<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Sorry, I forgot the link to the paper I mentioned - find it here: <a href="http://e15initiative.org/publications/maximizing-opportunities-internet-international-trade/" class="">http://e15initiative.org/publications/maximizing-opportunities-internet-international-trade/</a><br class="">
<br class=""><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On 25 Jan 2016, at 11:59, Nick Ashton-Hart <<a href="mailto:nashton@consensus.pro" class="">nashton@consensus.pro</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8" class=""><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Dear Ephraim,<div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I am glad that this has been noticed. As I have followed trade policy in Geneva actively for several years, I would add a few additional bits of information - and a call to action that I hope at least some of you might take up:</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><ol class="MailOutline"><li class="">There has been an agenda on digital trade at the WTO since 1998, known as the Electronic Commerce Work Programme. More information is <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc10_e/briefing_notes_e/brief_ecommerce_e.htm" class="">here</a> and the resolution adopted on the subject at the Nairobi Ministerial can be <a href="https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc10_e/l977_e.htm" class="">found here</a>.</li><li class="">There will certainly be more discussion of ICTs in a trade context over the next two years at the WTO, though not in a formal negotiating sense outside of pluryilateral negotiations like the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) talks. There are also really good processes on digital trade at UNCTAD and developing countries participate in these very actively and the UNCTAD secretariat who work on this area are, in my experience, amongst the best and the brightest I have seen working in any part of the international civil service. You can find the <a href="http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DTL/STI_and_ICTs/ICT4D.aspx" class="">homepage of their work here</a>.</li><li class="">As the digital economy becomes more important we will see more and more attention paid to it by trade negotiators. I think the question that you want to ask yourselves from a civil society perspective is: how can you create the relationships with negotiators and their ministries so that you are a part of the inside of your national trade policy development processes, and secondarily, for those who want to work at the international level, how can the public interest inform the work in Geneva? </li></ol></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Right now there is very little engagement in Geneva on digital trade, excepting visits by (almost exclusively Western) industry representatives for a few days at a time, and then mostly just to tell negotiators what they want, rather than to help them understand what their policy options are. Civil society engagement with trade negotiators is some areas is very robust here (agriculture, intellectual property) but in digital trade is basically zero.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I think that’s a great shame. Geneva is the world’s capital of trade policy and therefore there’s a unique opportunity to educate policymakers about the policy options that they have since they come here regularly. The foundation of how trade policy views the Internet is still being laid. There are many trade negotiators who genuinely want to understand it better and how their countries can use technology for economic benefit not just for big companies but primarily for small and medium sized enterprises. I have spent much of the last few years trying to help them. I hope someone - and ideally several someones - will take that effort forward since I probably won’t be continuing with it myself.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Unfortunately, the narrative that negotiators hear about the digital economy relates primarily to developed countries. That’s a problem because the Internet has profound potential for development if wise policies are adopted - I suspect we all agree about that - and at the moment far too many developing country trade officials believe that the Internet is only for the West, and the North, and that there’s little in it for the South. I don’t know about you, but I believe the Internet is for everyone and can benefit everyone, in trade as in so much else.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">If you are interested, I was a part of a policy advisory process on digital trade co-hosted by WEF and ICTSD. The report of that group was just issued, and I suspect all of you will find it interesting even if you may or may not agree with all the conclusions. You can find it here.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">I think we all agree that trade policy - like all else - needs a strong voice for the public interest that is trusted by negotiators and relied upon by them. That will only happen if the public interest community invests the time and energy now to create those relationships in Geneva and in national capitals. Those relationships will be most effective, in my view, if the public interest does more than tell negotiators what it don’t want. It should also explain the positive potential for economic and social development that the Internet represents, whether you believe trade agreements should have Internet provisions or not.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">---</div><div class=""><div apple-content-edited="true" class=""><p class="">Regards,<br class=""><br class="">Nick Ashton-Hart<br class=""><font size="1" class="">Landline: +41 22 534 99 45</font><br class=""><font size="1" class="">Mobile: +41 79 595 5468</font><br class=""><font size="1" class="">Silent Phone/USA DID: nashton / +1 971-544-8395</font><br class=""><font size="1" class="">email: </font><a href="mailto:nashton@consensus.pro" style="font-size: x-small;" class="">nashton@consensus.pro</a><br class=""><font size="1" class="">FaceTime/iMessage: <a href="mailto:nashtonhart@mac.com" class="">nashtonhart@mac.com</a></font><br class=""><font size="1" class="">Jabber: <a href="mailto:nashton@jit.si" class="">nashton@jit.si</a></font><br class=""><font size="1" class="">PGP: 6995293D</font><br class=""><font size="1" class="">Fingerprint: 9794 3DC C 8F 27 9 BF8 3105 298 1 96 FA F 538 6995 293 D</font><br class=""><font size="1" class="">Skype: nashtonhart</font><br class=""><font size="1" class="">Twitter: </font><a href="https://twitter.com/nashtonhart" class=""><font size="1" class="">@nashtonhart</font><br class=""></a><font size="1" class=""><a href="https://ch.linkedin.com/pub/nick-ashton-hart/0/106/72" class=""><img src="https://static.licdn.com/scds/common/u/img/webpromo/btn_profile_bluetxt_80x15.png" width="80" height="15" border="0" alt="View Nick Ashton-Hart's profile on LinkedIn" class=""></a></font></p><p class=""><font size="1" class=""><b class=""><a href="http://evaunt.me/vEbDF/NickAshton-Hart1" class="">Click here</a> to put all my details in your Address Book</b></font></p><p class=""><font size="1" class="">“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.” - Plato</font></p>
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<br class=""><div class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On 25 Jan 2016, at 11:22, Ephraim Percy Kenyanito <<a href="mailto:ephraim@accessnow.org" class="">ephraim@accessnow.org</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">During WTO Ministerial meeting in December 2015 in Nairobi, developed countries wanted to introduce a new item (emerging trade and ICTs) but developing countries opposed this move as they wanted a conclusion of the Doha Round of negotiations. So its very probable that this will happen in the near future.<br class=""></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small"><br class="">Given WTO Agreements are binding, we need to make sure that in case it happens, such discussions are carried out in the open with participation from all stakeholders. We need to be in the table/ on delegations.<br class=""><br class=""></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:small">We wouldn't want a reflection of the process of coming up with the TPP<br class=""></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all" class=""><div class=""><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><p class=""><span style="background-color:rgba(255,255,255,0);font-size:13pt" class="">--</span></p></div>Best Regards,
<p style="margin-bottom:0.0001pt;line-height:normal" class=""><b class=""><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(136,136,136)" class="">Ephraim Percy Kenyanito</span></b><span style="font-size:10pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:rgb(136,136,136)" class=""></span></p>
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<br class=""><div class="gmail_quote">On 25 January 2016 at 12:28, Carolina Rossini <span dir="ltr" class=""><<a href="mailto:carolina.rossini@gmail.com" target="_blank" class="">carolina.rossini@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br class=""><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr" class="">here the WEF paper - <a href="http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/why-global-trade-laws-need-to-catch-up-with-digital-commerce" target="_blank" class="">http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/why-global-trade-laws-need-to-catch-up-with-digital-commerce</a><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">and here a paper I like mapping what has happened over the years regarding international regulation of e-commerce and related ICT stuff <a href="http://old.wti.org/fileadmin/user_upload/nccr-trade.ch/wp3/3.8/wunsch_hold_WP_final_11-07-08.pdf" target="_blank" class="">http://old.wti.org/fileadmin/user_upload/nccr-trade.ch/wp3/3.8/wunsch_hold_WP_final_11-07-08.pdf</a></div><div class=""><div class="h5"><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br class=""><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 4:09 AM, Carolina Rossini <span dir="ltr" class=""><<a href="mailto:carolina.rossini@gmail.com" target="_blank" class="">carolina.rossini@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br class=""><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr" class=""><h1 style="margin:0px 0px 10px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background-image:initial;background-repeat:initial" class=""><font color="#444444" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="1" class=""><span style="line-height:30px" class=""><a href="http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648/wto-needs-far-reaching-digital-trade-pact-experts-say" target="_blank" class="">http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648/wto-needs-far-reaching-digital-trade-pact-experts-say</a></span></font><br class=""></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" class="">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" class=""><p style="margin:0px 0px 15px;padding:5px 0px;border-width:1px 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style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;font-family:FontAwesome;line-height:1;background:transparent" class=""></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" class=""><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;font-family:FontAwesome;line-height:1;background:transparent" class=""></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" class=""><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;font-family:FontAwesome;line-height:1;background:transparent" class=""></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" class=""><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block;font-family:FontAwesome;line-height:1;background:transparent" class=""></span></a></span><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent" class="">By <b style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent" class="">Alex Lawson</b></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 class=""><br class="">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 class=""><br class="">“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 class=""><br class="">The authors specifically cited the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership and the still-underway<b style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;outline:0px;vertical-align:baseline;background:transparent" class=""> </b>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 class=""><br class="">“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 class=""><br class="">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 class=""><br class="">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" class="">drawn fire</a> for leaving the financial services sector on the outside of those protections.<br class=""><br class="">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 class=""><br class="">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 class=""><br class="">“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 class=""><br class="">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 class=""><br class="">“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 class=""><br class="">--Editing by Bruce Goldman.</div><span class=""><font color="#888888" class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div>-- <br class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" class=""><br style="font-family:arial;font-size:small" class=""><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial;font-size:small" class=""><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px" class=""><i class="">Carolina Rossini </i></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px" class=""><font color="#666666" class=""><i class="">Vice President, International Policy</i></font></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px" class=""><b class=""><font color="#666666" class="">Public Knowledge</font></b></div><div class=""><font color="#0000ff" face="arial, sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-size:12.6667px" class=""><u class=""><a href="http://www.publicknowledge.org/" target="_blank" class="">http://www.publicknowledge.org/</a></u></span></font><br class=""></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px" class=""><a value="+16176979389" style="color:rgb(102,102,102)" class="">+ 1 6176979389 | </a><font color="#666666" class="">skype: carolrossini | </font><font color="#0000ff" class="">@carolinarossini</font></div></div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></div></div>
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</blockquote></div><br class=""><br clear="all" class=""><div class=""><br class=""></div>-- <br class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div dir="ltr" class=""><div class=""><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px;background-color:rgb(255,255,255)" class=""><br style="font-family:arial;font-size:small" class=""><div dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial;font-size:small" class=""><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px" class=""><i class="">Carolina Rossini </i></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px" class=""><font color="#666666" class=""><i class="">Vice President, International Policy</i></font></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px" class=""><b class=""><font color="#666666" class="">Public Knowledge</font></b></div><div class=""><font color="#0000ff" face="arial, sans-serif" class=""><span style="font-size:12.6667px" class=""><u class=""><a href="http://www.publicknowledge.org/" target="_blank" class="">http://www.publicknowledge.org/</a></u></span></font><br class=""></div><div style="font-family:arial,sans-serif;font-size:12.6667px" class=""><a value="+16176979389" style="color:rgb(102,102,102)" class="">+ 1 6176979389 | </a><font color="#666666" class="">skype: carolrossini | </font><font color="#0000ff" class="">@carolinarossini</font></div></div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></div></div></div>
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