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S/WPDR/M/64  
 
17 August 2015  
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Working Party on Domestic Regulation    
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 3 JUNE 2015 
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
The Working Party on Domestic Regulation (WPDR) held a meeting on 3 June 2015, chaired by 
Mr. Eog-Weon LEE from the Republic of Korea. The agenda for the meeting was contained in 
document WTO/AIR/WPDR/2 dated 22 May 2015. An annotated agenda for the meeting was circulated in JOB/SERV/207 dated 22 May 2015.  
 
1  ITEM A – PRESENTATION BY TH E INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR 
STANDARDIZATION 
1.1.  The Chairman recalled that the Working Pa rty had invited the ISO Secretariat in March 2014 
to make a presentation on the ISO's work related to services standards. This invitation followed 
the Working Party's earlier discussion of the Secretariat background Note on Technical Standards in Services (S/WPDR/W/49). The ISO had previously presented its work to the Working Party in 
June 2005.  
1.2.  He welcomed Mr. Kevin McKinley, the Deputy-Secretary General of the International 
Organization for Standardization (ISO) to make a presentation. 
1.3.  The representative from the ISO explained that the organization was non-governmental, yet 
was made up of 165 national institutes, one from each country. Many government departments were formal members of ISO, and the geographic representation closely mirrored the membership 
in the WTO. The ISO had over 3,400 technical bodies (Committees, Working Groups), and 4,500 
projects under development with a catalogue of more than 20,000 international standards.  
1.4.  ISO standards covered a large range of areas,  and were used as a basis for trade, certainty, 
security, safety, and efficiency for many applic ations. Areas for standards covered specification 
and measurement, with a large variety of different standards ranging from biodegradation to 
greenhouse gas measurement. Other standards dealt with the practices of inspection and certification, so as to assure confidence, or energy management and performance for 
organizations. Finally certain standards addressed social responsibility.  
1.5.  Many governments made use of ISO and IEC standards to support their public policy 
objectives. The standards were looked at as a neutral and credible set of principles. ISO standards were cost-efficient because they were developed by stakeholders as a transparent international 
solution, based on market demand. The details of the regulatory objective or a central requirement 
could be accomplished through the technical details  of an international standard, and regulators 
could reference standards where they saw fit. International standards also created a common 
taxonomy on issues. 
1.6.  Many parallels existed between good domestic regulation and the establishment of good 
standards. The standardization practices that ISO and international standard-setting organizations 
adhere to were very much aligned with the deci sion of the TBT Committee on the expectations of 
international standards. 
                                               
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to thei r rights and obligations under the WTO. S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  1.7.  More than 700 standards were in some way related to services. Some examples concerned 
activities relating to drinking water and wastewat er services – both with regard to the assessment 
and improvement of the service to users as well as for the management of wastewater utilities. The former standard had been adopted by water utili ties in various jurisdictions, such as Argentina 
where it was successfully implemented in 13 cities, and also in Benin. In Israel a water company 
was developing a national list of performance indicators, together with the regulator and a few other water companies, and was using the ISO stan dard to assess the efficiency of its customer 
service. 
1.8.  Another example related to standards for scuba diving. These standards specified 
requirements for the training of divers, diving leaders and instructors, as well as requirements for diving service providers. They specified requir ements that the service was expected to meet 
(e.g. information to be provided, risk assessmen t, emergency equipment and procedures, diving 
equipment, documentation, training sites, duties of staff, instructor’s or diver’s competencies, 
etc.). As for other services standards, the ISO diving standards had been adopted by several 
governments. For example, Egypt's adoption of the standards meant that over 600 diving centres 
had been audited over their compliance on a yearly basis. After just two years, Egypt reported a 24 per cent decrease in the number of diving acci dents. In Greece, where previously only about 
160 km of shoreline were open to divers, the compulsory certification of training and diving 
centres in line with the ISO standards prompted the government to allow diving almost everywhere in the country, bringing huge benefits to the tourism industry. 
1.9.  Another recent service standard  offered practical guidance to suppliers on consumer product 
recalls and other corrective actions such as refunds, retrofit, repair, replacement, disposal and 
public notification. The standard provided information and other tools that suppliers of all sizes could use in developing a documented and validated product recall programme to help them 
implement timely and cost-effective recalls, minimize legal and reputation risks, and reduce health 
or safety risks to consumers. The Guidelines for Product Recalls issued by the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment  strongly recommend that the ISO standard be 
used in conjunction with other Ministry guidelines; also, a large supermarket chain in Australia 
required its suppliers to follow the standard. Fi nally, a standard on Network Services Billing 
provided guidance to product and service (e.g. mo bile phone, energy and telecoms) providers on 
how to produce bills that give clear and accurate information to consumers. It covered the 
processes from pre-billing to post-billing, such as  ensuring that issues arising after the bill had 
been sent were resolved to the customer’s satisfaction. The standard made it easier for consumers to understand what they had been billed for and how much various services were costing them. 
The standard also asked that bills give clear information to consumers about how to make a 
complaint, how to switch suppliers and what to do in the event of a problem or emergency. 
1.10.  In response to a question on standards in  the field of professional services and financial 
information, the representative of ISO replied that the standard on personal financial planning 
services described the competency of those profe ssionals, and was being implemented in different 
countries. The standard served as a basis for setting performance expectations for that profession in a particular country's context.  
1.11.  Replying to a question on the capacity of participation of developing countries, he indicated 
that the ISO had 165 members which could nomina te experts to participate in the work and 
thereby impact the drafting of each standard. Mo st of ISO's members were developing countries 
and it was a challenge to make special funds available for assistance for developing country 
experts to participate in the work in selective ISO committees, and for training to make economies aware of the relevance of the work programme of ISO. Not every country could participate in 
every ISO Committee, as the work programme was vast and priorities needed to be set. 
Developing countries chose typically to identify ISO work that aligned with their own national strategic priorities. ISO also collaborated with de velopment agencies that provide funds to the ISO 
system for particular countries and for particular regions to get more involved in the work of 
priority to them.  
1.12.  In response to a question on how ISO determined which standards were to be developed, 
he replied that proposals were made in Committees and then voted on so as to prioritize them. 
This ensured a wide-ranging interest to engage in the development of the standards.  S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  1.13.  Replying to a question on the relationship between ISO standards and standards of 
accreditation organizations such as the Joint Commission International in the medical field, or the Washington Accord for engineering services, he stated that the ISO focused on areas where no 
coherent global regime existed, and gaps needed  to be filled. In some areas, such as human 
resources management, standard-setting organization s were partnering with ISO. The organization 
would not develop a standard that duplicated existing work, as there would be no support and market for such activity.  
1.14.  The Chairman thanked Mr. McKinley for having taken the time to present an update on the 
ISO's work on services standards. He stated that the slide presentation would be made available to delegations by the Secretariat. He suggested that the Working Party take note of the presentation, 
and the subsequent discussions. 
1.15.  It was so agreed. 
2  ITEM B - DEDICATED DISCUSSION ON DOMESTIC REGULATION DISCIPLINES IN 
REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS 
2.1.  The Chairman informed Members that at the last meeting, one delegation had contributed to 
the dedicated discussion on domestic regulation di sciplines in regional trade agreements. He had 
not received any further indication that any delegation was going to share any new examples of 
domestic regulation disciplines in its own regional trade agreements.  
2.2.  As no delegation requested the floor, the Chairman suggested including this agenda item for 
future meetings only on the basis of delegations' indications to the Secretariat that they would wish to make an intervention. Such an indication should be made before the Airgram for the 
meeting is circulated.  
2.3.  It was so agreed.  
3  ITEM C - DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATORY  DISCIPLINES UNDER GATS ARTICLE VI:4 
3.1.  The Chairman stated that he had been following the discussions in the Special Session 
Council for Trade in Services on the development of a services element of the post-Bali work programme carefully. As set out in the Chairman's summary of the informal discussion on 
20 April 2015 (JOB/SERV/205), most delegations that spoke on the issue of domestic regulation 
foresaw a domestic regulation component as part  of the services element of a post-Bali work 
programme –with different levels of ambition, and different specific priorities. His own conversations with more than 20 delegations had pointed in the same direction. However, there 
were also some delegations that were not convinced that there should be any domestic regulation 
element as part of the post-Bali work programme.  
3.2.  He further recalled that, at the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services held 
on 7 May, one delegation suggested starting a discussion in the Working Party on Domestic 
Regulation on what elements of domestic regu lation Members consider would be ‘doable’ and 
‘realistic’ and that several delegation had supported this idea. As a follow-up on this proposal, a 
Room Document by a Group of delegations (RD/SERV/124)
2 suggests a way forward in this 
respect.  
3.3.  The representative of Australia explai ned that the document was a follow-up on the 
suggestion made at the last Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services that Members 
should start a discussion of what elements they consider were 'doable' and 'realistic' for domestic 
regulation, should domestic regulation form part of the post-Bali work programme. The Working Party on Domestic Regulation was the forum with the mandate to negotiate domestic regulation 
disciplines in the context of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations. Any developments in the 
WPDR would be relayed to the Special Session of the Council for Trade in Services as required. The discussions on the post-Bali work programme to date showed that an overwhelming majority of 
                                               
2 Unofficial Room Document - Co mmunication from Australia; Canada ; Colombia; Republic of Korea; 
Mexico and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan , Phenghu, Kinmen and Matsu - Proposal to discuss 
elements of Domestic Regulation that could form part of the services po st-Bali work programme. S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  Members considered an outcome on Domestic Regu lation would be an element of the post-Bali 
work programme. She recalled that domestic regulation was an essential complement to commitments on market access, ensuring that the procedures and requirements for licensing and qualifications were not so onerous that market access cannot meaningfully be achieved. This point 
was also underlined in the LDC collective reques t under the services waiver and the recent ACP 
submission.  
3.4.  Australia was open to considering whether development-related provisions should be included 
in the disciplines, in the form of phase-in periods rather than complete opt-outs; to lead this 
discussion substantively, one would need to first have a clearer picture on the scope and coverage of the disciplines. She further recalled that LDCs in  their collective request and the ACP in its paper 
had highlighted the impact of regulatory barriers to  LDCs' services trade. An outcome on domestic 
regulation would be an essential component of the services work programme to enable the 
membership to tackle the kinds of issues identified by LDCs and the ACP Group.  
3.5.  Australia would like to see Members start a discussion about what elements of domestic 
regulation they considered to be 'doable' and 'realistic' in the context of a post-Bali work 
programme. Such a discussion was an opportunity for Members to exchange views on areas that were important for different Members, and outcomes that would be achievable in the work 
programme. The discussion could be helpful to an ev entual negotiation, should domestic regulation 
be included in the work programme.  
3.6.  Her delegation’s views expressed in this contest were without prejudice to an eventual 
position on domestic regulation disciplines per se, or the in-built agenda of Article VI:4 of the 
GATS. They were not made with regard to any specific text on domestic regulation that may 
emerge in any subsequent negotiation. Australia did not consider that an outcome in the DDA on Domestic Regulation would automatically exhaust the built-in mandate on domestic regulation 
under the GATS; there might be opportunities in the future to look at building on a DDA outcome, 
for example, on further horizontal disciplines or by going into more detail in sectoral disciplines if appropriate. Elements for the work programme could be drawn from existing texts that had been 
developed in the WTO in this body, as well as  the discussion in the WPDR on Members' FTA 
experiences.  
3.7.  Australia was open to domestic regulation  disciplines applying to all sectors, whether 
committed or not, but recognized that a more 'doable' and 'realistic' outcome might be to apply 
domestic regulation disciplines only to those areas where market access commitments had been 
undertaken; nevertheless some elements of existing and new disciplines could be applied to all sectors, whether committed or not. For example, GA TS Article VI:1 could be expanded to ensure 
that measures of general application in all sectors were administered in a reasonable, objective 
and impartial manner. Similarly, Article VI:6 could be expanded to apply to all professional services sectors, so that adequate procedures wo uld be available to verify the qualifications of 
professionals regardless of whether market access commitments had been made . 
3.8.  Also doable was the establishment of some general principles for licensing and qualification 
requirements and procedures. These would provide inter alia that measures should be based on 
objective and transparent criteria related to the objectives of the measure and the services being 
regulated, that the measures did not themselves unduly impede the fulfilment of the objectives; 
and that, if possible the number of competent auth orities that needed to be approached for each 
application should be limited. Where authorization for the supply of a service was required, it 
should be possible to agree disciplines covering: th e timing of applications, including the period of 
time available to make an application; reasonable disciplines on any examination requirements; the acceptability of electronic applications; the allowance of authenticated copies for any 
application process; the usual timeframe for processing an application; the provision of information 
concerning the request; the provision of informat ion on the deficiencies of an application and 
allowing time to get an application into conformity with any deficiencies; and informing the applicant regarding the outcome of the application within a reasonable time; and, where 
applicable, the provision of the reasons for rejection of an application. Some disciplining of fees 
might also be appropriate, so that these were transparent and did not themselves restrict the supply of the relevant services. It was also important that once an application to provide a service 
was granted, it should enter into effect without undue delay.  S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  3.9.  With regard to transparency, current requ irements could be expanded to require, to the 
extent practicable, publication of general measures of application in advance of adoption; allow an opportunity for interested persons to comment; and, allow a reasonable time between publication and the coming into effect of those measures. The publication of measures should contain certain 
information on the following: fees; procedures for verification of the competence of professionals; 
contact information of relevant competent authorities; procedures for appeal or review of decisions concerning applications; procedures for monitoring or enforcing compliance with the terms and 
conditions of licenses; opportunities for public involvement, such as through hearings or 
comments; and timeframes for processing an application. 
 
3.10.  The representative of the Republic of Korea noted that her delegation had co-sponsored the 
proposal to discuss elements of domestic regulation that could form part of the services post-Bali work programme. Given the July deadline and the co mplexity of the DR negotiations, preparations 
should begin as early as possible. Her delegation would like to see the following elements to be 
deliverables for the post-Bali work programme. First, the scope of the disciplines should be the 
same as in GATS, so that licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements and procedures and technical standards were all included in the text. General principles on domestic 
regulation should be established, where the right to regulate would be confirmed. Korea continued 
to be a demandeur for the necessity test, but given the current circumstances of recalibration and the red lines that some countries had voiced, Korea was willing to be constructive and flexible, taking into account the level of ambition achieved in other areas. Secondly, with regard to process, 
work should start with the elements that had more traction and on which it was easier to build 
consensus. Specific elements could include guaranteeing the objective and transparent nature of domestic regulation measures when they are developed, adequate and simple procedures such as 
reasonable timeframes in processing applications, and providing more predictability to the 
application process both in case of rejection or approval, as well as ensuing that fees did not restrict the supply of services.  
3.11.  Transparency was an area where Members co uld draw on their experiences in FTAs and the 
demands of the industry to agree on something meaningful. More specifically, there should be a minimum requirement for Parties to publish information on the requirements and procedures for authorization, contact information of relevant authorities, procedures for appeal or review, 
opportunities for public involvement, and timeframes for processing an application. 
3.12.  Korea was fully aware of the importance of the development aspect, and was ready to 
provide the necessary flexibility. She emphasized th at the disciplines were to be established in 
accordance with the GATS Article VI:4 mandate, without the implication that they would exhaust 
the mandate because of further horizontal improvem ents and the possibility of negotiating sectoral 
disciplines in the future. Her delegation was flexible so as to how to capture this kind of spirit, be it 
in pre-ambular language or otherwise. 
3.13.  The representative of Canada stated that, as a co-sponsor of the proposal, he was ready to 
indicate, without prejudice, the elements which his delegations considered doable, in the context 
of the post-Bali work programme on domestic regulation. At the outset with respect to general 
principles and scope, to complement and reinforce an outcome on market access, he considered 
that it would be particularly relevant and feasible to settle on a set of domestic regulation disciplines which generally covered the processes service suppliers face in seeking permission to 
operate in the opened markets in terms of licensi ng requirements and their procedures as well as 
qualification requirements and their procedures, in cases were commitments are taken. Similarly, to provide clarity on such a scope it should be possible to usefully define the elements at the 
centre of the disciplines, that is licensing requirements; licensing procedures; qualification 
requirements; qualification procedures; and authorization. His delegation also expected that Members would be in a position to agree that th eir authorization procedures and requirements are 
based on transparent and objective criteria; and that  they are as simple as possible. With regard 
to transparency, he noted that to operate effectively service suppliers needed to have access to, 
and understand, the applicable regulatory regime . In this regard, Canada believed that useful 
transparency rules could be attained that provide clarity on the key items related to the 
authorization process that are to be published; set out that publication occurs in advance; that 
opportunities to comment on draft regulation are available; and encourage transparency on 
standards. S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  3.14.  As concerned licensing and qualification procedures and requirements, he considered it 
doable to reach agreement on key disciplines related to the submission of applications by service suppliers that are seeking an authorization to supply a service, including provisions with respect to procedures and requirements on the submission of applications. Such key disciplines would allow 
the submission of applications at any time; acceptance of electronic submissions as well as 
authenticated copies; and scheduling of required ex aminations at reasonably frequent intervals. 
With regard to processing the submission of applications, service suppliers needed to be provided 
with clear and timely decisions. Setting out specifics on how applications should be processed 
would contribute towards this end, and could be re alistically addressed with provisions to prevent 
the levying of unreasonable fees; establishment of  normal timeframes for processing; processing 
applications without undue delay; ensuring the impartiality of authorities; information of applicants 
of decisions in writing; provision of reasons for rejection; and allowing applicants to correct 
deficient submissions. 
3.15.  Bearing in mind the need to deliver on the Doha development mandate, development 
related needs of certain Members would have to be addressed, including provisions to recognize 
difficulties related to institutional capacity; transition periods; and flexibility concerning compliance by LDCs. 
3.16.  The representative of Colombia welcomed the opportunity to engage in a substantive 
discussion on viable, realistic and feasible domestic regulation elements at the present meeting. In 
her delegation's view, the elements that best fulfil these criteria were those relating to 
transparency, and to licensing requirements and procedures. Cross-cutting and uniform provisions 
for the granting of licenses that would also aim to increase transparency would help achieve the 
objective of facilitating trade in services. Agreement could be reached on provisions relating, among other things, to requirements for the submission of applications, the setting of fees, 
timeframes for the processing of applications, and the possibility of updating applicants on the 
status of their applications. Delivering on these elements in a post-Bali work programme would not 
mean a conclusion of the mandate under Articl e VI:4 of the GATS. Rather, it would be a 
contribution to the work foreseen under that Arti cle, without prejudice to that work being taken 
further in the future. Input and proposals from ot her Members were needed to take a collaborative 
and transparent approach in designing the post Bali work programme.  
3.17.  The representative of Mexico considered that the development of disciplines on domestic 
regulation should form part of the post-Bali work programme on services. This would enable the 
membership not only to fulfil the mandate contained in Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration but also to deliver on the mandate provided under Article VI:4 of the GATS. As a co-
sponsor of the proposal introduced by Australia, Mexico held that the following elements were 
doable and realistic in developing domestic regulation disciplines: firstly, specific provisions on licensing and qualification requirements and proc edures, including technical standards that would 
encompass provisions on the independence of the competent authorities; on verification of the 
competence of service suppliers, including professional service suppliers; and on the need to ensure that requirements do not in themselves constitute an obstacle to the supply of services. It might also be useful to establish a set of criteria and guidelines on how the competent authorities 
should proceed when granting the appropriate auth orizations. Secondly, elements on transparency 
of measures of general application relating to licensing, qualifications and the preparation of technical standards were important, including detailed information on such measures. In this 
regard, it should be feasible to include elements on the publication, through printed or electronic 
media, of all measures that are relevant to the supply of services. Criteria could also be established on the renewal of licenses, applicable fees and time limits for processing applications, 
and on current systems for appealing decisions. Th irdly, disciplines on licensing and qualification 
fees, and provisions on universal service obligations  could be developed. And finally, all the above 
elements should take into account the Members' right to regulate, which could be part of the preamble to the disciplines. 
3.18.  The representative of Hong Kong, China stated that as a service-oriented economy and one 
of the most liberal and transparent trade regimes in the world, Hong Kong, China attached great 
importance to a fruitful and meaningful outcome in the development of concrete DR disciplines 
that address the interface of services trade liberalization and domestic policy autonomy. Not only 
was there a clear mandate from Ministers to develop such disciplines under GATS Article VI:4 no later than by the end of the Doha Round, but there was intrinsic value in the disciplines for S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  ensuring that hard-earned market access ou tcomes would not be undermined by opaque, 
unpredictable and burdensome "behind the border" re strictions in the form of domestic regulation. 
3.19.  The criteria spelled out in paragraphs (a) to (c) of the built-in mandate under GATS 
Article VI:4 set the floor of the fundamental characteristics that the DR disciplines should exhibit. 
On top of that, Members were free to introduce addi tional features that sought to guarantee that 
regulatory measures would not discriminate, either de jure or de facto, against foreign services or foreign service suppliers. Her delegation recogn ized the divergence among Members over their 
ambition and constraints in the DR negotiation. Full understanding and maximum flexibility among 
Members were crucial for finding a common landing zone. Exchanging views on doable and realistic elements was the first step to set the parameters of the negotiation which reflect the starting positions of all delegations.  
3.20.  Numerous components were essential for the DR disciplines to be developed in the context 
of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations. In terms of scope, the disciplines should at least apply to measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures, qualification requirements 
and procedures, and technical standards in sectors where a Member has undertaken specific 
commitments. Hong Kong, China was open to further discussion on whether certain provisions could be expanded to cover measures of general application in all sectors. Her delegation strongly 
supported establishment of some overarching principles that govern the development and 
administration of measures, e.g. that measures  should be based on objective and transparent 
criteria, and related to the services being regulated and the policy objectives which the regulatory measures seek to achieve; that procedures used by the competent authorities should be impartial 
with respect to all applicants, and that decisions by competent authorities should be reached in an 
independent manner; that procedures should no t in themselves unduly impede fulfilment of 
requirements. Some kind of necessity test would be a key component for drawing the line between 
legitimate regulatory interference and protectionism. Where authorization was required for the 
supply of a service, Members should try to avoid re quiring an applicant to approach more than one 
competent authority for each application, and adequate procedures should be in place for the 
verification of the competence of the services suppliers.  
3.21.  To ensure the reasonableness of the admi nistration of authorization, her delegation 
considered it useful and doable to agree on some disciplines on the timing related to the submission of applications; the scheduling of examination with reasonable frequency, where 
examinations are required; the acceptability of electronic applications and authenticated copies of 
documents; the setting of fees related to author ization; the normal timeframe for processing an 
application; the communication with the applicant wi th regard to the status of the application; the 
provision of reasons for rejection of an application, where applicable; and the entry into effect of a 
license or authorization to the extent practicable. She also saw room for Members to agree on disciplines that enhance the transparency of measures through engagement of the affected parties 
in the development of measures, and the prompt publication of relevant information. A few 
examples were the publication of fees requir ed, the contact information of the competent 
authorities, and procedures for monitoring compliance with the terms and conditions of the licenses, etc. 
3.22.  Recognizing that development-related provisions were a priority for some Members, her 
delegation stood ready to negotiate such provisions so as to provide flexibility commensurate with different stages of development of Members. Her delegation would keep an open mind to consider 
new proposals that would contribute to the reduction or removal of regulatory barriers. 
3.23.  The representative of European Union welcomed the initiative to share information on 
elements as a means of streamlining future negotiations on domestic regulation as part of the 
post-Bali work programme on services. For the European Union, domestic regulation was a very 
important element of that work programme. Member s should be ambitious on domestic regulation, 
but at the same time realistic. A focused approach would probably mean that the mandate of Article VI:4 GATS would not be fully exhausted. The outcome of negotiations on a focused set of 
DR provisions, however, could be a first step in the process towards full completion of that 
mandate.  
3.24.  For the EU, the key focus of doable and re alistic DR elements should be on procedural 
aspects of licencing and qualification. The membership should aim at developing horizontal 
disciplines targeting simplified and transparent proc edures for licencing and qualification. Elements S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  that could be included in such disciplines were for example: timeframe provisions for filing and 
processing of applications, entry into force of lic ences/authorisations; transparency of procedures; 
simplified procedures by encouraging use of ap plications in electronic format, authenticated 
copies; reducing the number of authorities involved in an application procedure; rules on fees; 
provisions on independence of competent authorities and impartial decision making. Relevant 
definitions should be included as needed. Negotiations should build on the work done in the past in the Working Party as laid down for example in Chair texts. At the same time, however, it was 
important to remain open for new ideas and new textual proposals. 
3.25.  The representative of Turkey concurred with other delegations that DR should be a 
component of the post-Bali work programme. Withou t solid rules on requirements and procedures 
for licensing and qualification, it would be impossible to benefit from negotiated market access. 
There was no time to waste and Members should st art text based discussions as soon as possible. 
A lot of effort had been put into both the 2009  Chairman's text and the 2011 Chairman's progress 
report that contained alternative language for a number of provisions and which had been 
developed by Members during the "sweeping" exer cise. Both texts contained doable elements, and 
each and every aspect of them deserved to be pa rt of the disciplines. The lack of information on 
the relevant regulatory regime, excessive requirements, complex procedures and high fees not 
only limited the ability of foreign service suppliers, but of domestic suppliers as well. As the 
elements identified in the two texts were almost identical, negotiations could start on the basis of either text and the level of ambition could be ne gotiated for each paragraph individually. Turkey 
was ready to expand the scope of the disciplines beyond existing commitments where this was 
meaningful and possible, and was also ready to consider favorably the application of Art. VI:1 to 
all service sectors. 
3.26.  Turkey had approached a number of provisions with caution in the past, since the capacity 
for implementing those conditions differed across its services sectors. With built-in flexibilities in 
the text Turkey was ready to take active part in the work of the Working Party to achieve an ambitious outcome to the benefit of the membership. She drew the attention of the Working Party 
to an alternative proposal to paragraph 42 of the Chairman's 2009 text which had not enjoyed 
sufficient time to be discussed at the Committee.
3 
3.27.  The representative of Chinese Taipei stated  that DR and Market Access should go hand in 
hand and move in parallel under a post-Bali work programme and achieve a satisfactory outcome. 
Transparency and procedures would be a good starting point for further discussion. 
3.28.  The representative of New Zealand thanked the proponents for initiating the conversation in 
the WPDR. New Zealand saw the inclusion of DR disciplines as an essential part of the services 
element of the post-Bali work programme. Robust domestic regulation disciplines were important 
to ensure service exporters do not face burdenso me and opaque regulations and processes in the 
marketplace, which could undermine the gains made through market access negotiations. Due to 
the complexity of the subject, work needed to st art as soon as possible. Without prejudice to its 
final position, New Zealand attached importance to the criteria in GATS Art VI:4. Disciplines should contain a general obligation to administer measures of general application in a reasonable, objective and impartial manner. This was an important principle, and a cornerstone of good 
regulatory practice. If such standards were not met, it became very difficult for service suppliers to 
navigate local regulatory systems. Furthermore, New Zealand considered that the necessity test 
would be an important part of the domestic regu lation discussions. The right to regulate should 
being specifically mentioned in the disciplines; reaffirming this right would make it very clear that 
DR disciplines do not prevent Parties from appropriately regulating services sectors to meet a range of domestic policy objectives.  
3.29.  New Zealand also placed importance on including enhanced disciplines that were targeted to 
licensing requirements and procedures, qualificat ion requirements and procedures, and technical 
standards. These types of measures were often crucial in determining whether a service supplier can enter a market and actually take advantag e of the market access available, and deserve 
special attention in this regard. It was useful to ensure that there were disciplines to address fees, 
authentication of documents, and procedures fo r verifying competence, for example. Competent 
                                               
3 Proposal on Paragraph 42 of the Chairperson's Dr aft Text - Communication from Argentina, Brazil, 
China, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, So uth Africa, Turkey and the Group of Small, Vulnerable 
Economies (SVEs); RD/SERV/54, 31 March 2011. S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  authorities should be required to meet certain basic procedural fundamentals during the 
application process, including with regards to informing applicants of the status and outcome of their application, dealing with incomplete applications, and provide general guidance on timeframes. In addition, it was important to have guidance on procedures after the application 
process, including providing reasons for rejection and the possibility of resubmission. With regard 
to technical standards, New Zealand sought disciplines to ensure that such standards were objective, transparent and made publicly available within reasonable timeframes, as well as to 
encourage the transparency of standards develo ped by non-governmental bodies. New Zealand 
also supported enhanced transparency and publication disciplines.  
3.30.  Finally, consistent with the objectives of the Doha Development Round, New Zealand was 
open to discussions regarding appropriate flex ibilities for developing and LDC Members, but 
needed to have clarity on the content of the disciplines first.  
3.31.  The representative of China expressed th e view that the DR negotiations should move 
forward in the context of overall DDA negotiations and shall not be treated in an isolated way. He 
understood the concerns of some Members on the sequencing issue. Before the resumption of 
text-based negotiations, some preparatory work was required to be undertaken by the Working 
Party. Welcoming the initiative by the co-sponsor s of the proposal to exchange views on doable 
and realistic elements, he considered that transparency, licensing requirements, licensing 
procedures, qualification requirements, qualification procedures, technical standards, and development needed to be covered. On some elements, a greater degree of convergence had 
already emerged, like transparency and licensing procedures, and there were some proposals that 
remained controversial, like the issue of the necessity test. On some areas more inputs and 
discussions were needed, such as on the development chapter. In general, bearing the development mandate in mind, through this exercise, Members would be better informed of each 
other’s interests and positions and manage expe ctations according to the development of the 
overall Doha negotiations. China remained open and flexible to any suggestion that aimed at a realistic and doable result on domestic regulation. 
3.32.  The representative of Switzerland underlin ed that a DR outcome in the post-Bali work 
programme was indispensable and would create some balance in the services pillar. The result on 
domestic regulation in the post-Bali work progra mme was be one of the elements that domestic 
stakeholders would look at very closely when asse ssing the results of this Round. For Switzerland, 
a doable outcome in the current context should address all five elements of the Article XVI:4 
mandate. Disciplines would be a win-win for all Members and stakeholders, be they developing or developed, domestic and international. Switzerland was ready to listen to those who had other 
views on what they think should be the DR el ements of the Work Programme, and to understand 
their position. His delegation's preferred approach wo uld be to work on the basis of Annex C, but if 
Members had particular needs to reduce the scope, Switzerland could be flexible. It was essential 
to clarify among Members whether the aim of the exercise was the full implementation of the 
negotiating mandate, or rather a partial one. His delegation was not in favour of a Reference Paper 
approach, which would considerably lower the ambition, and would not be applicable to all Members. Negotiations needed to start as soon as possible, and the Working Party should meet 
more frequently in order to facilitate this. The discussions should take into account what had been 
achieved in the past, and remain open to new proposals. Switzerland stood ready to engage constructively. The goal was to conclude a text by Nairobi.  
3.33.  The representative of Norway expressed her delegation's support for the inclusion of 
domestic regulation in the work programme. Negotiations were based on a mandate from the 
GATS, and domestic regulation was an area where Members should be able to deliver concrete and 
useful results. At the outset, it would be most doable to work on those issues where agreement 
could most easily be achieved. The Chair’s text of March 2009 was a reflection of this and Members should work to finalize at least the follo wing areas: transparency, licensing requirements 
and procedures, qualification requirements and pr ocedures, and technical standards. The issue of 
necessity tests would probably not lend itself to conclusion in the short time-frame up to Nairobi. 
The development dimension was an important element of the work. 
3.34.  The representative of Japan welcomed the proposal to exchange views on DR elements to 
be included in the post-Bali work programme. Japan's preliminary views included transparency, 
where the disciplines should provide for an appropriate mechanism to respond to inquiries, publication of and prior comment on draft measures/regulations, etc. The disciplines should also S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  contain elements on "procedures", including im partiality of procedures, independence of 
regulators, issues related to submission of applications, treatment of incomplete applications, acceptance of authenticated copies, timeframe for processing of applications, etc. The third element could be the necessity test. And lastly, a development element could be taken into 
consideration. For some of these elements, some flexibility language was needed. 
3.35.  The representative of Singapore expressed the view that Members should zoom in on areas 
of convergence, and a focus on procedures an d transparency would represent a doable and 
realistic outcome. For example, his delegation was interested to ensure that licensing and 
qualification procedures were as simple as possible and did not in themselves constitute a restriction on the supply of services. Licensing f ees should be reasonably transparent and should 
not in themselves restrict the supply of services. At the same time, he recognised that a fine 
balance needed to be struck between services libe ralization and a Member's right to regulate and 
introduce new regulations in order to meet national policy objectives. The disciplines should only apply to sectors in which a Member has undertaken specific commitments and to the extent where 
these specific commitments apply. And given the importance of delivering on the development 
mandate, his delegation was interested to hear what developing Members DR priorities were.  
3.36.  The representative of Brazil acknowledged the effort the co-sponsors of the communication 
under consideration had put into drafting it. Taken in isolation, the proposal would appear to be 
reasonable, but context needed to be taken into consideration in assessing the appropriateness of the proposal. The level of ambition on domestic regulation, if it eventually became part of the post-Bali work programme, would not be decided a ccording to interests and trade-offs within the 
services pillar. Rather, the services pillar as a whole would be recalibrated along with NAMA in 
accordance with the ambition that was finally set in Agriculture. In addition, in the specific context of the post-Bali work programme in which a substantial reduction of ambition in agriculture was 
set to come about, one could not realistically e x p e c t  t h a t  a n  o u t c o m e  i n  D R  w a s  a  g i v e n .  
Furthermore, given the stalemate in agriculture, an d the lack of clarity on its eventual scope, it 
was not reasonable to expect countries like Brazil to engage in discussions on specific elements of 
DR disciplines at this juncture, that could not only prejudge the scope of the services pillar but also 
create unrealistic expectations about it. The possibility of having something in DR depended upon reaching some results in the pillar of domestic su pport in agriculture. Even in the event that DR 
made its way into the final package, an ill-calibrated level of ambition in the area would have to be 
off-set, by reductions in agricultural market acce ss, services and NAMA. In this sense the wish list 
presented by demanders the previous day was completely unrealistic in the current negotiating context. In this light, Brazil felt that it would be fruitless and ultimately counterproductive to 
undertake the discussion proposed by the co-spons ors in the Working Party. He agreed with the 
co-sponsors that the current context suggested that  reducing the level of ambition was the model 
and common goal that should drive the negotiating work in services. The Special Session of the 
Council in Trade in Services was the adequate forum at this stage for any discussions about the 
services element of the work programme in a contex t of reduced ambition. It was the only body in 
which the services pillar could be approached bo th in a comprehensive manner and with maximum 
flexibility for the recalibration that was needed when there was clarity on the landing zone in 
agriculture. He also stated that he did not re call any agreement or convergence in the Special 
Session for the Council for Trade in Services for discussion on the specific elements of Domestic Regulation. He thought the proposal constituted an invitation to discuss recalibration in DR, but 
after listening to the interventions by the dema ndeurs, it seemed that recalibration was not a 
concern at all. He invited the services colleagues in the room to have a dialogue with the agriculture desks in their missions to have a better sense of realism and do-ability in the current 
context. 
3.37.  The representative of Ecuador concurre d with the statement by Brazil, and cautioned 
against attempts to begin substantive negotiations at this stage, when recalibration was not 
concluded. He welcomed the document by the co-sponsors which provided a basis to reflect on 
realistic and feasible elements for any DR element of a post-Bali work programme. 
3.38.  The representative of India reiterated th at the current discussion had to be viewed as 
without prejudice to the negotiating position of Members and were exploratory, held in a 
brainstorming mode, and without any negotiating inte nt or content. Further, the discussions in the 
Working Party were influenced by the discussion s in the key area of Agriculture and NAMA. 
Discussions in the Special Session of the Council  for Trade in Services indicated that most 
delegations, including India, acknowledged that DR would be a part of the Services element of the S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  work programme. India had provided details on its areas of interest in the DR negotiations. It was 
no secret that indirect regulatory barriers were most prominent and most inhibitive for delivery of services through movement of natural persons. Ev en the limited commitments on Mode 4 were not 
realized in practice due to these barriers. Ambiti ous disciplines in qualification requirements and 
procedures were a mechanism through which real  access through existing new commitments could 
be accomplished in Mode 4. India had made various textual submissions on qualification-related disciplines in the past and she invited Members to revisit them. Most of India's suggestions had 
been broadly captured in the 2009 Chairs text which was a good basis for negotiations in the area 
of qualification requirements and procedures. Indi a was also willing to engage in discussions in 
areas of interest of other Members. An effective S&D chapter in the disciplines was also important. Developed and developing economies were at different levels of regulatory maturity. Many 
developing countries did not have regulators for ce rtain services sectors. She cautioned not to limit 
the elements of DR at the current stage when  discussions focused on elements of the work 
programme. India did not support "cherry-pi cking" under the guise of do-ability. 
3.39.  The representative of South Africa stated that his delegation expected that the level of 
ambition would be set in agriculture, and that all elements of Rev.4 would be reflected in the work 
programme. He would not be in a position to support an effort that moved away from the focus of 
ambition in agriculture. In NAMA, since 2007, South Africa had been concerned about the 
application of some elements of Rev.3, particularly  the high coefficient in the Swiss formula and its 
impact on South Africa's development aspirations in terms of tariffs reductions, and also the spread of tariffs that the Swiss formula targeted in its tariff profile. In that context it was difficult 
for South Africa to move in the area of services, when there was still lack of clarity in both NAMA 
and in agriculture. One needed to distinguish be tween a work programme and actual negotiations. 
Some of the statements at the present meeting were clearly an attempt to move to substantive 
negotiations. Without prejudice, the basis for work was the 2009 Chair's text which presented the 
best possibility of a landing zone on all the issues. On development, when the negotiations resumed at the right time, he expected that the text would have strong development provisions. 
3.40.  The representative of Barbados, on behalf  of the ACP Group, expressed the view that the 
WPDR was the appropriate body to prepare the wording for the domestic regulation pillar in 
services. The ACP Group had submitted to the TNC its elements on the post-Bali work programme 
in keeping with the mandate by ministers at th e Ministerial Conference. The ACP elements were 
contained within a framework of a modalities ty pe programme. The Groups' submission should be 
seen in a holistic manner. As a group, ACP countries were not demandeurs on DR, but if 
negotiations on the issue advanced, special co nsideration for developing countries, expressed 
through a robust S&D chapter, would be paramount. The concept of self-designation by developing 
countries of the disciplines that they could adopt, and a clear link between implementation obligations and capacity that had been acquired wa s important. She considered that DR disciplines 
could cover all elements under consideration, except technical standards. The starting point for the 
negotiations should be the 2009 Chairman's text. The 2011 text did not enjoy the necessary consensus.  
3.41.  The representative of Nigeria associated himself with the statement made by Barbados on 
behalf of the ACP Group, and reminded Members that the ACP elements on services, in particular 
on DR, were still on the table. According to Annex C of the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, Members shall develop disciplines on domestic regulation pursuant to the mandate on Article VI:4 
before the end of the current round of negotiations. He recalled the various stages of 
developments of earlier Chairman's texts and note d that the 2009 text had enjoyed wide support, 
unlike the subsequent 2011 Chairman's progress report.  
3.42.  Any departure from the mandate and level of ambition already agreed and defined in 
Annex C of the HK Ministerial Declaration ın light of do-ability and realism ımplied a partial 
implementation of the mandate. A balanced DR package would need to take into account the development dimension of the Doha Round. Any disciplines agreed in DR must contain provisions 
on qualification requirements and procedures, and licensing requirements and procedures, as well 
as transparency, so as to facilitate delivery of professional services by developing countries, LDCs, 
and SVE service suppliers. Although not being dema ndeurs, Nigeria expected both market access 
and domestic regulation to move in parallel on the basis of past work. There should be a balance 
between d ısc ıplınıng domest ıc regulat ıon and the right to regulate. The development chapter 
should allow for transition periods and recognize the concept that implementation of disciplines 
would be required only where capacity is acquired.  S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  3.43.  The representative of Uganda, speak ıng on behalf of the LDC Group, welcomed the 
opportunity to discuss the possibility of elemen ts for the post-Bali work programme on the 
domestic regulation negotiations. He recalled that the priorities for the LDC Group had been clearly highlighted in sect ıons B and C of the LDC collect ıve request in the context of the 
operationalization of the LDC services waiver, and not in the context of the post-Bali work 
programme. During the high-level meeting, some members gave indications on addressing these elements, which LDCs characterized as the non-tariff barriers of services trade. LDCs therefore 
looked forward to the rece ıpt of notifications so as to allow for an assessment of the extent to 
which the collective request had been met. That said, however, domestic regulations negotiations were a built-in GATS Article VI:4 mandate. Theref ore, while Annex C does provide the opportunity 
for text-based negotiations to conclude by the end of the current round, any outputs from the 
negotiations had to achieve consensus. Any resumption in the negotiations on domestic regulation 
should be based on texts that fully covered special provisions for LDCs, in particular that LDCs were not obliged to implement the resulting discip lines. This principle was contained in all of the 
scenarios for domestic regulations disciplines and was stabilized text.  
3.44.  The representative of Argentina recognized the importance of disciplines on domestic 
regulation to ensure that regulatory measures do not undermine or nullify commitments 
undertaken in terms of market access. He shared th e concerns raised by Brazil, Ecuador, India and 
South Africa. Discussions in services and the WPDR  should not be taken out of context from the 
negotiations in general, and in particular recognize the link between services and agriculture negotiations. At the present time, it was prudent to await any elements that came out of work in 
other areas before moving forward with the being examined now. 
3.45.  The representative of United States informed the Working Party that his delegation was very 
open about the DR component of any post Bali work programme. While not being a demandeur in 
this particular area, the US could support a domestic regulation element in the work programme 
and could envisage an outcome in DR. As others had mentioned, do-ability and realism was the filter which needed to be applied to all elements of the post Bali work programme, including 
domest ıc regulation. Convergence had emerged on certai n elements from past negotiating periods, 
and Members would have to consider the appropri ate scope of DR in the overall content of the 
DDA outcome. His delegation remained open to continue consultations on this issue.  
3.46.  The representative of Cuba expressed su pport for the comments by the ACP Group as well 
as the very detailed elements set out by India,  Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa, and Argentina. 
3.47.  The representative of Australia thanked Members for their positive contributions to the 
discussion, which presented a good start to highlig hting elements of DR that were realistic and 
doable in the perspective of those who have spoken  for the post Bali work programme on services. 
Australia fully acknowledged the importance of agriculture in setting overall ambitions to the work programme, but considered that by effectively dealing services out of the horizontal discussions, 
any ability to help drive up the ambition of agriculture was effectively nullified.  
3.48.  The representat ıve of China requested correction of an editing error in the minutes of the 
last WPDR meeting (S/WPDR/M/63). In paragraph 3.5, the first sentence referred to China as a 
proponent of restarting the text-based discussions on the basis of the 2011 text. This was 
incorrect. In the statement at the last meeting, China did not indicate any preference between the 
two texts. His delegation was flexible and considered that both texts had unique value and the divergences should not constitute an obstacle for the future negotiation.  
3.49.  The representative of Hong Kong, China stated that in the report of the last meeting, her 
delegation had mistakenly not been included in the list of delegations supporting resumption of 
text-based negotiations on the basis of the 2011 text. 
3.50.  The Chairman suggested that delegations take note of the statements made under this 
agenda item. He suggested he consult further on  the DR element of a post-Bali work programme, 
in light of the statements made today, and liaise with the Chair of the Special Session. The report 
of the last meeting was deemed to be amended in  light of the corrections indicated by China and 
Hong Kong, China.  
3.51.  It was so agreed. S/WPDR/M/64 
 
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  4  ITEM D - FUTURE WORK 
4.1.  The Chairman recalled that at the last m eeting in March, Members had exchanged views on 
the future work that should take place in the Working Party. There had been disagreement as to 
whether the time was ripe to return to text-based negotiations. In light of the approaching July 
deadline for developing a services element of the post-Bali work programme, he invited 
delegations to share their views as to how to move forward in this Working Party, building on the discussion under the previous agenda item. 
4.2.  The representative of Canada stated that hi s delegation continued to believe that it would be 
untimely to begin text based DR negotiations prior to the launch of market access negotiations. 
However, time was running short for Members to elaborate on the DR contribution to the services element of post-Bali work programme. The Workin g Party should play a role in defining that 
contribution by building on the discussion that ha d started at the present meeting to identify a 
realistic scope for the negotiations and set that scope out within the work programme. This issue was tied to the questions of whether Members were satisfying the mandate set out in Article VI:4 
or just contributing to it. Setting a realistic scope and focusing on the doable upfront might allow a 
further work programme thereafter. But if negotiations were comprehensive on the entire scope of DR, this would conclude the Article VI:4 mandate. 
4.3.  The representative of Nigeria recognized  the challenges that many connected issues 
represented, and suggested further consultations to  find a way forward. Wh ile his delegation was 
not a demandeur on domestic regulation, he remained open, bearing in mind the sensitivities of the other delegations.  
4.4.  The representative of the European Union stated that by December Members would have to 
agree on what was doable in domestic regulation. The discussion that had started under the 
previous agenda was a very good start, and repres ented a conversation that needed to continue.  
4.5.  The representative of Switzerland concurred with Canada that the work programme should 
provide the necessary guidance as to what was to be achieved by Nairobi.  
4.6.  The Chairman suggested that the Working Party take note of the statements made and revert 
to the item "future work" item at its next meeting.  
4.7.  It was so agreed. 
5  ITEM E - OTHER BUSINESS 5.1.  No matters were raised under 'Other Business'.  
5.2.  The meeting was adjourned. 
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