Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation in the WTO: The Case of Russia

Abstract

The co-sponsors managed to find an interim exit to revitalise negotiations by signing a joint ministerial statement by proponent members at the 11th WTO Ministerial conference in 2017 and thus gave the green light to negotiators to work on the text.Because consensus decision-making renders it difficult to obtain the support of all 164 WTO members, the co-sponsors of the Initiative are developing rules in the form of a Reference Paper on Services Domestic Regulation (and not in the form of an outstanding agreement). Its incorporation is planned through the modification of the services schedules of participating members.The issue of embedding the text in the WTO law requires careful study and will have a systemic impact on the finalisation of the results of negotiations within the framework of other joint initiatives discussed in the organisation (e-commerce, investment facilitation for development). In fact, the ability to achieve a result on domestic regulation in services is considered in Geneva by experts as a 'test of the viability' of the WTO negotiating function in the context of the multilateral system's crisis.The disciplines do not address issues of market access and national treatment, but are aimed at increasing transparency and reducing the administrative burden on services suppliers. Streamlining domestic regulations in services can facilitate international trade in services and contribute to the recovery of the service sector after the coronavirus pandemic if they are widely and conscientiously implemented. For Russia,