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

Mon Jan 25 06:11:19 EST 2016

and if WTO likes the call, they might take it on, since they need to
re-gain relevance
but I doubt US would allow it

On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 5:59 AM, 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:
>
>
>    1. 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>.
>    2. 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>.
>    3. 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
> Landline: +41 22 534 99 45
> Mobile: +41 79 595 5468
> Silent Phone/USA DID: nashton / +1 971-544-8395
> email: nashton at consensus.pro
> FaceTime/iMessage: nashtonhart at mac.com
> Jabber: nashton at jit.si
> PGP: 6995293D
> Fingerprint: 9794 3DC C 8F 27 9 BF8 3105 298 1 96 FA F 538 6995 293 D
> Skype: nashtonhart
> Twitter: @nashtonhart
> <https://twitter.com/nashtonhart>[image: View Nick Ashton-Hart's profile
> on LinkedIn] <https://ch.linkedin.com/pub/nick-ashton-hart/0/106/72>
>
> *Click here <http://evaunt.me/vEbDF/NickAshton-Hart1> to put all my
> details in your Address Book*
>
> “Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the
> imagination and life to everything.” - Plato
>
> On 25 Jan 2016, at 11:22, Ephraim Percy Kenyanito <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
>
> tel: (+254)-786-191-930/ (+254)-751-804-120
> @ekenyanito
> PGP: E6BA8DC1
> Fingerprint: B0FA394AF73DEB7AA1FDC7360CFED26DE6BA8DC1
>
> *Subscribe *to the Access Now Express
> <https://www.accessnow.org/campaign/#sign-up>, our weekly newsletter on
> digital rights
> *Sign up* for our action alerts <https://www.accessnow.org/campaign/>
>
> On 25 January 2016 at 12:28, Carolina Rossini <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
>>
>> 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
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jan 25, 2016 at 4:09 AM, Carolina Rossini <
>> carolina.rossini at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> 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
>>
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>>      bestbits at lists.bestbits.net.
>> To unsubscribe or change your settings, visit:
>>      http://lists.bestbits.net/wws/info/bestbits
>>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> You received this message as a subscriber on the list:
>     governance at lists.igcaucus.org
> To be removed from the list, visit:
>     http://www.igcaucus.org/unsubscribing
>
> For all other list information and functions, see:
>     http://lists.igcaucus.org/info/governance
> To edit your profile and to find the IGC's charter, see:
>     http://www.igcaucus.org/
>
> Translate this email: http://translate.google.com/translate_t
>
>
>

-- 

*Carolina Rossini *
*Vice President, International Policy*
*Public Knowledge*
*http://www.publicknowledge.org/ <http://www.publicknowledge.org/>*
+ 1 6176979389 | skype: carolrossini | @carolinarossini
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.igcaucus.org/pipermail/bestbits/attachments/20160125/9e7589e3/attachment.htm>