G/TBT/GEN/214  
 
 5 April 2017 
(17-1855) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade   
 
THEMATIC SESSION ON GOOD REGULATORY PRAC TICE (GRP)1 
MODERATOR 'S REPORT2  
This Report  was delivered by the Moderator  of this thematic session  of the WTO TBT Committee at 
the meeting of 29-30 March 2017 .  
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At the Seventh  Triennial Review, Members  agreed to continue to hold thematic session s in 
conjunction with regular meetings of the Committee3; it was agreed to dedicate the 28 March 201 7 
thematic sessions to the topics of conformity assessment procedures a nd good regulatory practice. 
This re port focuses on GRP. The p resentations  summarized below  will be made  available through  
the WTO website.4  
1.  Ms Ann C. Cabochan (Philippines) said that GRP has several positive functions. It helps 
ensure the design of high quality and cost effective regulatio ns that are also compatible with open 
trade. Further , GRP contributes to the establishment of a common and predictable framework for 
regulatory intervention which facilitates global regulatory cooperation and harmonization. She said 
that the ASEAN Good Reg ulatory Practice Guide of 2009 had assisted ASEAN governments to this 
effect. This Guide contains three main elements: (i) transparency on non -tariff measures and 
removal of trade barriers; (ii) implementation of mutual recognition agreements; and (iii) 
harmonization of standards and technical regulations. She noted that the ASEAN Work Plan on GRP 
for the period 2016 -2025 had been adopted at the 23rd ASEAN Economic Ministers Retreat on 
9 March 2017, in Manila, and that it had been submitted to the ASEAN Eco nomic Community 
Council Members for endorsement. Moreover, at APEC's 8th Conference on GRP on August 2015, in 
Cebu City (the Philippines), policy officials and representatives from the private  sector  shared 
experiences on: single online locations for regul atory information ; periodic review and prospective 
regulatory planning ; capacity building and education efforts ; best practices of APEC's economies ; 
and challenges faced by SMEs. The Philippines' Department of Trade and Industry had launched 
the tool: "One  country, one voice" in May 2011 as a framework to integrate industry and trade 
strategies. This framework had three pillars: public consultations ("one voice"); trade and industry 
policy research network ("one network"); and inter -agency coordination ("on e team").   
2.  Ms Cabochan also recalled previous discussions in the Committee on the possibility of 
replicating the STDF in the TBT area to assist Members in advocating TBT principles such as the 
GRP. In particular, as far back as 1995, technical assistance h as been a priority work of the 
Committee and is on its agenda on a permanent basis. In a survey conducted in 2002, developing 
country Members identified their need for demand -driven technical assistance (G/TBT/W/193). The 
establishment of such a program me was reinforced in the Second Triennial Review where Members 
emphasi zed the need for more effective cooperation and coordination among donors to better 
address the needs identified by developing country Members (G/TBT/9, 13  Nov 2000, paras 45 -
46). Furthermo re, in the Third Triennial Review, Members recogni zed that improvements are 
needed to facilitate the delivery of technical assistance (G/TBT/13). Taking into consideration 
these issues, one of the options identified by Members was to replicate the STDF in the TBT. After 
                                                
1 The list of speakers is contained in JOB/TBT/ 222/Rev.1 . 
2 Ms Lucy Ikonya (Kenya) . This Report is provided on the Moderator's own responsibility.  
3 G/TBT/37, para. 3.9(e) and 8.3. 
4 https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tbt_e/tbt_e.htm  G/TBT/GEN/214  
 
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  underscor ing four elements of the STDF's value added , she pointed out that the current STDF 
mandate is limited to SPS , hence the proposal for a similar  facility in the TBT area .5 
3.  Ms Pirkko Penttila (Canada) said that GRPs are internationally  recognized processes, 
systems, tools and methods , aimed at improving the quality of regulations. The 2015 OECD 
Regulatory Policy Outlook had ranked Canada highly in terms of integrating GRP in its regulatory 
framework which highlighted the important role of Canada's Cabinet Directive on Regulatory 
Management in setting the framework for Canada 's regulatory system. She reaffirmed Canada 's 
commitment to a "life -cycle" approach to regulation making and management and indicated that 
targeted administrative bur den reduction initiatives had been  introduced in 2012 to reduce the 
regulatory burden on businesses and make the regulatory system more predictable and 
transparent. Moreover, an annual report on t he results of these initiatives  had been published 
online. O ne initiative, the small business lens, focuses on reducing regulatory costs on small 
businesses without compromising other important social objectives. The "lens" requires regulators 
to state how they minimize the impact of proposed regulations on small b usinesses, such as 
alternative implementation options with risk -appropriate flexibilities that minimize burdens without 
compromising outcomes. In 2015 and 2016, the small business lens had avoided CAD$15 million 
in compliance costs to small businesses. Fin ally, she said that regulatory cooperation supports 
Canada's objective of developing  a competitive economy through increased trade and reduced 
regulatory burden. It is clear, she said, that businesses, consumers and regulators benefit from 
regulatory coope ration. Canada will complete a review of its regulatory policy framework in 2017 
and expects to enhance its information sharing under regulatory cooperation provisions in the 
CETA.6 
4.  Mr. Myung -chul Shin (Republic of Korea) said that the Republic of Korea wa s implementing a 
regulatory reform through identification and improvement of existing technical regulations. He 
highlighted five activities in rationalizing technical regulations: (i) the establishment of a Technical 
Regulatory Reform Task Force; (ii) tech nical regulatory impact assessments; (iii) the 1st Technical 
Regulatory Policy Forum in 2015; (iv) the preliminary review of technical regulations since 2016; 
and (v) the investigation and analysis of technical regulations in all regulations. He also identified 
four categories of negative aspects of technical regulations: (i) excessive regulatio ns; (ii) 
duplicative  regulations; (iii) regulations that differ from  international standards; and (iv) outdated 
regulations. The Regulatory Informatio n System improv es efficiency by  decreasing time for 
information exchange between agencies . The main activity  for 2017 include d the evaluation of all 
technical regulations, and the management of a technical regulations database.  At the end of 
presentation, he mentioned th at Korea valued the GRP document  (JOB/TBT/119/Rev.1) and hoped 
to find common ground on it.7 
5.  Mr. Jeroen Casaer (European Union) said that the Better Regulation Agenda aimed at 
delivering better rules for better results through monitoring and evaluation, im pact assessment 
and receiving stakeholders' inputs. Under the Better Regulation Agenda, the European Commission 
wants to further open up policy making and ensure high quality deliverables. Stakeholders and 
citizens can express their views throughout the en tire life of a policy through: (i) feedback on 
roadmaps, evaluation roadmaps and inception impact assessments; (ii) public consultations; (iii) 
feedback on the EU Commission proposals; (iv) feedback on draft delegated and implementing 
drafts; (v) feedback on existing legislation through "Lighten the Load ". The quality of initiatives 
should be guaranteed through: (i) the integrated better regulations guidelines for Commission 
staff; (ii) the regulatory scrutiny board; and (iii) the impact assessment on subst antial 
amendments to Commission proposals proposed by the European Parliament and Council. The 
objectives of the Better Regulation Portal include: centrali zed access to EU law -making; the 
indication of progress on a timeline; the publication of relevant do cuments from planning and 
preparation to Commission adoption; and, the possibility for external stakeholders to provide 
feedback at relevant stages of the process. The stages to provide feedback include: the roadmaps 
and inception impact assessments; the p reparation of impact assessments; the Draft 
Delegated/Implementing Acts; the Commission proposal and accompanying impact assessment; 
and existing legislation. The portal was launched in June 2016 as part of the overall Europa new 
web-presence and is being rolled out in different phases with the aim to have all features 
                                                
5 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/210 . 
6 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/211 . 
7 The full presentation is contained in document RD/TBT/212 . G/TBT/GEN/214  
 
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  developed by end -2017. The notification system was activated in February 2017. The Portal had 
10,000 visitors in March 2017 and feedback was being provided mainly by business associations, 
company organi zations, EU citizens and NGOs.8 He said that f eedback from all over the world was  
welcomed.  
6.  On a personal note, the Moderator  noted that it was useful to share experiences on Good 
Regulatory Practice from  across the various continents. She said  that different approaches  had 
been illustrated , from the Philippine's GRP Guide for ASEAN members  to Canada's Cabinet 
Directive on Regulatory Management. She noted that, i n some case s, institutional frameworks had 
been p ut in place, including the Technica l Regulatory Reform Task Force in the Korean Agency for 
Technology and Standards. It had been  particularly useful to learn that feedback from 
stakeholders was encouraged for all EU regulations through tools such as the EU "Better 
Regulation Portal".  
 
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8 The full pres entation is contained in document RD/TBT/213 .