Presentation by Céline Kauffmann, Deputy Head, OECD Regulatory Policy Division Workshop on Regulatory Framework and Enforcement to Address Air Pollution, Beijing June 26-27 2019

1. KEY CONSIDERATIONS ON
INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY
COOPERATION
Céline Kauffmann, Deputy Head,
OECD Regulatory Policy Division
Beijing, 26-27 June 2019

2. The world is increasingly interconnected. How does
regulation keep up?
• Global trade intensity doubled
between 1990 and 2015
• In 2015, 13% of total population
living in OECD countries were
foreign-born (9.5% in 2000).
• Passenger air traffic will grow by
3% to 6% /yr in next 15 years
• Internet enables massive cross-
border transfers of data. Users
increasingly access content
outside their own country
2

3. IRC allows countries to tackle regulatory
challenges at the level where they occur and
avoid regulatory “arbitrages”
IRC can help address the unnecessary costs of
regulatory divergence on businesses and
consumers
IRC is an efficient administrative strategy: it
improves the capacities of domestic regulators
through peer learning and sharing of resources
The benefits of regulatory cooperation
3

4. • The eradication of smallpox was achieved through
collective action led by the World Health Organization
(WHO).
• The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer led to the reduction of over 97% of all
global consumption of controlled ozone depleting
substances.
• The OECD Mutual Acceptance of Data system helps
governments and industry save some EUR 309 million
per year through co-operation on chemical testing and
the harmonisation of chemical safety tools and policies
across jurisdictions. 4
Examples of regulatory cooperation

5. In practice, regulatory cooperation can and does
take many forms
5

6. Good regulatory practices remain the corner stone of
regulatory quality in an interconnected world
Recommendation of the
council on Regulatory Policy
and Governance
1. Explicit
policy on
regulatory
quality
2.
Communicati
on
Consultation
and
Engagement
3. Regulatory
Oversight
4. Integrated
RIA
5. Reviews of
Regulatory
Stock –
ex post
evaluation6. Review
performance
of regulatory
reform
programmes
and
regulatory
policy
7. The
organisation
of regulatory
agencies
8.
Administrativ
e and judicial
review
9. Risk and
Regulation
10.
Regulatory
coherence
across levels
of
government
11.
Regulatory
management
capacity at
sub-national
level
12.
International
regulatory
co-operation

7. How to foster IRC in domestic rule-making?
7
Unilaterally, countries can foster the consideration of
the international environment in the development and
revision of laws and regulations
• Consider international “standards” in regulatory
development and ex post evaluation
• Use regulatory impact assessment processes to collect
evidence of foreign practices and assess
« international » impacts
• Engage foreign parties to identify frictions & inconsistencies
• Enforce – laws and regulations are only as good as their
implementation. This is the cornerstone of trust.

8. Regulatory Impact Assessment: an opportunity to
gather further evidence & assess impacts beyond
own jurisdiction
19
23
21
24
26
27
29
28
28
29
28
23
33
32
32
31
32
21
25
24
27
28
29
31
30
30
31
30
29
33
34
33
33
35
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Foreign jurisdictions
Specific regional areas
Other groups (non-profit sector including charities)
Poverty
Income inequality
Trade
Market openness
Specific social groups
Gender equality
Social goals
Sustainable development
Innovation
The budget
Small businesses
The public sector (e.g. costs to central or local government)
Environment
Competition
Number of jurisdictions
2014 2017
Note: Data is based on 34 OECD member countries and the European Union.
Source: 2018 Regulatory Policy Outlook (10 October 2018)

9. Limited understanding may limit consideration of
international standards in regulatory development
Note: Based on the 35 OECD member countries, the European Union, and three accession countries.
Source: 2018 Regulatory Policy Outlook (10 October 2018)
All
Binding
instrum.
Standards
Two thirds

10. Evolution of international
landscape over the years: it is
complex!
Source: OECD (2016), International Regulatory Co-operation: The Role of International Organisations in Fostering the Rules of Globalisation.

11. The variety of IO instruments – an ecosystem of
mostly soft law but not only
11

12. Implementation is the members’ responsibility -
mostly encouraged through voluntary peer reviews
8
2
4
10
18
19
6
13
12
12
12
13
36
35
34
28
20
18
0 10 20 30 40 50
Mandatory peer review of
individual members
Dispute settlement
procedure
Sanctions
Positive incentives for
implementation
Voluntary peer review of
individual members
Benchmarking progress of
individual members
Yes Occasionally Never
The stronger
the mechanism
to encourage
implementation
…
… the less it is
done by
international
organisations
Source: OECD (2016), International Regulatory Co-operation: The Role of International Organisations in Fostering the Rules of
Globalisation.

13. Ensuring the quality of international instruments:
Regulators need assurance that they can trust them
23
9
8
11
7
14
4
8
13
13
10
10
15
9
13
3
27
19
17
17
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Opportunity for stakeholder groups to comment on proposed
actions
Opportunity for the general public to comment on proposed
actions
Ex ante regulatory impact assessment (including cost-benefit
analysis)
Ex post evaluation of implementation and impacts
Review of the overall stock of regulatory norms in the
organisation
Systematically Frequently
Occasionally Never
Source: OECD (2016), International Regulatory Co-operation: The Role of International Organisations in Fostering the Rules of
Globalisation.

14. 14
Reconnect the national and international level!
Yes, always, 1
Yes, frequently, 3
Yes, sometimes, 9
Never, 26
Number of jurisdictions that review the
implementation of the international
instruments to which they adhere
For all international
instruments, 9
For major international
instruments, 11
For some international
instruments, 9
Never, 10
Number of jurisdictions with RIA
requirements when adopting or
transposing international instruments in
domestic legislation
Note: Based on the 35 OECD member countries, the European Union, and three accession countries.
Source: 2018 Regulatory Policy Outlook / Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance 2018, http://oe.cd/ireg.

15. Thank you
Background information:
The Regulatory Policy Committee was created by the
OECD Council on 22 October 2009 to assist countries in
implementing government-wide policies to promote
regulatory policy and governance.
Our work on regulatory policy is available at:
www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy
Our work on international regulatory co-operation is
available at: www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/IRC