The G-20 forum has asked member countries to report on their readiness to engage in digital trade; it also seeks suggestions from them on how the WTO can promote e-commerce and measure the digital economy.
“The German G-20 presidency aims to develop a conceptual framework for measuring cross-border digital trade,” the forum said. “In addition, the G-20 could explore the applicability of WTO rules for digital trade, including potential limits of and gaps within these rules, and assess its development dimension,” it added.
G-20 noted that the adoption of e-commerce is uneven (India does not allow foreign investment in business to consumer e-commerce retail), and it urged SMEs in developing countries and less developed economies to participate in online trade. India has reservations about e-commerce getting included in the WTO’s agenda. However, the Economic Times feels that the way forward for India is to have proactive norms in place, as also investor-friendly policy guidelines so that potential investors can actualize their e-commerce strategy
