Title：New Discipline of WTO Services Domestic Regulation from the Perspective of Digital Economy

Author：Jingxia Shi

Abstract：The entry into force of new disciplines on services domestic regulation was announced at the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) in Abu Dhabi on February 27. Though it, as a trade facilitation agreement in the service sector, does not directly relate to the opening of services market, the Reference Paper could impose sound regulation disciplines and improve the business environment for service sectors in the age of digital economy through strengthening the transparency of participating members on services domestic regulation measures, improving the service licensing and approval efficiency, reducing the cross-border transaction costs of service suppliers and other ways. To balance the regulatory autonomy of members and freedom of servicing, it did not incorporate the long-debated “necessity test”, which created space for further discussion. China has attached great importance to the development of the digital economy and trade in services in recent years and has actively contributed to the negotiations of the Reference Paper. The improvement of domestic regulation against the Reference Paper is conducive to the high-quality development of China’s trade in services in the digital era.

Keywords：Reference Paper on Services Domestic Regulation (SDR Reference Paper), Trade in Services, Domestic Regulation, Digital Economy, “Necessity Test”, WTO