<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_quote"><br><br><div dir="ltr"><h1 style="margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><font color="#444444" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1"><span style="line-height:30px"><a href="http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648/wto-needs-far-reaching-digital-trade-pact-experts-say" target="_blank">http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648/wto-needs-far-reaching-digital-trade-pact-experts-say</a></span></font><br></h1><h1 style="margin:0px 0px 10px;font-size:30px;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;line-height:1.1;color:rgb(68,68,68);padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial">WTO Needs Far-Reaching Digital Trade Pact, Experts Say</h1><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:24px;color:rgb(68,68,68);font-family:sans-serif;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial"><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:5px 0px;border-width:1px 0px;border-top-style:solid;border-bottom-style:solid;border-top-color:rgb(234,234,234);border-bottom-color:rgb(234,234,234);outline:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:16px;width:603.328px;background:transparent"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:right;background:transparent"><label style="display:inline-block;margin:0px;font-weight:bold;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left;background:transparent">Share us on:</label><a href="http://twitter.com/share?text=WTO%20Needs%20Far-Reaching%20Digital%20Trade%20Pact,%20Experts%20Say&url=http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648" title="Share us on Twitter" style="color:rgb(0,160,209);text-decoration:none;margin:0px 0px 0px 4px;padding:0px;font-size:18px;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px;background:transparent" target="_blank"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;font-family:FontAwesome;line-height:1;background:transparent"></span></a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648" title="Share us on Facebook" style="color:rgb(59,89,152);text-decoration:none;margin:0px 0px 0px 4px;padding:0px;font-size:18px;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px;background:transparent" target="_blank"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;font-family:FontAwesome;line-height:1;background:transparent"></span></a> <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648&summary=Policymakers+around+the+globe+should+begin+thinking+about+negotiations+for+an+expansive+World+Trade+Organization+agreement+devoted+solely+to+digital+trade%2C+e-commerce+and+telecommunications+issues%2C%26nbsp%3Baccording+to+an+expert+paper+circulated+at+the+World+Economic+Forum+Friday.&title=WTO+Needs+Far-Reaching+Digital+Trade+Pact%2C+Experts+Say&source=Law360" title="Share us on LinkedIn" style="color:rgb(72,117,180);text-decoration:none;margin:0px 0px 0px 4px;padding:0px;font-size:18px;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px;background:transparent" target="_blank"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;font-family:FontAwesome;line-height:1;background:transparent"></span></a> <a href="http://www.law360.com/articles/749648/share?section=internationaltrade" title="Email Article" style="color:rgb(0,66,127);text-decoration:none;margin:0px 0px 0px 4px;padding:0px;font-size:18px;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px;background:transparent" target="_blank"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;font-family:FontAwesome;line-height:1;background:transparent"></span></a></span><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent">By <strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent">Alex Lawson</strong></span></p>Law360, New York (January 22, 2016, 3:03 PM ET) -- Policymakers around the globe should begin thinking about negotiations for an expansive World Trade Organization agreement devoted solely to digital trade, e-commerce and telecommunications issues, according to an expert paper circulated at the World Economic Forum Friday.<br><br>While acknowledging the progress made on digital trade in recent regional trade deals, the paper — prepared jointly by the WEF and the the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development — said the time has come for an agreement that tackles those issues head-on at the World Trade Organization.<br><br>“There is a need to develop greater consensus or a critical mass around core concepts regarding cross-border data flows,” the paper said. “Rules and principles to support and expand digital trade are being inserted in some trade agreements. This is a positive step that should be discussed and expanded to more jurisdictions.”<br><br>The authors specifically cited the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership and the still-underway<strong style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent"> </strong>Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership as examples of significant trade deals tackling e-commerce, which they said should be used as a springboard for similar work on a broader platform.<br><br>“This work provides a basis for developing a specific agreement on digital trade that should be negotiated at the WTO on a plurilateral basis — open to those interested in joining, with consideration given to applying any such agreement on a [most-favored-nation] basis to all WTO members,” the paper said.<br><br>On an overarching policy level, the paper argued that a new agreement should allow for the unconstrained flow of data across borders between willing partners, and that the only exception should be one that is narrowly tailored and based on national security considerations.<br><br>Furthermore, the experts said there ought to be wide-ranging rules barring countries from requiring data to be stored only on local servers as a condition for market entry. This concept is enshrined within the TPP, but that agreement has also <a href="http://www.law360.com/articles/746082/obama-issues-formal-tpp-call-as-gop-clashes-loom" style="color:rgb(0,66,127);text-decoration:none;margin:0px;padding:0px;vertical-align:baseline;outline:0px;background:transparent" target="_blank">drawn fire</a> for leaving the financial services sector on the outside of those protections.<br><br>Even before launching new WTO talks on digital trade, the paper recommended updating certain existing WTO pacts to better accommodate 21st century traders, beginning with the Trade Facilitation Agreement.<br><br>The TFA — which was completed in 2013 and has been ratified by 68 WTO members — aims to streamline the flow of goods across borders around the globe, but could be modernized by installing a unified de minimis customs level under which no duties will applied, according to the experts’ recommendations.<br><br>“For trade in lower value goods that the Internet is enabling, such costs account for a relatively larger share of the total value, making it an even more serious trade barrier,” the paper said.<br><br>More broadly, the World Economic Forum and International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development experts said that throughout these processes, there should be a robust dialogue between governments, the private sector and advocacy groups that often pushed back against digital trade liberalization because of privacy concerns.<br><br>“Ensuring security of the network is one of the key issues that affects consumer and business confidence in addition to the direct costs that security breaches have on individual businesses,” they said.<br><br>--Editing by Bruce Goldman.</div><span class="HOEnZb"><font color="#888888"><div><br></div>-- <br><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)"><br style="font-family:arial;font-size:small"><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial;font-size:small"><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px"><i>Carolina Rossini </i></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px"><font color="#666666"><i>Vice President, International Policy</i></font></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px"><b><font color="#666666">Public Knowledge</font></b></div><div><font face="arial, sans-serif" color="#0000ff"><span style="font-size:12.6667px"><u><a href="http://www.publicknowledge.org/" target="_blank">http://www.publicknowledge.org/</a></u></span></font><br></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px"><a value="+16176979389" style="color:rgb(102,102,102)">+ 1 6176979389 | </a><font color="#666666">skype: carolrossini | </font><font color="#0000ff">@carolinarossini</font></div></div></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div>
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