Information technology and e-commerce
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Can blockchain revolutionize international trade?
Trade has always been shaped by technological innovation. In recent times a new technology Blockchain has been greeted by many as the next big game-changer. Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade? This publication seeks to demystify the Blockchain phenomenon by providing a basic explanation of the technology. It analyses the relevance of this technology for international trade by reviewing how it is currently used or can be used in the various areas covered by WTO rules. In doing so it provides an insight into the extent to which this technology could affect cross-border trade in goods and services and intellectual property rights. It discusses the potential of Blockchain for reducing trade costs and enhancing supply chain transparency as well as the opportunities it provides for small-scale producers and companies. Finally it reviews various challenges that must be addressed before the technology can be used on a wide scale and have a significant impact on international trade.
Can Blockchain revolutionize international trade?
The number of headlines claiming that Blockchain can revolutionize various areas of international trade from trade finance to customs procedures and intellectual property are legion. The transparent decentralized and immutable nature of Blockchain has sparked the interest of private actors – and governments – to explore the potential of this technology to enhance the efficiency of trade processes and a myriad of proofs of concepts and pilot projects using Blockchain have been developed in virtually all areas of international trade.
E-commerce and Developing Country-SME Participation in Global Value Chains
Two far-reaching developments have increased the trade opportunities for SMEs in developing countries. Firstly the rise of the internet and advances in ICT have reduced trade-related information and communication costs. Secondly the international fragmentation of production has increased the opportunities for SMEs to specialize in narrow activities at various stages along the production chain.
Digital Connectivity & E-Commerce
Digital networks are an increasingly critical component of global trade. In 2017 the Global Review of Aid for Trade highlighted the importance of accessible and affordable connections for trade connectivity. Drawing extensively on information harvested in the Monitoring and Evaluation exercise in preparation for the Review this paper analyses aid for trade for digital connectivity and e-commerce.
Introduction
Over the last few decades the internet has entered every corner of our lives from social interactions to entertainment and work and has fundamentally reshaped our economies slashing the cost of acquiring and trading information. It has fuelled the digital revolution fundamentally changing the ways in which we communicate consume and produce and it has profoundly transformed international trade in terms of what we trade how we trade and who is trading.
The economics of how digital technologies impact trade
This section focuses on how new technologies are transforming international trade creating new opportunities for a more inclusive trading system and raising new challenges. The section opens with a discussion of how digital technologies affect international trade costs. This is followed by an assessment of how digital technologies change the nature of what is traded how we trade and who trades what. Finally the potential impact of important trends in technological development is quantified and long-term projections on international trade are made using the WTO Global Trade Model.
Towards a new digital era
This section describes the rise of digital technologies and identifies the technological forces that have helped propel their growth. It examines how digital technologies are changing the economy by giving rise to new markets goods and services and discusses some of the concerns that have arisen in parallel regarding privacy market concentration the impact on productivity and the digital divide. The section also discusses the methodological and data challenges involved in trying to measure the value of digital transactions and digital trade and provides estimates culled from international organizations and national authorities as well as financial reports from a number of well-known firms.
Acknowledgements and Disclaimer
The World Trade Report 2018 was prepared under the general responsibility of Xiaozhun Yi WTO Deputy Director-General and Robert Koopman Director of the Economic Research and Statistics Division. This year the Report was coordinated by Cosimo Beverelli and Emmanuelle Ganne. The authors of the Report are Marc Bacchetta Eddy Bekkers Cosimo Beverelli Emmanuelle Ganne John Hancock Mark Koulen Andreas Maurer José-Antonio Monteiro Coleman Nee Roberta Piermartini Stela Rubinova Viktor Stolzenburg Robert Teh and Ankai Xu (Economic Research and Statistics Division).
How do we prepare for the technology-induced reshaping of trade?
This section examines how international trade cooperation can help governments all over the world harness digital technologies and seize the new trading opportunities they will create for firms both large and small. Section D.1 summarizes the main opportunities and challenges that arise with the expansion of digital trade. Section D.2 provides examples of the policies that governments put in place to exploit these opportunities and to address these challenges. Section D.3 then considers whether and how international cooperation can help governments exploit the gains from digital trade cope with the challenges and at the same time achieve their public policy objectives now and in the future.
Foreword by the WTO Director-General
Trade and technology are closely interlinked. From the invention of the wheel to the railways to the advent of containerization technology has constantly played a key role in shaping the way we trade — and this phenomenon is accelerating like never before. We are living through an era of unprecedented technological change and a series of innovations that leverage the internet could have a major impact. For example the Internet of Things artificial intelligence 3D printing and Blockchain have the potential to profoundly transform the way we trade who trades and what is traded.
Conclusions
The world trading system has always been shaped by technological progress. Not only is technology a determinant of trade costs but it also defines what products can be traded across borders and it affects patterns of comparative advantage.
World Trade Report 2018
Trade has always been shaped by technology but the rapid development of digital technologies in recent times has the potential to transform international trade profoundly in the years to come. The World Trade Report 2018 examines how digital technologies – and in particular the Internet of Things artificial intelligence 3D printing and Blockchain – affect trade costs the nature of what is traded and the composition of trade. It estimates how global trade may be affected by these technologies over the next 15 years.
The ITA Committee: 20 years of boosting trade in IT products
The ITA membership has continued to grow and now includes 53 participants representing 82 WTO members. It is expected that participation in the ITA will grow further in the near future.
The ITA and the international digital economy
Over the past 20 years the ITA has led to the wider use of new technology by cutting the costs of key ICT goods. The ITA expansion further opens up trade on 201 new-generation IT products and technology.
ITA: List of participants
The ITA currently has 53 participants representing 82 WTO members. The European Union is counted as one as is the customs union between Switzerland and Liechtenstein.