G/TBT/GEN/143  
 
11 March 2013  
(13-1300)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
 THEMATIC SESSION ON GOOD  REGULATORY PRACTICE 
5 MARCH 2013 
Moderator's Summary 
This statement was delivered by the Moderator1 of the Thematic Session on Good Regulatory 
Practice (GRP) at the TBT Committee meeting of 6-7 March 2013.   
 
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1.1.  At the Sixth Triennial Review, the Committ ee agreed to hold a thematic session on Good 
Regulatory Practice (GRP) in response to specific decisions and recommendations contained in past and present triennial review reports.
2 During the Session, Members shared experiences on 
elements of GRP, and discussed the way forwar d for the Committee's work. The final programme, 
containing the names and titles of the presentation made during the thematic session, is annexed to this statement. The Secretariat provided a background document contained in JOB/TBT/44. 
1.2.  First we heard a presentation by China . China shared its experience on the implementation 
of good regulatory practice in Chinese legislation, focusing on liability-rules for the repair, replacement and return of household automotive products. Using this example, China showed how 
it employed an extensive public consultation process, including forums and seminars with a broad 
range of stakeholders. As a result of this proc ess, relevant rules were  reviewed and amended. 
1.3.  The European Union  (EU) stressed the importance of transparency and stakeholder 
consultation in its regulatory lifecycle. The general framework, principles and minimum criteria of 
public consultation, and its key role in operationalizing GRP in the EU, were explained. Information 
was also shared on other elements of GRP, including: assessing the need to regulate; impact assessment; links with TBT Agreement transparency  obligations; guidance for implementation and 
enforcement; and, ex-post evaluation of  legislation through "fitness checks". 
1.4.  Indonesia  shared information on the work of the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and 
Conformance (SCSC) in the area of GRP, includ ing conferences and studies which would continue 
in 2013. Moreover, in response to the 2013 Leaders Commitments, APEC Members were 
encouraged to take a whole of government appr oach for development of regulations, to use 
Regulatory Impact Assessment, and to implem ent the 2005 APEC-OECD Integrated Checklist on 
Regulatory Reform. 
1.5.  The representative of the United States  discussed intersections between trade, GRP and 
implementation of the TBT Agreement. Emphasis was placed on embedding GRP mechanisms into 
institutional and other mechanisms for implementation of the TBT Agreement, including in respect 
of: operation of National Enquiry Points; Ar ticle 15.2 statements of implementation; TBT 
notification obligations and, multilateral review of specific trade concerns in the TBT Committee.  
                                               
1 Mr. Xinhua SUN (China).  This summary is pr ovided under the Moderator's own responsibility. 
2 The latest decisions and recommendations are contained in Section A of G/TBT/32.  Previous decisions 
and recommendations on Good Regulatory Practice are contained in Section I of G/TBT/1/Rev.10.  G/TBT/GEN/143 
 
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  1.6.  In the general discussion , Members provided some preliminary comments on the 
suggested elements of the non-exhaustive list of mechanisms and related principles of GRP 
contained in Table 1 of JOB/TBT/44 (the Secretariat background note). Some specific comments were provided. For instance, it was suggested that structure of the list could be refined to reflect 
the chronology, or sequence, of the regulatory  lifecycle as envisaged in the TBT Agreement 
(preparation, adoption and application). In general, Members agreed that the paper provided a good basis for further work – and that this wo rk should be pursued along the lines of the 
Committee's "triennial review" work process. Thus it was agreed that Members will provide written 
comments on the background paper by 5 April 2013, and that, based on these, the Secretariat will 
revise the list of suggested elements contained in Table 1 for further discussion and comment by 
Members. 
1.7.  On a personal note , I think the session provided a good opportunity for Members to 
continue to exchange national and regional expe rience and information on GRP: it focused on 
some of the key mechanisms and principles of GR P, particularly openness, transparency, internal 
coordination, stakeholder consultation, balancing stakeholders’ interest, regulatory impact 
assessments and legislative reviews. I think it is particularly useful that Members highlighted the importance of better incorporating GRP in Members’ different contexts in order to achieve more 
effective and improved implementation of the TBT Agreement. I thank Members for the active 
participation in this event, and believe that the Committee should maintain its momentum in this work.  
 
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 G/TBT/GEN/143 
 
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ANNEX 
FINAL LIST OF PRESENTATIONS1 
The following presentations were made during the Thematic Session: 
 China : Rules on the Liability for the Repair, Repl acement and Return of Household Automotive 
Products. Presentation by Mr. XU Xinjian, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Legislation, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China. 
 European Union : Transparency and stakeholder consultation mechanisms in the European 
Union. Presentation by Mr. Fabrizio Sacchetti, European Commission, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry. 
 Indonesia : APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance work on GRP. Presentation 
by Mr. Teungku Rahman Hanafiah, Deputy Chairman for Research and Cooperation on 
Standardization. 
 United States : The link between TBT obligations and GRP in advancing a proactive trade 
agenda. Presentation by Julia Doherty, Senior Director, Technical Barriers to Trade, WTO and 
Multilateral Affairs, USTR. 
 
 
  
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1 Draft programmes were circulated by a fax from the Chairman on 19 December 2012, and, reflecting 
further input from Members, on 18 February 2013 (JOB/TBT/43) and 26 February 2013 (JOB/TBT/43/Rev.1).