Special Ep. - What’s at stake if the WTO fails its global e-commerce deal?

In this special edition of Current Accounts, the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast on global trade, the US Association of Foreign Press Correspondents interviews Deborah Elms on the WTO’s landmark e-commerce agreement.

In July, The Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) on Electronic Commerce achieved a historic milestone in global trade, as 82 World Trade Organization (WTO) members released a “stabilized text”, potentially setting the first digital trade rules. This is a significant development, addressing the WTO's previous lack of a digital trade framework and aiming to create unified, consistent regulations for e-commerce. This agreement, remarkably, was reached without the participation of United State, with major players like China and the European Union joining forces with smaller nations such as Benin and Laos.

The JSI's impact is particularly significant for developing countries, which face significant challenges due to regulatory fragmentation. By addressing these challenges, the JSI aims to foster a more equitable digital trade landscape worldwide. The initiative’s inclusive approach includes commitments for cooperation and development, helping them integrate into the global digital economy. The agreement also aims to facilitate trade for smaller firms by allowing electronic paperwork and signatures, simplifying cross-border transactions.

Despite the progress, achieving consensus at the WTO remains a challenge. Although 82 WTO members have endorsed the JSI’s text, some remain dissatisfied, complicating the integration of these rules into the broader WTO framework. Any dissenting member, including the US, can block progress, leaving the signatories to navigate these disagreements and determine the path forward.

Tune in to this special episode as Deborah Elms, Head of Trade Policy at the Hinrich Foundation, dissects the WTO's historic e-commerce agreement and its potential impact on the future of digital trade.   

Download Transcript

Tune into the Hinrich Foundation’s podcast series for insights on international trade.

Transcript

Here is an excerpt from their conversation: 

Alan Herrera: So, you just reminded me of something that, before I get to my next question, you just reminded me of how when we met at the beginning of the year, the first time, our conversation largely focused on consensus. So, there’s actually been a wider consensus this time?

Deborah Elms: No. So one of the challenges that this agreement in particular faces is the members were content to let a group of them go off on the sidelines and talk. They were fine with starting this. I mean, it was a little challenging, but they got it across the line. “Yes, you can talk.” But now that they’ve got a potential agreement in hand, the focus is back on, “Okay, well what are we going to do with that agreement? How are we going to make sure that this agreement on e-commerce gets hooked into the larger global rule book on trade at the WTO?” And for that, we have no consensus. And in fact, one of the sad parts, I mean mostly this is a happy story, but there is a bit of a sting at the tail, which is we have a couple of these Joint Statement Initiatives, which were an attempt to take a group of members off to discuss certain things, whether it was helping small businesses, whether it was working on services, whether it was dealing with investment or e-commerce. 

And when they finish, they come back to the WTO, they say, “Here’s our agreement. Let’s make sure that we put it in the part of the legal text where it applies to all of us or some of us.” However, they’re all different. So the rules are a little bit different for each one. But the point is that we have had a hard time with the return back to the large group and to get something anchored into the larger setting. And the e-commerce agreement is particularly challenging because when you agree to these rules, most likely you are only giving the benefits to people who are in the agreement. Now, I’m sure most of your listeners would say, “Well, duh. I mean if you wanted to be part of it, you would be part of it. And if you don’t want to be part of it, don’t be part of it.” 

But one of the challenges of the WTO is that the rules are supposed to be for everybody, and the benefits are supposed to float to everybody. And so, if you’re not going to do that, if you’re going to restrict the benefits to just those folks who signed on, that’s a challenge for the institution. 

Download Full Transcript