Digital services trade and trade agreements

• Main Author: GAO, Henry S.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2022
• Subjects: Digital services trade; trade agreements; Asia; China; International Trade Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4043; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/6001/viewcontent/Unlocking_the_Potential_of_Digital_Services_Trade_Chapter6_pvoa.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Trade agreements have become the main forum for the regulation of digital services trade issues over the past decade. This chapter provides a comprehensive examination of the regulation of digital services trade in trade agreements, first reviewing the rules in the World Trade Organization (WTO), then comparing the approaches between the United States (US), the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the European Union (EU), and explaining the reasons for their deep differences. This chapter further analyzes such provisions in trade agreements in Asia and the Pacific, which has become one of the most dynamic regions in terms of new regulations on digital trade issues, with a mix of digital services trade chapters in regional and bilateral free trade agreements. By drawing lessons from existing agreements, the chapter also illustrates how economies in the region may further develop digital services trade.