Analysis of the Digital Trade Agreements among Several APEC Member Countries

Abstract

We analyze a variety of digital trade agreements with a view to exploring a useful guidance to clarify and improve the agreements. After examining the key features of the agreements, we compare them in two aspects, market access and policy cooperation. While the market access issues include the cross-border transfer of information by electronic means, the location of computing facilities, no imposition of customs duties on electronic transmissions and the express shipments, the policy cooperation issues do cooperation on standard and conformity assessment for digital trade, FinTech cooperation, and competition policy cooperation. Next, after evaluating the digital trade agreements, we find the need for reasonable definitions of critical terms such as digital trade and digital service. Also we suggest how to clarify and improve the scope of digital product and their relationship with the relevant WTO agreements, primarily GATS. Finally, we conclude with future issues such as the role of APEC, the interconnection between digital trade and trade in services, Korea’s strategies for future digital trade agreements, and the multilateral negotiations on digital trade at several international organizations such as WTO and OECD.