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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 of 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 of rules: equivalent
objectives, regulatory requirements, standards,
and conformity assessment procedures
Mutual recognition of conformity assessment
(procedures / results) for goods under different
partner’ rules
The EU principle
of 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
of 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:
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