Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to research the indicators of digital development in the EU that are preconditions for development of digital trade and also to confront them with the barriers for cross-border digital trade. Thy hypothesis is that countries differ in the digital society development that can be burden in their participation in digital trade activities. The preconditions are measured by comparing indicators/indexes that regards the e-commerce and/or to digital trade (i.e. B2C e-commerce index;Network readiness index, internet users, etc.) while the barriers are measured by Digital trade restrictiveness index and Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index. The analysis is focused to EU member states which are divided on two groups: EU14 (EU-15 - UK) and EU13 (new member states). The main findings indicate the EU member states are very heterogeneous due to the ICT development, and also, unexpectedly, some of the EU members put high restrictions for carrying out digital trade. The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Germany are the best performers in digital society development. At the same time, France and Germany are the most restrictive EU members. For the efficient exploitation of the ICT in conducting the trade activities, the EU should overcome the differences in regulatory framework of the member states but also it should: promote the investments in adequate infrastructure and skills and help businesses to be present on the digital platforms.
Highlights
The recent pandemic of Covid-19 boosts the people to stay at home and to increase the purchase of necessary things via Internet
The preconditions are measured by comparing indicators/indexes that regards the ecommerce and/or to digital trade (i.e. B2C e-commerce index; Network readiness index, internet users, etc.) while the barriers are measured by Digital trade restrictiveness index and Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index
Marel (2019) warns that digital protectionism is the biggest threat to globalization today (Pejanovic, 2020) and according to the Digital Trade Restrictiveness Index (DTRI), he found there are more than 1,500 measures listed restricting digital trade that is increase of 3% over the restriction on traditional trade of goods
Summary
The recent pandemic of Covid-19 (in Spring and in Autumn 2020) boosts the people to stay at home and to increase the purchase of necessary things via Internet. The uncovered area in this domain is in shortage of appropriate measurement of digital trade, no appropriate trade agreement(s) that will cover necessary issues related to digital trade, and unexpectedly, restrictiveness in providing digital trade (especially in services). From this area, motivation for providing more complex, systematic overview of digital trade enablers and barriers has arisen. Special focus will be on EU member states that are interesting due to the Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe that is adopted in 2015 This strategy covers different aspects of digital economy and its availability and usage by people and businesses. “Europe must strengthen its digital sovereignty and set standards, rather than following those of others – with a clear focus on data, technology, and infrastructure” (European Commission, 2020)
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