Trade as a force for good

Session 1: Framing Digital Trade: The Evolving Landscape of Global (e-)Commerce and Digital Policy Trends

Explore how digitalization is reshaping trade rules and institutions, and discuss how developing countries can leverage digital trade opportunities, especially for SMEs and women-led enterprises. 

This edition captures a busy summer for TradeExperettes, with a strong presence at the WTO Public Forum and a rich line-up of events for our members.

In Geneva, we launched our landmark Ten Trade on Win annual report in an Ambassadors’ lounge conversation, hosted a session on digital trade’s transformative potential, and gathered members for a networking breakfast that kick-started the policy season.

While policymakers today debate the future of trade policy, the real story lies in the proven wins quietly shaping economies and improving lives worldwide. This series showcases ten compelling wins in international trade that demonstrate the success of crossborder commerce and open trade policies.

The foundations of modern trade rest on key enablers that make global commerce possible. Containerization revolutionized global trade by drastically reducing shipping costs, increasing efficiency, and enabling businesses worldwide—including those in small and developing economies—to access global markets.

The year 2024 marks a global election cycle with over 80 countries, representing more than half of the world’s population casting their votes. In these uncertain times, the world finds itself confronted by a state of “polycrisis”—a complex web of interconnected global challenges that transcends borders. Geopolitics and international trade have a critical role to play in driving solutions to these crises. 

The E-commerce Moratorium is a 25-year-old trade policy that prohibits the imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions, which was agreed to and regularly renewed by the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). During the last WTO Ministerial Conference (MC12), the continuation of this policy was in doubt. A lengthy debate resulted in its conditional renewal until the upcoming Ministerial Conference (MC13) that will take place in Abu Dhabi, in February 2024. 

The linkages between trade and environment are both complex and diverse. While trade has enabled the rapid development of technological advances to help governments achieve their environmental goals, the deployment of those innovations is not always financially accessible or produced at the scale needed to address urgent challenges. As a result, nations face persistent obstacles to tackling environmental degradation in all of its forms.

Ten “Quick Wins” for Digital Trade — a TradeExperettes report to contribute to the ongoing dialogue on digital trade at the World Trade Organization.