[bestbits] [governance] WTO Needs Far-Reaching Digital Trade Pact, Experts Say

Mon Jan 25 06:01:06 EST 2016

Sorry, I forgot the link to the paper I mentioned - find it here: http://e15initiative.org/publications/maximizing-opportunities-internet-international-trade/ <http://e15initiative.org/publications/maximizing-opportunities-internet-international-trade/>

> On 25 Jan 2016, at 11:59, Nick Ashton-Hart <nashton at consensus.pro> wrote:
> 
> Dear Ephraim,
> 
> 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:
> 
> There has been an agenda on digital trade at the WTO since 1998, known as the Electronic Commerce Work Programme. More information is here <https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc10_e/briefing_notes_e/brief_ecommerce_e.htm>  and the resolution adopted on the subject at the Nairobi Ministerial can be found here <https://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/minist_e/mc10_e/l977_e.htm>.
> 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 homepage of their work here <http://unctad.org/en/Pages/DTL/STI_and_ICTs/ICT4D.aspx>.
> 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?
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
> ---
> Regards,
> 
> Nick Ashton-Hart
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> 
> 
>> On 25 Jan 2016, at 11:22, Ephraim Percy Kenyanito <ephraim at accessnow.org <mailto:ephraim at accessnow.org>> wrote:
>> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> We wouldn't want a reflection of the process of coming up with the TPP
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> Best Regards,
>> Ephraim Percy Kenyanito
>> Sub-Saharan Africa Policy Analyst
>> Access Now | accessnow.org <http://accessnow.org/>
>> 
>> tel: (+254)-786-191-930/ (+254)-751-804-120
>> @ekenyanito
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>> 
>> Subscribe to the Access Now Express <https://www.accessnow.org/campaign/#sign-up>, our weekly newsletter on digital rights
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>> On 25 January 2016 at 12:28, Carolina Rossini <carolina.rossini at gmail.com <mailto:carolina.rossini at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> here the WEF paper - http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/why-global-trade-laws-need-to-catch-up-with-digital-commerce <http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/why-global-trade-laws-need-to-catch-up-with-digital-commerce>
>> 
>> and here a paper I like mapping what has happened over the years regarding international regulation of e-commerce and related ICT stuff http://old.wti.org/fileadmin/user_upload/nccr-trade.ch/wp3/3.8/wunsch_hold_WP_final_11-07-08.pdf <http://old.wti.org/fileadmin/user_upload/nccr-trade.ch/wp3/3.8/wunsch_hold_WP_final_11-07-08.pdf>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 4:09 AM, Carolina Rossini <carolina.rossini at gmail.com <mailto:carolina.rossini at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648/wto-needs-far-reaching-digital-trade-pact-experts-say <http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648/wto-needs-far-reaching-digital-trade-pact-experts-say>
>> WTO Needs Far-Reaching Digital Trade Pact, Experts Say
>> Share us on: <http://twitter.com/share?text=WTO%20Needs%20Far-Reaching%20Digital%20Trade%20Pact,%20Experts%20Say&url=http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648>  <http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=http://www.law360.com/internationaltrade/articles/749648>  <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>  <http://www.law360.com/articles/749648/share?section=internationaltrade>By Alex Lawson
>> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> “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.”
>> 
>> The authors specifically cited the recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership and the still-underway 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.
>> 
>> “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.
>> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> 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 drawn fire <http://www.law360.com/articles/746082/obama-issues-formal-tpp-call-as-gop-clashes-loom> for leaving the financial services sector on the outside of those protections.
>> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> “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.
>> 
>> 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.
>> 
>> “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.
>> 
>> --Editing by Bruce Goldman.
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> Carolina Rossini
>> Vice President, International Policy
>> Public Knowledge
>> http://www.publicknowledge.org/ <http://www.publicknowledge.org/>
>> + 1 6176979389 |  <>skype: carolrossini | @carolinarossini
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> 
>> Carolina Rossini
>> Vice President, International Policy
>> Public Knowledge
>> http://www.publicknowledge.org/ <http://www.publicknowledge.org/>
>> + 1 6176979389 |  <>skype: carolrossini | @carolinarossini
>> 
>> 
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