Regulatory Assessments for two selected service sectors in Lao PDR

ARISE PLUS LAO PDR

TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR A NATIONAL CONSULTANT TO UNDERTAKE TWO REGULATORY ASSESSMENTS FOR SELECTED SERVICES SECTORS IN LAO PDR

Title of assignment: Regulatory Assessments for two selected service sectors in Lao PDR.

Tentative Start Date: 01 October 2020

Tentative End Date: 15 May 2021

Duty State: Home Based (Lao PDR)

BACKGROUND

The International Trade Centre (ITC), a joint agency of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations (UN), is the only multilateral agency fully dedicated to supporting internationalisation of SMEs. ITC’s mission is to foster inclusive and sustainable growth and development through trade and international business development. ITC’s projects and programmes contribute to the global efforts to achieve UN Global Goals for Sustainable Development and Aid for Trade Agenda.

The ARISE + Lao PDR project seeks to promote inclusive economic growth, increased climate change resilience, mitigate vulnerability (by reducing dependence on a limited number of sectors and markets), and create jobs in Lao PDR. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) is the focal point for the project in Lao PDR.

To achieve these objectives, the International Trade Centre (ITC) is supporting the Government of Lao PDR to achieve certain expected results, which includes among others, increasing regional economic integration, increasing awareness on trade preferences for exports, including to the EU, and facilitating support for trade and investment promotion in targeted sectors.

In this context, several activities are currently underway including an assessment of the level of implementation of ATIGA and related AEC Blueprint 2025 commitments in order to understand the reforms required to benefit from the regional partnerships; formulation of a Lao PDR Foreign Trade Negotiations Roadmap; and development of Investment Profiles to promote investments for the coffee and wood processing sectors, among others.

Services is an increasingly important sector in economies around the world, as it is intrinsically linked to various other productive sectors of the economy. In addition to being an avenue for export diversification and growth, such as the tourism industry, services also plays the role of an enabler of other sectors to move up the value chain by providing necessary inputs for industries. For instance, logistics services are crucial for the movement of goods in and out of the countries. In Lao PDR, services exports has grown considerably, although further support is required to build up and strengthen the services sector in Lao PDR to become more competitive and an instrument through which to facilitate economic growth.

In this context, an effective regulatory regime is instrumental to driving trade and investment in service industries. The quality of policies, regulations and institutional frameworks is a main determinant of services performance and central to harnessing the benefits of services sector development.

Based on discussions with the Trade in Services (TiS) Division of the Department of Foreign Trade Policy (DFTP) in Lao PDR, ITC will undertake regulatory assessments for two specific sectors in Lao PDR namely (i) Travel and Tourism; and (ii) Transport services.

The objective of a regulatory assessment is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the regulatory framework, by assessing horizontal measures which are imposed on the supply (focus is on the measure impacting the entry and to operate in the market) of services, and on a sectoral basis, covering regulations pertaining to specific sectors. For instance, in terms of the tourism sector, in addition to reviewing the legislation specifically developed for the tourism sector, the assessment will also cover horizontal laws such as regulations on foreign currency, laws on entry and stay for visitors, procedures related to establishment of firms, and educational requirements for labour, among others. In addition to assessing the regulations/sub-regulations in place, the assessment will also include an analysis of the regulatory institutions ability to develop and enforce regulations, and administrative bottlenecks to be improved above.

Transport, and travel and tourism services were covered in a regulatory assessment conducted for Lao PDR in January 2015. Since 2015, there have been several changes within the national and regional context. National legislation and supporting regulations governing services have been developed, revised and amended, and institutional structures have been developed, and a Services Trade Portal has been set-up. On a regional level, the AEC 2015 Blueprint has now been replaced by the AEC 2025 Blueprint, strengthening the call to broaden and deepen services integration in the region beyond what was achieved in AFAS. This resulted in the signing of the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA) in April 2019, which will replace the AFAS, and herald a new phase in the ASEAN’s goals to advance services liberalization, and ultimately closer regional integration. More specifically, under the ATISA, ASEAN member states will be responsible for (i) establishing commitments around the services liberalization commitments under the AFAS, which would include the reduction of discriminatory regulatory barriers and creating a more transparent regime; and (ii) converting AFAS commitments to a negative list approach, whereby all the services sectors would be considered liberalized by default, except for those specific sectors/sub-sectors listed.

Through these regulatory assessments, the objective is to enable the Government of Lao PDR to promote better regulatory practices and governance through systematic procedures, by highlighting institutional weaknesses or regulatory shortcomings, which would enable policy makers to consider alternative and improved regulatory frameworks to facilitate trade negotiations or attract foreign investment, and enhance and facilitate better integration on a regional level.

ITC will recruit an International Consultant (IC), and a National Consultant (NC) to develop these two regulatory assessments.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The NC will work under the overall supervision of the Senior Officer, Business and Trade Policy, Trade Facilitation and Policy for Business (TFPB) section.

The duties and responsibilities of the NC are as follows:

1. Undertake research for regulatory mapping of the two selected service sectors: (a) travel and tourism; and (b) transport.

The NC will undertake the mapping exercise as follows:

i. Provide a general overview of each of the abovementioned sectors by mapping the economic contribution of services to the economic in general and reviewing current proposals for reform in major policy documents (in order to ascertain the size of the sector and aims of Lao PDR).

ii. Conduct desk research to gather relevant legislation:

- Horizontal laws, regulations, notifications, and policies affecting all sectors, e.g. investment laws, labour laws, immigration laws, etc.

- Sectoral laws and policies those which directly govern or impact upon the sector.

iii. Conduct stakeholder consultations/interviews to assess de facto conditions in the industry and on an institutional level, and to inform any possible reforms. This is to be done by:

- Drawing up a list of key stakeholders (See Annex V of ITC’s publication ‘PPD Approach to Regulatory Assessment to Foster Competitive Services Sectors’ for a standard list)



- Conduct in-person consultations with key stakeholders based on questionnaires developed in accordance with the WTO-World Bank-OECD questionnaire provided, and further questions to help discover service related trade restrictions and governance frameworks found in Annexes III and IV of ITC’s publication ‘PPD Approach to Regulatory Assessment to Foster Competitive Services Sectors.’

The NC will catalogue relevant trade restrictions and build a comprehensive picture of the scope and capacity of implementation, as well as the political economy of the country.

2. Produce the results of the regulatory mapping and assessment for the two selected sectors in two reports (one for each sector): (i) travel and tourism; and (ii) transport services sector in Lao PDR

The NC will consolidate the analysis for each of the selected sectors into a report (i.e. two reports), comprising of the following sections:

i. Introduction section

ii. Economic and Trade Profile – in terms of the relevant services sector of Lao PDR

iii. Horizontal Regulatory Framework and Institutional Setup in Lao PDR

iv. Travel and Tourism Services Sector Institutional Setup in Lao PDR

v. Legal and Regulatory Regime for the Travel and Tourism Services Sector in Lao PDR

vi. Conclusions and Recommendations (Horizontal and Sectoral) – Identifying measures currently in place, and the measures that will need to be implemented in the future.

The first draft of the report is to be shared with ITC and the TiS Division of DFTP for comments, and the report will be revised based on these comments.

(ITC may organize an online discussion with the TiS Division, and the IC and the NC, to discuss comments and address questions, for both regulatory assessments)

3. Present the results of the regulatory assessment on the travel and tourism services sector in public-private dialogue (PPD) in Lao PDR.

The NC, together with the IC, will present the results of the regulatory assessment on the travel and tourism services sector during a one-day PPD, and participate actively in the discussions.

4. Present the results of the regulatory assessment on the transport services sector in a PPD in Lao PDR.

The NC, together with the IC, will present the results of the regulatory assessment the transport services sector during a one-day PPD, and participate actively in the discussions.

(In the event international travel is still restricted, the IC will co-present over a video platform)

5. Finalize the two reports on the travel and tourism services sector, and the transport services sector, based on the feedback and comments received from the PPDs, and any follow-up consultations.

Following feedback received during the PPD, the NC will (i) undertake further bilateral meetings with key stakeholders, and (ii) incorporate feedback/comments to finalize the Report.

6. Participate in an advisory session with the TiS Division of the DFTP, and other relevant officials to map out the way forward and the next steps with regard to the travel and tourism sector, and the transport sector of Lao PDR.

The NC will participate in a half-day advisory session (if necessary, online) with the TiS Division of DFTP, and other relevant officials in order to respond to any questions and clarify any issues.

7. Submit a Note for File for the assignment undertaken

The NC will submit a Note for File, based on a template provided by ITC, setting out details of the meetings/consultations/activities undertaken over the course of this assignment to develop two regulatory assessments for the selected services in Lao PDR.

Throughout these activities, the NC will refer to ITC’s paper ‘PPD Approach to Regulatory Assessment to Foster Competitive Services Sectors’, and identify existing regulatory restrictions (using OECD and World Bank classifications) through among others, policy documents and laws, databases through desk and fieldwork.

The Consultant is responsible for all submitted documents and must ensure that they are not plagiarised. Any plagiarism, copying or closely reproducing another’s work without accrediting the legitimate author, in the documents submitted would result in a refusal of the submitted document.

DELIVERABLES AND TIMELINES

Activity 1: Undertake research for the regulatory mapping of the two selected sectors– (i) travel and tourism, and (ii) transport

Output 1: General overview provided, list of stakeholders to be consulted provided, list of meetings conducted with stakeholders and questionnaire responses provided (in an Excel database)

Timeline: October – November 2020

Activity 2: Produce results of the regulatory assessments for the two selected sectors in two reports: (i) travel and tourism; and (ii) transport services sector

Output 2: First drafts of the two regulatory assessments shared with ITC and TiS Division of DFTP and comments addressed

Timeline: December 2020 – February 2021

Activity 3: Present the regulatory assessment on the travel and tourism services sector of Lao PDR at a PPD

Output 3: Draft of PPT slides submitted to ITC one week in advance of PPD

Timeline: March – April 2021

Activity 4: Present the regulatory assessment on the transport services sector of Lao PDR

Output 4: Draft of PPT slides submitted to ITC one week in advance of PPD

Timeline: March – April 2021

Activity 5: Finalize the two regulatory assessments on (i) travel and tourism services; and (ii) transport services sector of Lao PDR, based on comments received at PPD, and any follow-up consultations.

Output 5: Final list of meetings provided to ITC, and final version of the Report provided to ITC.

Timeline: April - May 2021

Activity 6: Participate in an advisory session (online, if necessary) with the TiS division and other relevant officials to map out way forward, and respond to Q&A session

Output 6: Participation at the advisory session with relevant officials.

Timeline: May 2021

Activity 7: Submit Note for File on the assignment undertaken, based on template provided by ITC

Output 7: Note for File submitted



Timeline: May 2021

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS REQUIRED

EDUCATION

 Advanced degree in international trade, law, economics or international relations

EXPERIENCE

 A minimum of 5 years of academic and/or practical experience in the field of international trade/trade policy.

 Experience of undertaking research and drafting reports

SKILLS  Strong analytical and drafting skills  Excellent communication, networking and writing skills  Ability to convey complex information in an easily understandable and pedagogical manner  Capacity to work effectively with the ITC team

LANGUAGES

 Fluency in written and spoken English and Lao language.