International trade agreements and Internet governance – Pl 04 2017

7 June 2017 | 16:30 - 17:30 | Grand Ballroom, Swissotel, Tallinn, Estonia |
Programme overview wiki | Programme overview EuroDIG web site

Session teaser

Are trade negotiations the next arena of Internet policy discussions? What are the pros and cons from a European standpoint?

Keywords

Digital trade, e-commerce, trade agreements, WTO, data flows, data localisation

Session description

WTO instruments already include binding provisions applicable to the Internet, and more specific Internet provisions may be included in pending regional and mega-regional agreements, such as the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA), and the EU-Canada Comprehensive and Trade Agreement (CETA) . Cross-border data flows, data localisation, mandates for the disclosure of the source code of digital products and the use of cryptographic technologies are topics which are being addressed in these various contexts. This plenary session will discuss the pros and cons of digital policy issues in trade negotiations from a European standpoint. Are European actors influencing these developments? Which of these actors have had more or less influence on European policies, through what mechanisms? What are the key European positions and alliances at the WTO and in bilateral negotiations? Which are the main initiatives aiming to achieve policy coherence within the EU (e.g. EU Commission Staff Working Document on the free flow of data and emerging issues of the European data economy)? Come share your views with us!

Format

The session will be structured in four tracks, listed below. Panellists will make short opening remarks in order to allow sufficient time for atendees to take part in the discussion.

1. Introduction and stage setting: Brief landscape of existing and proposed frameworks (5-7 minutes)

2. Itemization of key Internet governance policy issues on the table in trade discussions (10 minutes)

3. Consideration of European positions and proposals: expression of different stakeholder perspectives (20 minutes)

4. Open discussion with the floor (25 minutes)

Remote participation will be an integral part of the session and the remote moderator will ensure that online participants' views are properly voiced in the debate. Comments will also be collected from the twitter wall during the plenary.

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Drake, William J., Vinton G. Cerf, and Wolfgang Kleinwächter (2016). Internet Fragmentation: An Overview. (Geneva: The World Economic Forum, January). Available at http://www.weforum.org/reports/internet-fragmentation-an-overview

European Commission (2017) Building A European Data Economy. Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic And Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. COM(2017) 9 final. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/news/communication-building-european-data-economy

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UN Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD] (2015) Information Economy Report 2015: Unlocking the Potential of E-commerce for Developing Countries. Available at http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/ier2015_en.pdf

World Trade Organization [WTO] (1998) Work Programme on Electronic Commerce. Available at https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/ecom_e/wkprog_e.htm

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In preparation for the 11th Ministerial Conference of the WTO (MC11), scheduled for December 2017 in Buenos Aires, WTO member countries have recently submitted papers and proposals:

• GC/116: circulated at the request of the delegations of Canada, Chile, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, the EU, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Montenegro, Paraguay, Singapore, and Turkey. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/JOBs/GC/116.pdf

• GC/94 USA: circulated at the request of the delegation of the United States. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/JOBs/GC/94.pdf

• GC/96r1: circulated at the request of the delegation of Japan. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/ExportFile.aspx?id=230014&filename=q/Jobs/GC/96R1.pdf

• GC/98: circulated at the request of the delegation of Brazil. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/ExportFile.aspx?id=230094&filename=q/Jobs/GC/98.pdf

• GC/99: circulated at the request of the delegations of MIKTA countries. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/FE_S_S009-DP.aspx?language=E&CatalogueIdList=230131

• GC/100: circulated at the request of the delegation of Japan. Available at: https://docsonline.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/DDFDocuments/230146/q/Jobs/GC/100.pdf

• GC/117: circulated at the request of the delegation of Singapore. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/JOBs/GC/117.pdf.

• GC/110: circulated at the request of the delegations of China and Pakistan. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/FE_Search/ExportFile.aspx?id=232753&filename=q/Jobs/GC/110R1.pdf

• GC/115: circulated at the request of the delegations of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. Available at: https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/JOBs/GC/115.pdf

People

Moderator

William J. Drake - International Fellow & Lecturer Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ University of Zurich, Switzerland

Key Panellists

Pearse O'Donohue, Acting Director for Future Networks DG CONNECT, European Commission
Marilia Maciel, Digital Policy Senior Researcher at DiploFoundation
Robert Kroplewski, Minister of Digital Affairs for Information Society, Poland
Erika Mann, Senior European Policy Advisor, Covington & Burling LLP
Konstantinos Komaitis, Director, Policy Development at the Internet Society
Wolfgang Kleinwachter, Professor Emeritus from the University of Aarhus

Reporter

Sorina Teleanu - DiploFoundation

Remote Moderator

Arandjel Bojanovic - ISOC Serbia

Organising Team (Org Team)

William Drake - International Fellow & Lecturer Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ University of Zurich, Switzerland
Valentina Pellizzer - President One World Platform
Arandjel Bojanovic - ISOC Serbia
Marilia Maciel - DiploFoundation

Focal Point:

Marilia Maciel (DiploFoundation)

Subject Matter Expert (SME):

Frederick Donck (ISOC)

Video record

https://livestream.com/accounts/12493954/events/7461355/videos/157708809

Messages

Free flow of data is important for economic and social development worldwide. While there is a clear need to ensure data protection and data security, localisation and restrictions on data flows are not necessarily the answer.
Data is key to innovation, and there is a need to build trust among countries when it comes to data flows in order to avoid unjustifiable restrictions.
The multilateral treaty system will never disappear, but it is embedded in an environment where all stakeholders have a say. The multistakeholder model is flexible enough to deal with a complex environment such as international trade. Its applicability can and should be tested on specific trade-related issues, such as data flows.
The Internet community needs to make sure that it becomes part of the discussions on trade agreements. There needs to be transparency and openness for them to provide input into the discussions before governments enter into a decision making phase.
Although digital policy issues are interconnected and decisions taken in one field affect another field, they are still addressed and negotiated in silos. This is also the case with trade issues. Better communication needs to be created among the various communities.

Transcript

Will be provided here after the event.