Chile s Experience on Transparency

Transcription

1 2011/SOM1/SCSC/CON1/017 Session 4 Chile s Experience on Transparency Submitted by: Chile 6 th Conference on Good Regulatory Practice Washington, D.C., United States 1-2 March 2011

2 Chile s Experience on Transparency Carolina Ramírez Joignant Head of TBT Sub-Department General Directorate of International Economic Affairs Topics Fulfillment WTO/TBT Agreement obligations (Transparency) and FTAs/Best Practices Other Advances: SMEs/Best Practices Challenges 1

3 Fulfillment Obligations WTO/TBT Agreement and FTAs TBT National enquiry point National Commission on Technical Barriers to Trade Decree 77 (Ministry of Economy): Decree of GRP The Regulatory bodies have improved their websites Portal of Chilean technical regulations TBT National Enquiry Point General Directorate of International Economic Affairs (DIRECON) Ministry of Foreign Affairs TBT Sub-Department 2

4 National Commission on Technical Barriers to Trade It was created in It is headed by the General Directorate of International Economic Affairs (DIRECON), Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is conformed by the representatives of the Ministries and Public Agencies that develop, adopt and apply technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures, the INN (Standardization Body) and Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Objective: To coordinate and provide consistency to the work of the institutions involved with technical regulations and conformity assessment procedure Direcon Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores National Commission on Technical Barriers to Trade Functions: To Review and analyze of the general standardization, regulation and conformity assessment systems in Chile. To update the WTO/TBT activities (4 times a year) for its implementation and application in Chile transparency obligations To identify and analyze the topics on WTO/TBT and other international instances which require a national position. To Analyze and follow up the free trade agreement negotiations Support on the administration of the current agreements, mainly by providing technical information about particular sectors. To review and analyze the national technical regulations public availability. Implementation of a network of focal points in the different agencies to coordinate work and to respond to information requirements. 3

5 National Commission on Technical Barriers to Trade MINISTRY OR GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY AREA WEB SITE Transport Vehicles Telecommunications Telecommunications General Direction of Public Works Road and Construction Housing Planning, Urban Development and National Goods Construction materials, seismic design, fire prevention, etc. Ministry of Agriculture SAG Agriculture products and animal products, pesticides, fertilizers, seeds, alcohol, meat, fruits, etc Ministry of Environment Environment Superintendence of Electricity and Fuel (SEC) SERNAPESCA (Fishing National Service) SUBPESCA (Undersecretary of Fishing) Electric products and fuel Fishing Ministry of Health Health ; Food products ISP (Public Health Institute) Pharmaceuticals products Cosmetics Ministry of Economy Consumer National Service INN (National Institute of Standardization) Superintendence of Sanitary Services Labeling Standards Sanitary Services Ministry of Defense Arms, Defense Decree 77: Decree of GRP Throughout 2003 the Commission on TBT worked on the elaboration of a Decree This Decree ensures compliance with TBT principles, obligations and procedures. Decree 77/2004: Requirements for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures This Decree was agreed by consensus in the Commission on TBT. The scope of the Decree, relates to the principles of the TBT Agreement and good regulatory practices (GRP). 4

6 Decree 77: Decree of GRP The Decree has allowed enhancing awareness among the Chilean agencies regarding: The benefits of having clear and uniform rules on how technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures (CAP) should be developed, adopted, and applied. The process for its elaboration gave the opportunity to answer the agencies inquiries and to share the main concerns. The Decree establishes principles of the TBT Agreement such as: use of international standards, non-discrimination, avoidance of unnecessary barriers to trade and transparency. It includes a broad system of consultation of draft regulations with the community and a time period for comments (at least 60 days) It requires to keep relevant information available to the public (objective of the measure, alternatives considered, advantages and disadvantages, etc.) Decree 77: Decree of GRP Technical regulations and/or CAP must allow a reasonable time between the date of their adoption and their application. A reasonable time shall be understood to mean a period of no less than six months. The Ministry or agency with regulatory powers shall analyze the comments received and take said written comments into account. In addition, it must make available to the public responses to any significant comments it received. The Decree 77 is available in: (Spanish and English version) 5

7 Good Practices of the Regulatory bodies According to the public availability of technical regulations, the agencies have been improving the information contained in their websites. Superintendence of Electricity and Fuel Ministry of Health Ministry of Housing Consumer National Service 6

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10 Portal of Technical Regulations of Chile With funds from a project with the EC, it was developed a Portal (web site), whose objective was to have a unique web site with all the technical regulations (TR) and conformity assessment procedures (CAP) of Chile, and information relatedtotbtissues. 9

11 Other Advances Establishment of the Council for Transparency SMEs/Best Practices 10

12 Council for Transparency The Council for Transparency is an autonomous corporation of public law, that has its own patrimony. It was created by the Law of Transparency of the Public Function and Access of Information (2009) Objectives: Promote the principle of transparency and expand the right of access to public information, generating relevant information on levels of implementation in the public sector and best practices installed. Guarantee the provision of the right of access to public information to ensure its accessibility, enforceability and availability Too improve the regulating g legislation on transparency and the right of access to information o while promoting the efficiency of governance and citizen control. Install Transparency Council based on a model of governance quality that promotes citizen contribution, incorporating comparative experiences and best practices. Council for Transparency The Council of Transparency has elaborated two instructions that pursue the mission of making easier to the people to understand the information that the public institutions must publish in their web sites in compliance with the Transparency Law. The main changes that these instructions are suggesting are: It changes the way the institutions must inform their attributions, responsibilities and main obligations they are subject under the law. The instruction requests that the salary of each person that works in the institution is informed at its full before and after taxes The instructions suggest as a good practice that every organization should also publish in their web -the salary of every authority, even if they are not demanded by law to do so; -their statement of disclosure of special interests and assets; -the payments and expenses that every person may receive due to travel obligations in a monthly form. The instructions try to move one step ahead to fulfill a better definition of some concepts like main stock holder of a company that goes into business with the government; The law demands that every organization must make public every decision that has effects on third parties 11

13 SMEs Law Law (SME Statute), 2010: incorporates a procedure to design secondary regulations by taking into account their impact on SMEs in terms of compliance costs (Article 5) Combines regulatory good practice/ procedure with transparency First step toward a potential RIA (simplified) system, today in the process of early implementation Looked at OECD experience (USA, Australia, among others) SMEs Law : Implementation of Article 5 Coordinated Interagency Working Ministry of Economy Promulgation of Supreme Decree 80 (July 2010): regulates the procedure for announcing of general legal standards affecting EMT (SMEs) Council for Transparency Development of the General Instructional No. 8 (August 2010): obligation of informing the draft of standards that impact to EMT (SMEs) Committee on Integrity and Transparency (SEGPRES: General Secretariat of Presidency) Coordinating body for all those responsible for public sector transparency In force since September

14 SMEs Law : General Procedure Regulator designs regulatory proposal Publish preparatory documents (form) (15 days in advance) Send regulatory proposal (15 days in advance) Transparency Banner at own Ministry Ministry of Economy Ministry of Economy revises those forms _ Ministry of Economy interact with regulator proposing the norm CHALLENGES Improve the Portal of Technical Regulations New Project (Funds?) Develop an Alert System (WTO/TBT notifications) Improve the search system of TR and CAP Increase capacity building activities to the regulatory bodies Publications Others: WTO Publication of a Guide of GRP Develop a guide of GRP based on WTO/TBT obligations and principles and other GRP guides (APEC, OECD) Having a formal mechanism of RIA Having a formal mechanism of RIA for TR and CAP 13

15 THANK YOU GRACIAS. 14