Cross-Border Data Flows

Abstract

Abstract This chapter introduces the building blocks of the problem of reconciling European personal data privacy framework and international trade law discussed in this book. Against the background of expanding international trade law rules on cross-border data flows, on the one hand, and strengthening of the fundamental rights protection for personal data in the European Union (EU), on the other hand, this chapter explains why data protection is an international trade law issue. The tension between restrictions on cross-border data flow under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the EU’s commitments under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) can pull in opposite directions. This chapter illuminates why this tension may result in a clash between the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the GATS. Finally, this chapter sets out the EU’s approach to regulating cross-border data flows in recent digital trade agreements and ongoing trade negotiations.