International Trade Secretary will travel to Geneva today
(Thursday 16 November), home of the World Trade Organization
(WTO), for a
digital trade seminar.
The digital economy is playing an increasingly prominent role in
global trade, and yet many of the relevant WTO rules have not been
updated for 2 decades. The UK, as part of the EU, is already a
leader in this area. The digital sector accounted for more than
£32 billion of exports in services in 2015, a growth of almost
40% since 2010.
The seminar will explore the growing influence of digital trade
on the global economy, and how best to shape and modernise global
trading rules and standards to allow for the development of new
technologies, such as artificial intelligence and big data. It
will also address barriers and challenges to advancing this
agenda for the benefit of all WTO members.
International Trade Secretary said:
The principal WTO rules for the
digital economy have not been significantly updated for over 2
decades, and yet the impact of digital technology during this
period has been unprecedented.
The future of global trade will be largely shaped by the
digital economy, which will unlock the vast potential of trade
in the services sector. As an international economic department
we can help lead modernisation reforms from within
the WTO, and
ensure British businesses can access a wider range of markets
than ever before.
The seminar will also explore how to allow more Small Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) to access e-commerce solutions and interact
with a wider network of consumers in the global market in both
developed and developing countries.
Ambassadors from a broad group of WTO trading nations will
attend the session, which will also consider how best to promote
and protect the open, free and secure nature of the internet.
The digital economy, in particular e-commerce, is an important
driver for wider economic growth and helping to ensure all
countries can access the benefits will enable contribution to a
truly inclusive global trading system.
Dr Fox will meet with a number of ambassadors to
the WTO as he continues to
promote further liberalisation of global trade, with the visit
signalling a continued interest and commitment to ensuring a
substantive positive outcome on digital trade at the
upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference
in Buenos Aires scheduled for December.
Notes to editors
World Trade Organization
The WTO was established in
1994 as an international body to regulate trade and encourage
nations to agree to adhere to the principle of ever-greater
trading freedom.
As a founding member, on leaving the EU the UK will need to
update the terms of WTO membership where, at
present, all of the country’s commitments are applied through the
EU as a whole. The process will mean ‘technical rectification’,
by simply replicating current obligations, is the most simple and
straightforward solution, and will cause the minimum disruption
to trade.
Statistics
Information on Digital Sector exports taken from DCMS Sectors Economic
Estimates 2017: Employment and Trade
