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e-commerce | digital economy

Civil rights groups warn trade talks may hurt efforts to counter discriminatory algorithms
26-May-2023 The Washington Post
A coalition of civil rights and consumer protection groups warned in a letter to President Biden that ongoing trade talks risk eroding efforts to mitigate algorithmic discrimination.
WTO e-commerce moratorium: FTAs as the logical next step?
23-May-2023 Lexology
FTAs are providing a way forward for WTO Members who are adamant about the continued application of the e-commerce moratorium.
The US has a strong case against Canada’s Online Streaming Act
22-May-2023 The Hill
The new legislation requires that streaming services like Netflix, Spotify and Disney+ invest in, and show, more Canadian content.
Google, Amazon lobbyists helped US shape new Indo-Pacific Trade Framework
9-May-2023 Bloomberg
US trade officials have solicited the advice of lobbyists for Amazon.com Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and other major technology companies to help craft the new Indo-Pacific trade framework.
Digital divide: India-UK FTA faces data flow rift
24-Apr-2023 Mint
India’s insistence on data localization is a “major stumbling block" to a planned free trade agreement with the UK, a report tabled in House of Commons said, signalling continuing differences on cross-border data flow issues.
Corporations dominate trade advisory panels
19-Apr-2023 The American Prospect
Trade advisers get special access to agreements and can comment on them before they are made public. More than 4 out of 5 advisers represent corporations.
International “digital trade” agreements: the next frontier
19-Apr-2023 AI Now
International trade agreements, typically negotiated in secret and without public deliberation, could prematurely deter or undercut ongoing efforts to regulate the tech industry.
International preemption by “trade” agreement: Big Tech’s ploy to undermine privacy, AI accountability, and anti-monopoly policies
19-Apr-2023 Rethink Trade
The bottom-line is that the USMCA and related TPP digital rules that represent the agenda promoted by Big Tech interests must not become the model or starting text for future agreements.
Big Tech lobbyists explain how they took over Washington
19-Apr-2023 The American Prospect
An amazing research paper unearths how the tech industry invented the concept of digital trade and sold it to government officials.
US agenda revealed at IPEF talks in Bali
5-Apr-2023 AFTINET
The summaries of US inputs at the recent Bali round of negotiations for the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) reveal US pressure of the other 13 states to adopt US standards.
‘Chile is looking to include digital services as well in trade agreement with India’: Alex Wetzig
5-Apr-2023 The Indian Express
Following the recent agreement between Chile and India for cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors, Chile is looking to expand its trade basket with India, Alex Wetzig, Secretary General, Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Singapore and EU sign digital trade agreement
4-Apr-2023 ASEAN Briefing
Singapore and the EU signed a digital trade agreement in February, making it the fifth of its kind signed by the city-state.
EU digital trade rules: undermining attempts to rein in Big Tech
28-Mar-2023 The Left in the European Parliament
This report shows how Big Tech companies are working to constrain the ability of EU democratic bodies to regulate their activities in the public interest through “trade” agreements, which are binding and permanent.
India-UK trade talks home in on digital trade, investor protection
23-Mar-2023 Nikkei Asia
Indian and British negotiators will be seeking a landing zone on digital trade and investor protection as they hold another round of free trade talks in New Delhi.
Ukraine and UK sign agreement on digital trade
21-Mar-2023 Interfax
This new generation trade agreement focuses primarily on preventing the emergence of barriers in the future, as states in the world are increasingly regulating the digital sphere.
Advocates urge US not to offer ‘Big-Tech-favored terms’ in trade talks
16-Mar-2023 The Washington Post
Consumer advocates are urging the Biden administration to scrub language from a US trade proposal they say could undermine efforts to hold tech giants accountable for their privacy practices, according to a letter shared first with The Technology 202.
Latest round of IPEF talks get underway
14-Mar-2023 Politico
US trade officials are in Bali, Indonesia, this week for the latest round of negotiations over the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.
The rise of trade in services: corporate manoeuvres and popular resistance
6-Mar-2023 bilaterals.org
The idea of ‘Trade in services’ is an artificial creation of the late 1970s and 1980s, designed to bring the social and public phenomenon of services under international ‘trade’ rules that would work for corporations.
Rigging the rules: How Big Tech uses stealth “trade” agreements and how we can stop them
2-Mar-2023 Third World Network
Efforts to curb the ruinous business practices of the Big Tech corporations are at risk of being impeded by “digital trade” rules negotiated in international trade pacts. It is time to overturn this anti-regulatory agenda in favour of a governance model that prioritizes digital industrialization and data as a public good.
Emerging issues in the IPEF trade negotiations: A critical summary
28-Feb-2023 Ibon International
The US is trying to present IPEF as a rethinking of the aggressive trade liberalisation model it championed for the last four decades. At its core, however, IPEF appears to be mainly a geopolitical tool for the US to maintain its hegemony in the Asia-Pacific.