For 22 years, the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) have been discussing how to govern e-commerce and the data that underpins it. In 2019, some 74 (now 86) nations began to negotiate e-commerce. These talks are conducted in secret and little is known about how they are progressing. However, WTO members issued a wide range of public comments on both the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce and the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce from 1998, when the work program began, to the present. These communications provide context as well as a window into the negotiations.
Recent Publications
China-U.S. Rivalry Will Split the World into Competing AI Camps
The U.S. and China both put forward plans for artificial intelligence last month. The two have long sought to lead on AI, and their competition has led to technological breakthroughs, lower costs, and wider use of the technology. But as their new plans illustrate,...
Taking the Wrong Lesson from China’s AI Strategy
Taking the Wrong Lesson from China’s AI Strategy The United States is mimicking China’s approach to centralized data, risking privacy, security and democratic accountability in the name of AI leadership. Chinese leaders early on recognized the importance of data for...
Regrets of the Tech Bros: In a land ruled by the law of the jungle
On his Inauguration Day, Donald Trump sent a message. The founders and CEOs of Apple,Amazon, Google, Meta, Open AI, and Uber, among other giant high-tech companies, sat in the front rows near the Trump family and cabinet nominees. Trump and his staff wanted to use...