Overview
How can we ensure technology drives innovative, inclusive, efficient, and responsible trade growth in the digital era?
The Fourth Industrial Revolution – associated with rapid technological change and digitalization – has already had a profound impact on the way we trade. Digital trade in services is among the most dynamic sectors in the global economy and could be further harnessed for the recovery process, as evidenced by the role of digital payments and cross-border data flows in response to COVID-19. However, despite the tech development, barriers to digital trade continue to exist. Those include outdated rules and regulations, new forms of protectionism, and the lack of international collaboration on global digital governance, to name just a few.
To navigate the opportunities and challenges associated with digital trade, the Digital Trade team engages the foremost political, business, cultural, and other leaders of society to shape global, regional, and industry agendas on digital trade.
Portfolio Projects
The TradeTech project maps the nexus between emerging digital technologies and international trade and facilitates discussion on public policy and regulatory practices on digital trade.
Digital Payments Advisory Committee
The Advisory Committee convenes principal-level meetings to drive greater interoperability and inclusivity, as well as more coherent regulatory reforms for digital payments.
The Trade Finance project explores ways to close the $1.7 trillion trade finance gap and harness the use of new trade finance-relevant technology to boost inclusion and sustainability.
In collaboration with the Data Policy team, the Cross-Border Data Flows project examines the ever-changing impacts of data transfer mechanisms and promotes greater interoperability among global arrangements on this novel governance issue.
Digital Economy Agreement Leadership (DEAL) Group
The DEAL Group aims to create a level playing field with digital economy stakeholders and contribute to the growth of inclusive and sustainable digital economies around the world.
Highlights
WEF-UAE TradeTech pilot partnership
During the 2023 Annual Meeting, the United Arab Emirates announced a Memorandum of Understanding with the World Economic Forum on TradeTech to pilot the application of emerging fourth industrial revolution technologies that can help facilitate trade.
WTO-WEF joint publication on TradeTech
In April 2022, a joint publication was launched with the World Trade Organization to facilitate the development of explicit rules through trade agreements and provide legal certainty on emerging issues related to the digital field. Read more about the impact of this project in the report “The Promise of TradeTech: Policy Approaches to Harness Trade Digitalization.” The webcast of the launch event is available here.
Payments to Advance Growth for All (PAGA)
In July 2021, a joint project was launched with the Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB) to promote greater utilization of digital payments in Latin America and the Caribbean. Read more about the impact of this project in the report "Accelerating Digital Payments in Latin America and the Caribbean."
Facilitation 2.0 Papua New Guinea
In November 2020, funded by the Government of Australia, a project was to assist Papua New Guinea in advancing business-driven reforms at the intersection of trade facilitation, investment, e-commerce, and digital payments. Read more about the impact of this project in the report "Facilitation 2.0: Trade and Investment in the Digital Age."
Digital Economy Agreement Leadership (DEAL) Group
In July 2022, the inaugural DEAL Group workshop on “Accelerating ASEAN’s Digital Economy Integration” convened stakeholders from governments that have signed DEAs or are interested in signing DEAs, the private sector, civil society, and academia to identify digital economy opportunities and challenges, and the role DEAs can play in the ASEAN region and beyond.
How to get involved?
E-mail us to find out how you can make a difference.
This report, written in collaboration with Sea, calls for a targeted and multistakeholder approach to tackling barriers to financial inclusion for the ASEAN region’s digital generation. T...
Digital payment ecosystems are the invisible infrastructure powering commerce, trade and people’s daily lives. With the onset of global COVID-19 pandemic the value of digital payments for...
Leveraging the World Economic Forum's extensive community of payment experts, this report provides a forward-looking and inclusive approach to defining and measuring the different types o...
This publication identifies the building blocks for TradeTech policy adoption: the 5 Gs of TradeTech. Trade agreements and plurilateral initiatives are exploring the interplay between tec...
This white paper series, composed of eight parts, explores numerous critical topics related to CBDC and stablecoins. It aims to inform policy-makers, digital currency issuers, financial a...
This white paper is a preliminary inquiry into the effects of DSTs on trade, investment and competition, drawing from multistakeholder interviews and a survey of firms facing these measures.
This White Paper on advancing data flow governance in the Asia-Pacific region explores international and regional best practices in four domestic contexts.
This report aims to shed light on the landscape of emerging trade technologies and consider the opportunities and challenges for each, ranging from AI to IoT to 3D printing.
The project was a true co-creation of local and international multi-stakeholders. The report showcases our methodology, the progress made and next steps in the development of the Electron...
Digital trade in Asia had been booming even before the COVID-19 pandemic that drove large numbers of firms and consumers online. The region has also been at the forefront of digital trade...
A major international initiative on data flows, the Osaka Track, was launched by heads of governments under Japan’s G20 leadership in 2019. This paper develops a framework for ‘data free ...
The rapid expansion of access to digital payments has made it possible for consumers to conveniently make purchases for goods and services from merchants around the world. The current COV...
This White Paper provides guidance on how to deal with business and policy challenges as 3D printing (3DP) might revolutionize the way products are made and may provoke unintended consequ...
This paper provides insights, developed through expert inputs, on domestic good practices as well as trade policy tools that can help balance facilitating cross-border data flows while pr...
E-commerce in Africa is well underway, but it has potential to grow, creating new jobs and driving sustainable development. E-commerce stakeholders from within and beyond the continent ha...
Trade costs – the costs of moving cargo from one country to another – are a leading constraint for companies wanting to engage in trade. The development of trade single windows, a one-sto...
Transport and delivery services are critical for ensuring goods ordered online reach the consumer and are returned when something is not right. This paper presents trends and changes in t...
Technology has altered the way consumers interact with payment systems. The Internet, digitization, shifting consumer preferences and, in some cases, regulatory reform have accelerated th...
By the end of 2022, Alliance initiatives had achieved an initial 10-times return on investment, saving US$ 60 million in seven project countries.
A new initiative will identify challenges and solutions to growing digital FDI: cross-border investment in the digital economy.
Inclusive growth needs open and global networks. Maintaining and deepening these networks could deliver $3.7 trillion in growth for developing countries by 2025.
China should consider how its cross-border data transfer rules could threaten its status as a global leader in both manufacturing and the digital economy.
A cashless society is on the horizon in Japan, as the government introduces a system for paying salaries digitally – without going through bank accounts.
By regulating digital trade between economies, the digital economy agreements can be especially beneficial for SMEs looking for opportunities in digital business.
New technology, regulation, and ESG commitments can transform trade finance assets into profitable capital market products that SMEs can readily access.
TradeTech could overhaul and enhance how countries exchange goods and would benefit both businesses and consumers. But, for now, policy barriers remain.
Maximizing the contribution of digitally-delivered services to the global economic recovery depends on curbing unwarranted policy uncertainty.
With more than 15,000 varieties and a market of $2 trillion, digital currencies are growing. What do these new digital currencies mean for international trade?
A widespread lack of awareness about digital regulation could threaten future innovation and increase fragmentation of this globally vital sector.
Governments and stakeholders need to cooperate more closely across borders in parallel to negotiating data openness in modern trade deals.
COVID-19 has accelerated adoption of digital tech, highlighting the need to modernize digital trade rules and buck the trend of digital protectionism.
Ensuring the relationship between openness and trust in data flows is mutually reinforcing will help strengthen international cooperation
Cross-border trade in digital services such as videoconferencing and entertainment is booming, but there are still too many barriers limiting its reach.
With widespread quarantine measures to cut COVID-19’s chains of transmission, digital payments give people at-home access to essential goods and services.
Foreign direct investment in the digital economy can help bring technology, know-how, jobs and growth to developing countries recovering from coronavirus.
It raises questions about the implications of potential new rules on cross-border data flows and the governance of data-sharing platforms.
A new World Economic Forum report highlights the rise in data restrictions and how countries can balance business, privacy and security goals.
Global e-commerce is worth a staggering $25.3 trillion - but levels of trust among consumers who are buying from countries other than their own is low. Here's how policymakers can start t...
As the digital economy continues to dominate, participants of a workshop at Davos are calling for an inclusive framework to improve the ability to do business abroad.
These are the innovations that could make global trade more efficient, more inclusive, and less costly.
In disadvantaged regions, digital connectivity can be a source of income and opportunity, and it's powering a new breed of enterprises.
