Philippine Standard time

Regulatory governance and the improvement of public services


Any trade concession can be nullified by imposing an offsetting set of domestic policies. For this reason, no institutional arrangement that oversees trade liberalization, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), can confine its attention to "border" rules. This explains the shift of emphasis from shallow integration--based on the removal of barriers to trade at the border-to deeper integration, which is concerned with national regulatory measures that had not been previously subjected to international scrutiny. When voluntary harmonization is impossible or undesirable, it is necessary to reply on the work of international standards organizations, such as the Codex Alimentarius Commission. It is the interest of these countries to be active members of standard-setting organizations such as Codex, in order to influence the formulation and implementation of international rules. Science is going to play a central role in international risk regulation and the harmonization of technical barriers to trade. Thus, the possibility of playing an active role in the relevant bodies presupposes a stock of available scientific talent. A number of developing countries should develop professionals trained in "regulatory science," the logic of decisionmaking under certainty, and the design of efficient regulatory policies and institutions.

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