With its dynamic Internet economy and its mobile-first consumer culture, the Asia-Pacific region is now the most dynamic digital region in the world. But countries in the Asia-Pacific take different approaches to digital regulation and the region also has a complex web of various trade agreements that differ in scope and ambition – leading to confusion about the degree of openness in digital trade policy. Recently, however, some new agreements – like the Digital Economic Partnership Agreement between Chile, New Zealand and Singapore – have set out new ambitions for improving the terms for cross-border digital flows and commerce – and they go further than other agreements in creating new opportunities for digital trade. Will these new agreements lead to more digital trade? How do they compare with previous agreements? Can they serve as a model for more international digital trade agreements?
In this episode, Fredrik Erixon and Stephanie Honey talk about digital trade policy in the Asia-Pacific region.
Stephanie Honey is a trade policy consultant, associate director of the New Zealand International Business Forum, policy adviser to the New Zealand members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Advisory Council and co-founder of Global Trade Insights, a business offering executive education in trade policy. She recently contributed a chapter about innovation in Asia-Pacific digital trade policy in a CEPR book, Addressing Impediments to Digital Trade. Stephanie’s interests include digital trade, regional economic integration, the World Trade Organization (WTO), agriculture trade, and inclusion trade. Prior to becoming a consultant, Stephanie worked for many years as a New Zealand trade negotiator, including serving as the New Zealand agriculture negotiator for some of the WTO Doha Round, at the New Zealand Mission to the European Union in Brussels and in a variety of other roles.
This episode was recorded as a live webinar. Click here to watch this conversation on YouTube.
