Economics

El autor señala que la agenda de Facilitación 2.0 representa una oportunidad única para implementar una política comercial adecuada a la era digital. Sostiene que de esta forma no sólo será posible expandir el campo de la facilitación comercial, sino también extender su uso con ayuda de la “Internet de las reglas”.

In a recent article for LSE Business Review, I introduced the classification of "trade policy 3.0" and the emergent "internet of rules" (IoR): a networked repository of executable forms of rules written in computer language. The distinctive character of trade policy 3.0 is that, in addition to "writing down the rules" of trade in natural language (trade policy 1.0) and use of "single window systems" that replicate paper-based delivery in the digital realm (trade policy 2.0), countries are able to publish computational rules to the internet in a standard way.

Businesses, especially micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), face many challenges in understanding and complying with international commercial rules and regulations. Research also indicates low utilisation of eligible tariff preferences, or favourable tax rules, by traders. In other words, many businesses do not always effectively benefit from their negotiated market advantages. Unfortunately, the current "version history" (or stage in the functional evolution) of trade policy creates costs for governments, firms and consumers and constrains achievement of the benefits associated with free trade.

Continued expansion of the multilateral agenda through the World Trade Organization's Trade Facilitation Agreement and beyond, or Facilitation 2.0, represents a coherent basis for extending trade policy's design and delivery via digital technologies. A more comprehensive trade facilitation agenda will help to create opportunities for the use of "technology as regulation." The realisation of Facilitation 2.0 may act as a catalyst for an evolution in trade policy's functionality. At this year's E-Commerce Week in Geneva, I attended the ICTSD hosted session Trade Facilitation 2.0: Enabling Trade in the Digital Age. In conjunction with the session, the RTA Exchange published an article by Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz which describes Facilitation 2.0 as a more comprehensive trade facilitation agenda and holistic approach towards inclusive growth. Facilitation 2.0 seeks to expand the trade facilitation agenda and proposes that regional trade agreements (RTAs) play a larger role in accelerating global reform. About a week later, I published an article in the LSE Business Review to introduce an approach to classify the "version history" of trade policy based on level of functionality. These version histories include: "writing down the rules" of trade in natural language (trade policy 1.0), disparate use of digital technologies to support policy delivery (trade policy 2.0), and the design of executable, digital, versions of commercial regulations to be published on the internet in a standard way (trade policy 3.0). This discussion provides a response to the piece by Meléndez-Ortiz and explains that the promise of Facilitation 2.0 is well-aligned with my classi cation of the functional, version history of trade policy. Both are relevant to policymakers and negotiators in conceptualising trade rules in the digital era.

Advances in technology and trade policy have the potential to reshape the trading landscape for the better In a recent article for the LSE Business Review, I introduced the classification of "trade policy 3.0" and the emergent "Internet of Rules" (IoR): a networked repository of executable forms of rules written in computer language.

The Internet’s potential to enable micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises  (MSMEs)  to conduct international commercial transactions has yet to be fully realized. Small enterprises, especially MSMEs based in developing countries, continue to face substantial obstacles to their participation in trade.  While ‘International Economic Law’ has evolved amidst rapid globalisation and technological change, developing countries’ MSMEs are frequently unable to achieve the benefits associated with trade liberalisation. As ‘new generation’ agreements introduce further legal complexity in both the number and scope of trade rules, this article investigates Chile’s application of information and communications technology (ICT) to improve the accessibility and functionality of commercial policies.  With an emphasis on computational approaches to trade policy design and delivery,  the  Undersecretary of  International Economic  Relations (SUBREI) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of  Chile has launched a pilot programme to contribute to an open repository of rules in a digital form: ‘An Internet of Rules’ (IoR). Along with reference data, the computational expression and online publication of rules, that may be ‘in effect’ or ‘applicable’ to cross-border transactions, can improve access and use by people and machines alike. Against the backdrop of the country’s history of reform and membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership  Agreement (CPTPP), and the Digital Economy  Partnership  Agreement (DEPA), the investigation articulates Chile’s ongoing contribution to an  IoR as well as the alignment of its policy digitalisation efforts with national development strategies.

Applications of Computational Law (CompLaw) are emerging that allow for the expression and online publication of digital versions of rules as algorithms to improve accessibility for humans and support operationalization via machines. As instruments begin to refer to governance for, of, and by information and communications technology (ICT), this article introduces public and private branches of law to construct a five-point legal-technical basis for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) 'version 2.0' with computational rules (and data sources) in parallel to its natural language, other texts, and associated systems. First, the nature of the European Union (EU)-United States (US) relationship is described in the age of Computational Law and the Internet. Second, the analysis explores the ‘multilateral interface’ and proposals under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Joint Initiative on E-commerce. Third, existing and envisaged sources of EU and US trade, business, technology, and privacy law are compared. Fourth, the investigation frames institutional sources of transnational commercial law, including the principles, conventions, and model laws of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT). Fifth, technical requirements to seize the CompLaw opportunity for transatlantic trade are articulated. Outputs of the specified analytical structure are set to contribute to the advancement of legal informatics at the nexus of EU-US trade and technology policy regimes.

For digital technology to assist governments in meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), public service models require access to quality, timely, sources of data. Traditionally, data in the form of outcomes, or statistics, has been used to inform and target policies, but greater utility may come from using data as an input. Because trade governance involves negotiation, formulation and enforcement of rules by different institutions, robust data ecosystems increase the potential for digital automation and improved service delivery. With the proliferation of cross-border electronic commerce, the developmental returns from trade are largely dependent on the future of data.

For trade in general, electronic documents are a ‘game changer’ for businesses of all sizes. More specifically for agricultural trade, electronic certificates present a new basis for enterprises to adhere to rigorous health and safety demands while fostering trust and transparency with governments. This reality is taking hold, but there remains four billion physical sheets of trade documentation circulating worldwide that cause delays and waste of agricultural products in an already-weakened global food system.

In this paper, trade development specialist Craig Atkinson lays out the constraints governments and traders face in adopting electronic documentation. Understanding how to move forward hinges on knowing the differences between the digitization of trade documents and unlocking their potential through new digital infrastructure and tools. Looking at existing benchmarks can help to overcome impediments to these efforts, Atkinson writes. A more sustainable future for agri-trade requires stakeholders from international standards bodies, governments, and the private sector to establish aligned measures for issuing, accepting, and using electronic certification.

Securities markets have been at the forefront of digital transformation since the beginning of scalable computing in the 1960s. In 2022, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) in the United States began piloting a ‘machine-readable rulebook’ and related online information services. Based on a 2023 response to FINRA’s request for public comment, we outline how the regulator’s work on ‘digital rules’ could be scaled and systematically integrated into the operations of its member entities: experimentation with a Large Language Model (LLM) to help pre-structure FINRA rules in controlled natural language (CNL) and the use of Data With Direction Specification (DWDS) components to represent ‘rules-as-data’ for online publication and access via ‘an Internet of Rules’ (IoR).

The internet and e-commerce provide new opportunities for firms of all sizes, located anywhere, to prosper from trade. Likewise, improved access to information represents a rising tide that can lift all boats. The fragmented nature of the current information system for trade is an unintended design flaw that can be addressed through standards, different mediums for policy delivery and the use of appropriate internet-enabled technologies. Improving access to information through trade digitization will enable better global market outcomes, particularly for small firms.