India missing chance to shape WTO’s digital economy ‘rule book’, analysts say
- The US, China and 84 other WTO members have agreed to align their economies in areas such as online consumer protection and paperless trading
- India was the biggest economy to oppose the initiative amid a policy to become self-reliant, but analysts said its move could affect its wider strategic goals
Australia, Japan and Singapore, the co-conveners of the WTO’s joint statement initiative (JSI) on e-commerce, said on Tuesday that after three years of negotiations, 86 countries representing over 90 per cent of global trade had agreed to common rules in eight areas of digital trading, including online consumer protection, electronic contracts and paperless trading.
The eight areas are a starting point with more negotiations on major areas such as data flow scheduled to conclude by the end of next year.
During the pandemic, many countries began relying on e-commerce, accentuating the importance of having “global rules governing digital trade”, the WTO said.
The initiative would make business between countries more stable, help to bridge the digital divide and “update the WTO rule book in an area of critical importance to the global economy”, the organisation added.