NOV 20, 2020 | GLOBAL
WTO E-Commerce Leaders Call on Members to Accelerate Work on Text
Inside Trade, November 20, 2020
Japan, Australia and Singapore this week called on World Trade Organization members participating in the plurilateral e-commerce negotiations to pick up the pace -- particularly on converging issues like electronic signatures and authentication -- over the next two weeks.
Joseph Whitlock, director of policy with BSA | The Software Alliance, lauded this week's progress and the "continued leadership of co-convenors Australia, Japan, and Singapore in this initiative to build a modern set of new digital trade rules to unlock the potential of the digital economy," according to a Nov. 20 statement.
"What is needed to bring certainty and economic opportunity to all participating economies are meaningful data-related disciplines," he said. The negotiations "should be guided by principles of transparency and interoperability among legal frameworks, as well as limits on unnecessary or discriminatory measures," he said.
"The Global Data Alliance encourages active and collaborative engagement among all negotiating parties to prohibit unnecessary or discriminatory data localization mandates and data transfer restrictions in all sectors," the statement adds.
Original Posting: https://insidetrade.com/trade/wto-e-commerce-leaders-call-members-accelerate-work-text
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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.