I have seen the future of international trade, and it is called DEPA, the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement. With this trade agreement, New Zealand, Chile, and Singapore have crafted a new approach to trade policymaking focused on rules to govern cross-border data flows, facilitate data-driven economic growth, and increase online trust. In December, Canada announced it would seek to join DEPA. The U.S. should too. DEPA is pathbreaking for several reasons. First, the participants see their relationship as a partnership; they pledge to build a digital economy that supports innovation and builds trust in their own countries and globally. Second, they drafted the agreement to demonstrate the benefits of collaboration at a time when many economies are choosing to go it alone or bilaterally because of Covid-19.
Recent Publications
Facing Reality: Canada Needs to Think about Extended Reality and AI
Although Canada is a leader in becoming the first nation to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, it is falling behind other countries in extended reality (XR) competitiveness. In this paper, the authors look at why Canada is lagging in this area and what...
The U.S.-led digital trade world order is under attack–by the U.S.
This year, America’s digital trade negotiator made a startling announcement at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The negotiator spoke at the behest of U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Kathrine Tai. At the time, Congress and various U.S. regulatory agencies were...
XR ASSOCIATION PUBLISHES NEW WHITE PAPER WITH DIGITAL TRADE AND GOVERNANCE HUB AT GWU EXPLORING US COMPETITIVENESS IN IMMERSIVE TECHNOLOGY
Washington, D.C. – On November 8, 2023, the XR Association (XRA), the trade association representing the growing ecosystem of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality companies, announced the release of a white paper co-authored by the Digital Trade and Data Governance...