Domestic Regulations and Multilateral negotiations Sumanta Chaudhuri Counsellor, Permanent Mission of India to the WTO

Importance of Domestic Regulation Disciplines  Complement market access, particularly in areas of interest to developing countries like Mode 4  Maintain the balance between right to regulate and DR not being used to impede Market Access  Lack of specific disciplines leaves the road open to disputes and creates uncertainty  Disciplines on DR can provide incentive for needed domestic reforms  Capacity constraints in implementation of disciplines should be factored in

Mandate on DR  In-built mandate in GATS - Article VI:4 for development of disciplines  Covers - Qualification Requirements and Procedures (QRP), - Licensing Requirements and Procedures (LRP) and - Technical Standards (TS)  Hong Kong Ministerial - Specific mandate for developing disciplines before end of Round - Call for intensification by developing tests - Basis – proposals and Illustrative List of Elements

Current State of Play  Move from proposals to textual language proposals  Texts put on the table on  QRP  LP  TS  Transparency  S & D  General Principles including Right to Regulate  Next stage is development of Consolidated Text by Chair  June/July 2006  Nature of Consolidation

Current State of Play(continued)  Differences in levels of ambition both overall and on specific elements  General move towards horizontal disciplines covering possibly all aspects of Article VI:4  Specific sectoral disciplines unlikely to be pursued  Would apply almost definitely only in sectors where specific commitments undertaken  Relationship with Articles XVI/XVII  Need for some S & D recognized while realizing that different regulations infeasible

Specific Issues - Right to Regulate  Balance between right to regulate and DR not constituting unnecessary barriers to trade recognized  Concept of Necessity Test  Broad necessity test – jurisprudence issues  Can be covered through specific disciplines in all aspects  Balance not achieved only through NT -Issue of national policy objectives  Specific mention vs leaving it open  Broader than only quality of service

Transparency  Relevant for all aspects of Article VI:4  Add to existing obligations on transparency  Specific features -Notification/publication – Domestic, WTO -Effective use of Enquiry/Contact Points -Reasonable time between notification/publication and entry into force -Issue of prior Comments

Qualification Requirements  Of particular importance for effective market access especially in Mode 4  Core relates to availability of mechanisms for verifying foreign qualifications  Specification and assessment of education, course work, training, work experience  Identification of additional requirements  Possibility of meeting identified deficiencies other than only in host Country  Permission to supply service through such mechanism  Examinations including relevance to service supplied, eligibility and accessibility, frequency of exams,

Licensing Procedures  Administration – concepts of neutrality, objectiveness and impartiality  Documentation – not burdensome, format and relevance  Timeframes -Reasonableness -Entry into effect of license  Fees – related to administrative costs, concession for developing countries, revenue considerations  Review/appeal – reasons for rejection, resubmission of applications

Special & Differential Treatment  Longer implementation periods for compliance  Compliance to take account of regulatory capacity and levels of development  Technical assistance and capacity building including in implementing disciplines  Recognition of needs and regulatory capacity to facilitate services exports from developing countries – phased introduction for compliance  Treatment for LDC’s – longer periods, best endeavour

Technical Standards  Lack of information on such standards in services and on standard setting bodies  Mandatory vs. voluntary standards -Technical regulations/standards -Non governmental bodies/associations with delegated authority  Use of relevant international standards  How these are developed – relevant international organizations  Relation with domestic standards  Presumption of consistency with disciplines if used in domestic law  Conformity assessment

Conclusions  DR disciplines essential deliverable of services package in DDA  Need to cover in balanced way differing interests of Members covering all aspects of VI:4  Levels of ambition and depth of coverage likely to be different and still undecided  Disciplines likely to reaffirm & expound on balance between right to regulate and regulations not constituting unnecessary trade barriers