MAY 08, 2020 | GLOBAL
Pandemic Highlighting the Importance of Digital Trade, Could Spur WTO Talks
Inside US Trade, May 8, 2020
By Hannah Monicken
As the pandemic pushes the world online in an effort to slow the virus’ spread, countries – and companies – are reinforcing their commitment to digital trade, and that’s spurred those in Geneva and those watching from the outside to weigh the changes of post-pandemic momentum in the plurilateral talks on electronic commerce at the World Trade Organization.
How global trade will be different in a post-COVID world can’t be fully known today, analysts told Inside US Trade, but they added that the pandemic has accelerated a digitization trend – and firmly established digital trade as a defining issue.
The pandemic has “sped up, increased, enhanced the need for digitization,” Christine Bliss, president of the Coalition of Services Institutes, said. And this, in turn, has “underscored the importance” of cross-border data flows, Joseph Whitlock, director of policy for BSA | The Software Alliance, told Inside US Trade this week.
Supply chains are also important in digital trade, Whitlock said. Information and communication technology supply chains must be operational so that countries can source the equipment needed for remote work, online shopping and securing digital infrastructure.
Original Posting: https://insidetrade.com/share/168784
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BSA | The Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the leading advocate for the global software industry before governments and in the international marketplace. Its members are among the world’s most innovative companies, creating software solutions that help businesses of all sizes in every part of the economy to modernize and grow.
With headquarters in Washington, DC, and operations in more than 30 countries, BSA pioneers compliance programs that promote legal software use and advocates for public policies that foster technology innovation and drive growth in the digital economy.