September 20, 2023, 11:00am-12:30pm
Digital Economy Agreements and Digital Partnerships: Modular Paths to International Cooperation
A full transcript can be found here
Digital Economy Agreements and Digital Partnerships are new approaches to international cooperation and policy convergence. Governments from the Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Europe have established a handful of these arrangements since 2020, and more are in negotiation. They use modular architectures to treat individual issues separately within an integrated framework. Modular approaches allow policymakers a much greater flexibility and avoids the ‘all or nothing’ negotiation dynamics that often impede progress in trade and other negotiations.
The arrangements have institutionalized cooperation on many difficult issues: transparency, supply chains, inclusion, identities, cross-border data flows, forced data localization, online customs duties and the trade treatment of digital products, business and trade facilitation, e-invoicing and certifications, the protection of source code, cybersecurity, consumer protection, privacy and data protection, open government data, standards and interoperability, fintech and e-payments, innovation and regulatory sandboxes, artificial intelligence and support for small and medium-sized firms.
Outstanding questions are how impactful they can be, and whether more major digital countries will pursue them. China is seeking to join a key one. And the United States is centrally involved in parallel initiatives that have some commonalities, e.g. the digital work streams of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Technology Council.
This webinar assembles a panel of expert analysts to assess these new institutional frameworks and consider their potential for the future of digital cooperation and governance. As always, the panelists’ conversation will be followed by an open dialogue among all participants.
Introduction
Eli Noam is Paul Garrett Professor, Emeritus, and Director of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information at Columbia Business School.
Moderator
William J. Drake is Director of International Studies at the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information and an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School.
Panelists
Neha Mishra is an Assistant Professor at Geneva Graduate Institute. She was previously a lecturer at the Australian National University College of Law and a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for International Law, National University of Singapore. She researches international legal issues in the digital economy, focusing on international economic law, data flows and digital trade, and the interface of trade law and emerging digital technologies. (Switzerland)
Richard Samans is Director of the International Labor Organization’s Research Department and has been its sherpa to the G20, G7 and BRICS processes. He was Founder and Chairman of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, a Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and Director-General of the Global Green Growth Institute. He served as Special Assistant to the President for International Economic Policy and NSC Senior Director for International Economic Affairs in the second Clinton Administration, and as economic policy advisor to US Senate Democratic Leader Thomas A. Daschle. (Switzerland)
Marta Soprana is a Fellow in International Political Economy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She has extensive experience working with international organizations – including FAO, ITC, UNCTAD, UNESCAP, World Bank and WTO – and national governments on trade policy-related projects. Her research interests include digital trade, trade in services, law and technology, with a focus on the relationship between AI governance and international economic law. (United Kingdom)
Stephanie Honey is a trade policy consultant, focusing on digital trade, regional economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, and inclusion and sustainability in trade. She was formerly a New Zealand WTO trade negotiator, and currently serves as Lead Staffer to the New Zealand members of the APEC Business Advisory Council and Trade Policy Adviser to the New Zealand Asia Institute at the University of Auckland, alongside consultancy work for governments, international institutions and the private sector. (New Zealand)