. /.  RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/WPDR/M/41 
24 September 2009 
 (09-4473) 
Working Party on Domestic Regulation  
  
 
 
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD ON 26 JUNE 2009 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
 
1. The Working Party on Domestic Regulation (WPDR) held its 41st  meeting on 26 June 2009.  
The meeting was chaired by Ms. Misako Takahash i of Japan.  The agenda for the meeting was 
contained in Airgram WTO/AIR/3388, dated 16 June 2009. 
2. No points were raised under "Other Business". 
A. DEVELOPMENT OF REGULATORY DISCIPLINES UNDER GATS ARTICLE VI:4 
 - REPORT FROM THE CHAIRPERSON  
3. The Chair  reported that she had consulted with more th an 20 Members and a handful of groups of 
Members, including regional groupings since taking over at the helm of the Working Party on Domestic Regulation.  At an open-ended informal  meeting on 4 June 2009, she had reported to the 
Working Party on the main points that had emerged from these consultations.  The first point was that 
there were large gaps between demandeurs of str ong disciplines and those who aim for a low level of 
obligations as a result of these negotiations.  Second ly, there was a shared understanding that the 
Domestic Regulation negotiations were directly linked to the Market Access negotiations, with 
progress - or the lack thereof - in one area directly  affecting the chances of progress in the other.  
Thirdly, several delegations had expressed ideas  for future work, including a "reality check" by 
requesting comments from various services sector industries on the text, or by identifying actual 
regulatory barriers that service suppliers encounter when entering into foreig n markets, and to assess 
how the current disciplines would respond to such barriers.  At the meeting of 4 June, several 
delegations expressed that they would be open to a "reality check"  as a complementary element to 
further technical work on the draft text.  She had suggested that delegations reflect further on the 
practicability and possible format of such work a nd produce their concrete proposals to the Working 
Party. 
4. At the meeting on 4 June, it had become clear that a large majority of Members wished to 
maintain the current focus on the development of horizontal disciplines; as a result, the Chair had  
suggested that the Working Party resume its techni cal work in this regard, starting with a discussion 
on Chapter X, "Development", of the Chairman's second revised draft.  In preparation for the 
discussion, the Chair had prepared a brief annotated  agenda, recalling some elements of a previous 
discussion of the development chapter.  As with a ll previous technical discussions, she suggested to 
hold the substantive part of the meeting in  inform al mode.  She would prepare an informal summary 
of the discussion, under the Chair's responsibility. 
 
                                                     
 
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/41 
Page 2  
 
  5. It was so agreed
. 
B. OTHER BUSINESS 
6. No items were raised under this agenda item. 
 
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