. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/WPDR/M/46 
1 November 2010 
 (10-5739) 
Working Party on Domestic Regulation  
  
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 27 SEPTEMBER 2010 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
 
1. The Working Party on Domestic Regulation (WPD R) held a meeting on 27 September 2010.  
The agenda for the meeting is contained in Ai rgram WTO/AIR/3610, dated 17 September 2010, and 
was adopted.  
A. DEVELOPMENT  OF REGULATORY  DISCIPLINES  UNDER  GATS  ARTICLE VI:4   
2. The Working Party addressed the above agenda  item in informal mode.  The Chairman  stated 
that he would prepare an informal summary of the deliberations, under his own responsibility.   
B. F UTURE WORK 
3. The Chairman  noted that at the last meeting, Memb ers had agreed to reflect further on a 
proposal for a workshop on regulatory practices.  Furt her to consultations with  some delegations, he 
had suggested a number of elements that might form  the basis for a workshop in the annotated agenda 
for the meeting.  
4. All delegations that spoke expressed their pr incipal support for a workshop on regulatory 
practices and expressed flexibility with regard to th e timing of the workshop.  A large number of 
delegations emphasized the need for sectoral spr ead, as well as for geographical and developmental 
balance in the presentations.   
5. The representative of China  noted that the diversity of re gulatory systems depending on level 
of development, economic model, or legal system should be reflected in the contributions.  One 
important aspect was to obtain a better understanding  on how general disciplines could be developed 
in light of such diversity.  
6. The representative of Canada,  supported by several other delegations, suggested that the 
programme bring out more clearly the trade contex t of services regulation, rather than focus on 
general regulatory issues.  The workshop could ad dress regulation of services in various modes, as 
well as key themes, such as transparency.  She suggest ed to begin with Members' experiences first, to 
be supplemented by presentations from internati onal organizations.  The representative of Chile  
suggested a fine tuning of the terms of refere nce in this regard for the next meeting.  
                                                      
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/46 
Page 2  
 
  7. The representative of the United States
 stressed that in light of the general applicability of the 
disciplines under negotiation, the workshop should address important cross-sectoral aspects of 
services trade regulation.  In order to ensure value- added, speakers could be guided through a set of 
questions asking them to address the effect of thei r regulations on trade generally, the treatment of 
service suppliers from other countries, and how they  view their task as fitting into a globalized 
economy.  The representative of the Dominican Republic  added that the issue of technology as a tool 
for better regulation should be explored. 
8. The representative of Chinese Taipei , supported by Japan,  suggested to provide an 
opportunity also for services suppliers to inform th e Working Party of the main obstacles they were 
facing, their views on effective regulation, and their assessment of the current draft text.  This 
information should however not aim to identif y specific problems in specific Members.   
9. The representatives of Turkey  and Switzerland  suggested that should professional 
associations be given an opportunity to particip ate and make presentations in the workshop.   
10. The representative of Brazil  stated that international regulatory bodies in the area of financial 
services should also participate, such as the Financ ial Stability Board or the International Commission 
of Security Commissions.    
11. The representatives of China , the European Union , Hong Kong, China,  and New Zealand  
expressed their willingness to contribute  with speakers to the workshop. 
12. In reply to a request for circulation of the programme and content of the 2004 workshop, the 
Chairman  noted that this information was publicly ava ilable on the WTO website.  He concluded that 
the workshop might best be timed to take place duri ng one of the early services clusters in 2011.  On 
content, he would consult further and present a revise d, more detailed programme, at the next meeting 
of the Working Party. 
C. OTHER BUSINESS 
13. No items were raised under this agenda item. 
 
__________