International Regulatory Cooperation The range of possible approaches - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

International Regulatory Cooperation The range of possible approaches

Céline Kauffmann, Deputy Head, Regulatory Policy Division OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development

Key questions

• 1. What do we know of the various

approaches and instruments of IRC?

• 2. What are the lessons learnt from the use
• f different IRC approaches in different

country and sector contexts?

• 3. What are the conditions of success and

effectiveness of different IRC approaches?

Regulatory dialogues, exchange of information Harmonisation through supra- national institutions Specific negotiated agreements (conventions, treaties) Formal regulatory co-operation partnerships Joint standard setting through IGO Trade agreements with regul. provisions Mutual recognition IRC requirement when drafting regulation, GRP Recognition of international standards Trans-governmental networks of regulators Soft law, guidelines, principles, codes of conduct

Source: OECD (2013), International Regulatory Co-operation: Addressing Global Challenges

The ladder of IRC approaches

Lessons learnt on merits / challenges

Type of mechanism

Merits Challenges

Integration / harmonisation

The rules are the same for all. Compliance is the greatest. Less likely to regulatory capture than networks Long process. Costs of structure & enforcement. Sovereignty & legitimacy issues.

Regulatory partnerships between countries

High-level leadership Flexible & continuous mechanism Impact on regulators & levels of jurisdiction?

IGOs

Promote continuous dialogue & anticipate emerging issues. Progress may be slow to materialise Weaknesses in enforcement and compliance.

Regional agreements with regulatory provisions

Legal force and direct connection to trade and economic integration. Multiplicity of provisions Impact on regulators?

Area-specific legally binding agreements

Legal force Lack of enforcement in some cases Lack of flexibility to adapt to changes

MR

Preserve State sovereignty Reduce duplication efforts & time to market Time-consuming, costly Extensive trust Adaption with changes in regulations? Lack of enforcement

Transgovernmental networks

Low-cost, flexible and adaptable Foster experimentation & innovation Support trust building, technical approaches & may help avoid race to the bottom Soft law / exchange of practices Limited enforcement and monitoring Exclusion issues? Legitimacy of decisions?

Mutual Recognition: spectrum of modalities

Mutual recognition

• f

rules: equivalent

• bjectives, regulatory requirements, standards,

and conformity assessment procedures Mutual recognition of conformity assessment (procedures / results) for goods under different partner’ rules The EU principle

• f

MR as a corollary of the ‘free movement of goods’ in the non- harmonised sectors The Trans- Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement MRAs incorporated in RTAs Stand-alone MRAs Government MRAs Non- Government MLAs (between CABs or Accreditation Bodies) Multilateral MRAs (legally non-binding) Bilateral MRAs Agreements on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAAs) Enhanced MRAs (equivalence

• f regulatory

requirements) Traditional MRAs (without equivalence of regulatory requirements)

Source: GOV/RPC(2014)12/REV1

MRAs: benefits, costs & success factors

• (Small) positive impact on trade
• Avoid duplication of test, uncertainty on

rejection & shorten ‘time-to-market’

• Knowledge flows & peer learning

Benefits

• Seen as costly by regulators /admin
• Challenging political economy &

implementation

Costs

• Science-driven domains
• Big global value chains
• Regulatory divergence is not too high
• Confidence / institutional proximity

Success factors

THANK YOU

Contacts: Celine.kauffmann@oecd.org

IRC website: www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/irc.htm Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance: www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/2012-recommendation.htm OECD (2015), Regulatory Policy Outlook, OECD Publishing, Paris: www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/Coming-soon-OECD-Regulatory- Policy-Outlook-2015.htm