This report is part of a mini collection of books on the topic of international regulatory co-operation (IRC). It comprises four case studies, upon which the synthesis report (International Regulatory Co-operation: Rules for an Interdependent World) builds

OECD governments have comprehensive regulatory frameworks for preventing and/or minimising health and environmental risks posed by chemicals. These frameworks ensure that chemical products on the market are handled in a safe way, and that new chemicals are properly assessed before being placed on the market. However, different national chemical control policies can lead to duplication in testing and government assessments. They may also create non-tariff or technical barriers to trade in chemicals, discourage research, innovation and growth, and increase the time it takes to introduce new products on the market. This case study shows how the development and implementation of the Mutual Acceptance of Data system – under which chemical safety data developed in one member country using the OECD Test Guidelines and OECD principles of Good Laboratory Practice must be accepted by all member countries – is helping minimise unnecessary divergences across regulatory frameworks and facilitate work-sharing by governments.

Co-operation and co-ordination among product safety regulators have taken on increased importance in recent years, particularly with respect to products that are traded internationally. The situation reached a critical point in the summer of 2007, when a number of high-profile incidents occurred, leading to the launch of an action plan hosted by the OECD Working Party on Consumer Product Safety aimed at improving information sharing within and across jurisdictions. This case study identifies the main characteristics of this initiative, describes the instruments of co-operation and analyses how it contributes to promote regulatory co-operation in the area of product safety.

To avoid the important distortive effects that double taxation has on crossborder trade and investment, countries have developed a vast network of bilateral tax treaties. However, absent internationally-agreed standards and an easily accessible set of draft provisions, negotiations of these bilateral treaties between countries would be extremely difficult and these treaties would be applied and interpreted differently by countries. This case study deals with the role played by the OECD Model Tax Convention in the co-ordination of the internationally-agreed standards for the elimination of double taxation of income and the prevention of tax evasion. These standards are reflected in the network of more than 3 500 bilateral tax treaties that have been concluded, and are interpreted and applied, on the basis of these standards, which need to be continuously refined and adapted to new situations.

The increasing number of competition enforcement cases with international dimensions makes co-operation between competition enforcers in different jurisdictions imperative for domestic enforcement to be truly effective. Success in discovering and prosecuting anti-competitive practices require competition authorities to significantly improve their ability to co-operate. International co-operation in competition enforcement cases is a topic that is widely discussed in many fora and is of considerable interest to both competition enforcers and the private sector. This case study presents how the OECD has contributed to these discussions and has fostered co-operation through its own instruments and reports. ??