In January 2019, 76 WTO members, including China, issued a joint statement to officially launch e-commerce negotiations. This is a spontaneous discussion and negotiation among some WTO members, not a multilateral negotiation initiated by the WTO, nor a plurilateral negotiation under the WTO framework. According to the proposals of all parties, the negotiations mainly focus on the following issues: trade facilitation, such as electronic signature, electronic invoice and payment, paperless trade, customs clearance, etc; Cross-border data flows, data storage locations, the Internet, and data access; Consumer protection, privacy protection, and business trust (source code, etc.); Transparency, network security, regulation; Product updates and tariff enforcement for the Annex to the WTO Information Technology Agreement. During the negotiations, the main positions of developed countries in the United States, Europe, and Japan are summarized as follows: In terms of cross-border data flow and data localization, the United States, Europe, and Japan advocate prohibiting localization requirements and supporting the free flow of data; Expand products under the Information Technology Agreement and prohibit the application of non national treatment and substantive market access restrictions in computer and telecommunications services; Strengthen the intellectual property protection of source code, and one party shall not require the transfer or use of software source code owned by the other party; The exemption order for electronic transmission shall be permanent, and the exemption scope shall include two aspects: transmission content and electronic transmission services; Protect privacy and advocate government data disclosure.

However, the negotiating positions of the WTO members mentioned above are far apart, and the progress of the negotiations has been minimal. A few WTO members with similar ideas will first reach mutual agreements or rules. As for Asia Pacific members, there is a special chapter on digital trade in the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). The United States has signed a digital trade agreement with Japan and has been negotiating a similar agreement with Australia and Singapore. In addition, Singapore, New Zealand, and Chile signed the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) in 2020, and South Korea and Canada are considering joining.

Recently, the United States, driven by Australia, is actively negotiating with the above-mentioned countries to integrate and expand their digital trade rules, and form a US-led Asia-Pacific regional digital trade agreement outside the WTO. The first countries covered by the agreement are the United States, Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Canada, New Zealand, and Chile. This move is also seen as the first step for the United States to participate in the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP) or to return to the TPP.

The Asia Pacific Regional Digital Trade Agreement, which will have the largest number of members, will set unified standards and rules for electronic payment, digital signature, cross-border data flow, intellectual property protection, and privacy protection. This will help small and medium-sized enterprises increasingly dependent on the free flow of information and data, and their ability to combat trade barriers in international trade will have an important impact on digital trade between members of the agreement, as well as between non members, including China, and their members. Therefore, it is highly worthy of close attention by relevant departments of domestic enterprises.

In a situation where multilateral and plurilateral approaches cannot reach agreement on their trade concerns on the WTO platform, developed countries such as the United States are increasingly acting on their own and forming cliques. The multilateralism advocated by the WTO has been constantly divided and weakened, with a worrying prospect.

(This article is translated by software translator for reference only.)