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2009/SOM2/GOS/SEM1/001
Agenda
Submitted by: United States
/ Seminar on Regulatory Issues in Cross-Border Services Trade: Ensuring Protection ofConsumers and Service SuppliersSingapore
27 July 2009
CTI 30/2008TJuly 2009
“Regulatory Issues in Cross-Border Services Trade:
Ensuring Protection of Consumers and Service Suppliers”
GOS Seminar – 27 July 2009 – Singapore
Seminar Agenda
9:00 – 9:45 IntroductionRegulatory issues in cross-border services trade
- Treatment of services-related regulatory issues in trade agreements (GATS, FTAs)
- Specific issues raised by cross-border services trade—how to enforce laws/regulations intended to protect consumers and businesses
- Distinction between issues raised by business-to-consumer and business-to-business trade
9:45 – 10:30 Regulatory Issues in Cross-Border Services Trade I
Consumer protection
- Development of cross-border networks for regulatory enforcement
- Current mechanisms for cooperative regulatory enforcement:
Bilateral, regional, and multilateral mechanisms
Speaker: Pablo Zylberglait, U.S. Federal Trade Commission
10:30 – 10:45Coffee break
10:45 – 12:00 Regulatory Issues in Cross-Border Services Trade II
Resolution of disputes
- Mechanisms for facilitating redress in cross-border transactions(e.g., internal complaints handling, government-obtained redress, alternative dispute settlement)
- Payment card protections
- Contractual agreements between suppliers and consumers
Seah Seng Choon, Consumer Association of Singapore
Natalia Calero Sanchez, Consumer Protection Federal Agency, Mexico
12:00 – 12:30 Regulatory Issues in Cross-Border Services Trade III
Protection of data
- Data privacy regimes in APEC economies
- Work of APEC’s E-Commerce Steering Group, Data Privacy Sub-Group
12:30 – 14:00 Lunch
14:00 – 15:30 APEC Economy Perspectives
Consumer protection and resolution of disputes – cooperative networks
- Experience and approaches of APEC economy regulators
Rungit Singh, Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives & Consumerism, Malaysia
Sergio Corvalán, National Agency of Consumer Protection, Chile
Tae-Hyun Moon, Korea Consumer Authority
15:30 – 15:45Coffee break
15:45 – 17:00 Roundtable Discussion
Interaction between services trade and regulatory issues
- Which regulatory issues discussed are most relevant in cross-border services trade
- What other regulatory issues arise in cross-border services context (e.g., sector-specific issues)
- How well do existing mechanisms address these regulatory concerns
- Possible areas for further cooperation
- Practice in FTAs, regional agreements
- Direct assistance, capacity building
Trinh Anh Tuan, Vietnam Competition Administration Department
17:00 – 17:30 Conclusions and Next Steps
Conclusions from roundtable discussion
- Perspectives of regulators and services trade negotiators
- Development of APEC Services Initiative
- Identification of additional topics for possible 2010 GOS seminars
Speakers
- Brigitte Acoca
Consumer Policy Analyst, Committee on Consumer Policy
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
- Dale Andrew
Head, Trade Policy Linkages and Services Division
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
- Natalia Calero Sanchez
Director for Arbitration and Resolutions
Consumer Protection Federal Agency, Mexico (PROFECO)
- Seah Seng Choon
Executive Director
Consumer Association of Singapore
- Sergio Corvalán
Deputy Director
National Agency of Consumers Protection, Chile (SERNAC)
- Christopher Melly
Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Services
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative
- Colin Minihan
Senior Advisor, Privacy and FOI Policy Branch, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Australia (Chair, Data Privacy Sub-group, APEC E-Commerce Steering Group)
- Tae-Hyun Moon
Head, International Consumer Research Team
Korea Consumer Authority
- Renee Prescott
International Unit
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
- Rungit Singh
Chairman, Tribunal of Consumer Claims Malaysia, Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives, and Consumerism (Head, Working Group for Cross-Border Consumer Redress, ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Consumer Protection)
- Trinh Anh Tuan
Director, International Cooperation Division
Vietnam Competition Administration Department
- Pablo Zylberglait
Counsel for International Consumer Protection, Office of International Affairs
U.S. Federal Trade Commission