Transcript WTO Presentation

APEC’s
e-Commerce Strategy
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
APEC
• 21 member economies
– 2.5 billion people
– 50% of world trade
– consensus based
• APEC’s experience
– trade and investment liberalisation delivers
economic growth, creates employment and
alleviates poverty
e-Commerce in APEC
• E-commerce becoming mainstream
• B2B internet commerce in the Asia-Pacific
region was $US96.8 billion in 2000
– 22 per cent of the world total
• Substantial cost reductions from streamlining
business processes and improved B2B
communication
APEC’s Digital Divide
e-Inclusion
• A commitment to triple internet access by
2005
• Lower prices for internet use
• Improved access in underserved urban and
rural areas
• Human resource development
Challenges to
e-business in APEC
• Poor or non-existent telecommunication networks
• High internet access costs
• Language and culture
• Lack of skilled personnel
• Legal, regulatory, taxation and consumer protection
issues
• e-Security and financial transactions
APEC’s response
• Information Technology Agreement 1997
• e-Commerce Blueprint for Action 1998
• Paperless Trading Goal 1998
• Digital Divide Blueprint for Action 2000
• The New Economy and APEC 2001
• e-APEC Strategy 2001
• Cybersecurity Strategy 2002
APEC’s e-initiatives
• Based on input by member economies,
business and international bodies
• Respond to needs identified by business
• Enhance SME participation in cross-border
trade
• Emphasise capacity building
e-APEC Strategy
A long-term, action-oriented plan to enable
all APEC economies to maximise the
benefits of the New Economy
1. Strengthening market structures and
institutions
2. Infrastructure and technology development
3. Human capacity development and
entrepreneurship
e-APEC Strategy
1. Strengthening market structures and
institutions
•
Sound macroeconomic policy framework
•
Sustained structural reform
•
Effective competition regime
•
Good financial and corporate governance
•
Efficient venture capital markets
•
Legal framework for intellectual property
e-APEC Strategy
2. Uptake of e-commerce
•
On-line transaction laws
•
Electronic authentication and signatures
•
Standards and conformance
Infrastructure and technology development
•
Competitive, affordable, non-restrictive access
•
Reliable, fast and affordable distribution channels
e-APEC Strategy
3. Human capacity building and
entrepreneurship
•
Overcoming the unequal distribution of
knowledge
•
Providing quality distance education programs
•
Extending health services to rural communities
•
Offering social inclusion for all sectors of the
community
Coordination
• Comprehensive reporting
– Stocktake of Electronic Commerce Activities in
APEC
• Policy coordination by APEC Senior Officials
and a Joint Fora Meeting
• Project coordination by the Budget
Management Committee
Facilitating e-commerce
• Market information/business matching
• Electronic payment
• Legal and regulatory framework
• Information and network security
• Competitive internet charging arrangements
• Mutual Recognition Arrangements
Facilitating cross-border
trade
• Possible savings of $US60 billion per year
• Reduced costs to traders
– Savings on communication charges
– Fewer errors
– Use of common data elements
– Lower interest payments on trade finance
– Efficient supply chains
• Savings for government agencies, banks,
insurers and shipping companies
e-Commerce initiatives
• On-line customs clearance
• Electronic cargo and port manifests
• Government tenders on-line
• Electronic Certificates of Origin
• Airline Passenger Processing
• Electronic SPS Certificates
Airline Passenger
Immigration Processing
• APEC’s electronic visa processing and border
management system enhances regional
security
– airlines can verify the bona-fides of passengers
– governments can check the status of
individuals boarding flights bound for their
country
– passengers are processed faster on arrival
Electronic SPS
Certification
E-Cert
• SPS certificate on a secure web-page
Benefits
•
•
•
•
•
Food security
Data integrity
Secure and timely transmission of data
Savings in money and time
Early notification, streamlined clearance of cargo
E-Cert Display - 1
E-Cert Display - 2
Capacity Building
• Assisting SMEs
• E-commerce workshops for government officials
• Free on-line training for IT professionals
• A Cyber Education Network
• Programs to develop the legal infrastructure for
e-commerce
• Government services on-line
Current issues
• Policies on Trade and the Digital
Economy
• Cybersecurity
• On-line consumer protection
• On-line privacy
Thank you
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation
Bruce Bennett
[email protected]