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S/WPDR/M/62
28 October 2014
(14-6254)  Page: 1/2
Working Party on Domestic Regulation   
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 17 SEPTEMBER 2014 
NOTE BY THE SECRETARIAT1 
The Working Party on Domestic Regulation (WPDR) held a meeting on 17 September 2014, chaired 
by Mr. Christian Wegener of Denmark. The agenda for the meeting was contained in document 
WTO/AIR/4343 dated 5 September 2014. An annotated agenda for the meeting was circulated in JOB/SERV/190 dated 5 September 2014.  
 
1  ITEM A - DEDICATED DISCUSSION ON DOMESTIC REGULATION DISCIPLINES IN REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS 
1.1.  The Working Party continued with its dedica ted discussion on domestic regulation disciplines 
in regional trade agreements.   The discussion was conducted in informal mode and the Chairman 
recalled that he would be providing delegations wi th an informal summary of the proceedings upon 
its conclusion.  
2  ITEM B - DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATORY  DISCIPLINES UNDER GATS ARTICLE VI:4 
2.1.  As on past occasions, the Chairman also proposed that the discussion on the development of 
regulatory disciplines under GATS Article VI:4 be conducted in informal mode.  
2.2.  Before opening the floor for comments, he noted that there had been two additional co-
sponsors, Chile and Chinese Taipei, for the second  'reflections note'. The document had been 
updated accordingly and re-circulated as RD/SERV/96/Rev.1 Discussions continued in informal 
mode and as usual the Chairman indicated that he would provide an informal summary of the 
exchange of views between Members. 
2.3.  No further comments were received on the communication from South Africa, Domestic 
regulation status report; non-banking financial services in South Africa (JOB/SERV/179).  
3  ITEM C - FUTURE WORK 
3.1.  On future work, the Chairman requested the views of Members on what work they would like 
the Working Party to undertake in order to fulfil its mandate on developing disciplines. 
3.2.  The representative of Australia noted that her delegation did not have a specific proposal at 
this stage and would like to revert to this item in the future, with a view to moving discussions 
back to the negotiation of domestic regulation horizontal disciplines. 
3.3.  The representative of Switzerland recalled that although he was aware of the situation which 
the organization was in and that considerable work was still required to guarantee its future, his 
delegation would like to reiterate the importance that they attach to the Working Party returning 
to its mandated task of preparing a text with domestic regulation disciplines.   
3.4.  The representative of the United States no ted that the question of returning to text-based 
negotiations was linked to the larger question of how negotiations are proceeding on a broader 
                                               
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and without prejudice to 
the positions of Members and to their rights and obligations under the WTO. S/WPDR/M/62 
 
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  scale.  His delegation could not support a return to text-based negotiations without greater clarity 
on how the negotiation would be proceeding overall. 
3.5.  The representative of Canada supported the statement by the US. His delegation did not 
support returning to text-based negotiations at this time, as it would be not feasible for them to 
negotiate domestic regulation disciplines while there was no clarity on the market access 
negotiations.  
3.6.  The representative of Bolivia also did not su pport a return to text-based negotiations as no 
progress had been made on areas of interest to developing countries such as cotton and 
agriculture.   
3.7.   The representative of Brazil supported th e statements by the US and Bolivia. He further 
noted that there was no clarity on the elements for the post-Bali Work Programme.  
3.8.  The representative of China expressed su pport for the statement made by Switzerland and 
reiterated his delegation's interest in re-energized discussions in the Working Party.  
3.9.  The representative of Chile emphasized that there were no text-based negotiations on 
domestic regulation because at this stage there were no services negotiations at the WTO. 
Whenever Members returned to market access negotiations, the Working Party would also have to return to serious negotiations on rules, which would include domestic regulation disciplines. In the 
meantime, it would be important not to lose sight of the text which had been developed, since all 
negotiations are in one way or another text-b ased. His delegation would welcome re-engaging 
when the negotiations pick up. 
3.10.  The representative Ecuador did not view this  as the right time to re-commence negotiations 
on domestic regulation as the situation with the overall negotiations remained unclear.  
3.11.  The representative of Argentina supported the statements made by US, Ecuador and Bolivia 
that unless there were results in areas of interest to developing countries, such as agriculture, his 
delegation would have difficulty in moving ahead with domestic regulation. 
3.12.  The representative of the EU shared the view of US, Canada and other Members that it was 
difficult to advance negotiations on any issue at this moment.  
3.13.  The representative of Lesotho on behalf of the African Group stressed that their priority was 
to make progress in the area of agriculture. 
3.14.  The representative of Japan shared the views expressed by the US, Canada and the EU. 
3.15.  The Chairperson took note of the comments made. He also informed delegations that the 
ISO has been invited to make a presentation at the next meeting of the Working Party. 
4  ITEM D - OTHER BUSINESS 4.1.  There were no additional matters under 'other business'. The meeting was adjourned.  
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