, foster least-trade-restrictive regulations and increase trade opportunities.  
1.5.  This work addresses the question of how countries can go about identifying collaboration 
mechanisms that will reduce trade costs while enhancing the welfare of participating countries. Given the wide spectrum of trade-facilitating IRC mechanisms, ranging from simple exchange of information to harmonisation of regulation, how can policymakers determine which mechanism 
they should aim for?  
1.6.  The goal is to develop a practical tool with which policymakers can diagnose situations of 
regulatory divergence and identify the most appropriate IRC mechanisms. This tool would take the 
form of a step-by-step assessment of various fact ors, including the types and magnitudes of trade 
costs associated with regulatory divergence and the objectives of the regulation. The assessment process should be applicable to both new regulations and existing regulations.  
1.7.  Work on this tool will draw on economic th eory and lessons from actual experiences with IRC. 
The research will comprise of: 
a. Development of a theoretical framework of IRC founded in welfare economics and game 
theory capable of determining, for different si tuations of regulatory divergence, the type 
of cooperation engagement that generate optimal outcomes, i.e., the largest net gain for 
society. The framework will take into account the tension between the effects of a regulation on domestic welfare and trade costs.  
b. Study of selected actual IRC examples where governments have engaged in mechanisms 
to minimize or manage regulatory diversity and where reduction of trade costs has been a major incentive for co-operation. The IRC cases will come from the wine, automobiles, 
organic food and energy efficient appliances sectors. In each of the cases the process  of 
co-operation will be examined, namely in terms of how and why the collaborating 
countries selected a specific IRC mechanism and how they went about implementing it. G/TBT/GEN/180 
 
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  Data permitting, these case studies will be complemented by an estimation of the actual 
impact the specific IRC mechanism has had on trade costs or trade flows. 
1.8.  This work is being carried out in collaboration with the OECD Regulatory Policy Committee 
and will be completed by the end of 2016. 
2  RELEVANT MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS 
2.1  Joint RPC/TC Workshop on Trade an d International Regulatory Co-operation 
(11 February 2014) 
2.1.  In February 2014, the OECD held a worksh op that brought together trade and regulatory 
policy communities to discuss the opportunities and challenges to achieving effective international regulatory cooperation in the context of trade agreements, based on concrete country examples. 
The discussions aimed to identify the evidence  on trade barriers related to regulatory 
heterogeneity and their impact; as well as the solutions given in different country and sector 
contexts. The workshop conclusions highlighted that over the long run, a more systematic and rigorous assessment of economic costs and benefits of alternative regulatory co-operation 
mechanisms, including from a trade perspective, is clearly desirable and should be part of 
evidence-based and transparent decision making. See http://www.oecd.org/tad/ntm/workshop-
trade-international-regulatory-cooperation-february-2014.htm .  
2.2  International Business Dialogue on Be tter Regulation to Enhance Trade (14 April 
2014) 
2.2.  In April 2014, OECD together with the Bu siness and Industry Advisory Committee organized 
an International Business Dialogue. The objective was to collect input from the business 
community on today's major regulatory impediments to trade, to identify the most important 
areas to improve international regulatory cooperation and to solicit input to the development of the work agenda of the OECD in this area. Th e meeting was attended by representatives from 
OECD member and partner countries and trade and governance officials. The consultation 
highlighted how regulatory activities as well as differences in regulations across markets can 
create significant burdens for businesses. The effectiveness of some tools of regulatory 
cooperation, such as mutual recognition agreements, was also questioned. For more information, 
including a summary report and results from an informal on-line survey asking companies to identify today's major regulatory impediments to trade, see http://www.oecd.org/tad/tra dedev/international-busi ness-dialogue-2014.htm.  
2.3  Workshop on Trade Facilitating Effects of  IRC in Food and Agriculture (21 November 
2014) 
2.3.  In November 2014, OECD held a Workshop assessing the actual trade implications of 
increased international regulatory cooperation in food and agriculture. The Workshop brought 
together private-sector representatives engaged in food-trade, including importing and exporting 
companies, and trade-related international organizations. The discussion underscored the 
importance of simplification of border inspection services from an information flow perspective and 
in terms of risk-based inspection and control. Participants also acknowledged the role of private companies and industry associations in RTA negotiations and in regulatory design, as well as in RTA dialogue mechanisms. For more information see http://www.oecd.org/t ad/events/seminar-
trade-facilitating-effects-international-regulatory-cooperation-food-agriculture.htm.  
2.4.  For more information,  please visit: http://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory ‐policy and 
http://www.oecd.org/t ad/ntm/facilitating ‐trade‐through‐regulatory ‐cooperation.htm  
2.5.  Contacts: Céline Kauffmann, Deputy Head, OECD Regulatory Policy Division: 
celine.kauffmann@oecd.org  and Barbara Fliess, Senior Trade Policy Analyst, OECD Trade and 
Agriculture Directorate: barbara.fliess@oecd.org . 
 
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