The case for ambitious services market access commitments as part of the JSI on e-commerce

During the pandemic, digitalization and automation accelerated across 85 percent of companies and one in three MSMEs reported that their business would not have survived without access to digital tools. Still, in 2020, twice as many restrictive policy changes were implemented that impacted cross-border trade in services. Join the National Foreign Trade Council and the Informational Technology Industry Council to explore the importance of expanding services market access commitments across key sectors and the extensive benefits for MSMEs, developing economies and traditionally underrepresented communities.

The session will explore themes contained in a recent ITI-NFTC paper, “The Case for Ambitious Services Market Access Commitments as Part of the WTO Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce,” and highlight the potential benefits for micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), developing economies and traditionally underrepresented groups, including women, ethnic and racial minorities, and Indigenous peoples.

Panelists:

• Sahra English, Vice President, Global Public Policy, MasterCard
• Eunice Huang, Head of APAC Trade Policy, Google, Singapore
• Sam Rizzo, Senior Director for Policy, Information Technology Industry Council
• Santiago Wills, Ambassador, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Colombia to the WTO
• Moderator: Jake Colvin, President, National Foreign Trade Council