At the 13th Ministerial Conference in 2024, World Trade Organization (WTO) members demonstrated their commitment to advancing digital trade rules—those which govern both the trade of digital products and the digital processes used in international trade—by calling for the revitalization of the 1998 work program on electronic commerce. That directive is the foundation of the work that follows: a comprehensive and robust approach to creating a set of global rules that will support all member nations in maximizing the opportunities of the digital economy. The envisioned approach extends and enhances existing efforts.
This brief outlines three activities that WTO members could undertake to facilitate digital trade:
- Design an agreement on data for trade that sets clear guidelines for data exchange across borders
- Establish a governance structure for digital trade that keeps rules updated
- Create a community of practice that consolidates existing digital trade efforts
Each of these activities must acknowledge the realities of the digital divide for trade facilitation, the features of which are detailed in the final section.
Before considering the next steps in facilitating digital trade, it is important to establish the complexities in defining digital trade and the characteristics that differentiate it from traditional trade.
Source: Alisa DiCaprio, Mercatus Center