Presentation by Céline Kauffmann, Deputy Head, OECD Regulatory Policy Division, at the joint meeting of the OECD Regulatory Policy Committee and Trade Committee on 5 November 2015, Session 1: Learning more about IRC mechanisms, Paris, 5 November 2015. Further information is available at http://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/irc.htm.

1. International Regulatory Cooperation
The range of possible approaches
Céline Kauffmann, Deputy Head, Regulatory Policy Division
OECD Public Governance and Territorial Development

2. 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?

3. 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

4. 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?

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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