Originally published on April 18, 2016
May 5th – May 6th, 2016
Lindner Commons, 6th Floor
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW, Washington, D.C.
This conference, organized by the Institute for International Economic Policy and the World Bank and sponsored by ICANN, GWU-CIBER, Google, and eBay, brings together policymakers and professionals from around the world to discuss how digital trade is changing how we trade, who trades, and how we must alter trade policies to create an enabling environment for digital trade. The conference is organized by Susan Ariel Aaronson, Research Professor at the Elliott School of International Affairs, Michael Ferrantino, Lead Economist in the Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice at the World Bank, and Kyle Renner, Operations Manager at the Institute for International Economic Policy.
Digital Trade is the fastest growing component of trade, but policymakers are just learning how to create an environment to facilitate such trade in developed and developing countries alike. TPP is the first trade agreement to include binding provisions related to the information flows that power digital trade but that agreement says little about the regulatory context in which the Internet functions. In this conference, we will examine digital trade as well as barriers to cross-border information flows. We will also discuss the role of trade agreements as tools of Internet governance, examine the domestic and international regulatory environment for information, and focus on how to cooperate to encourage cross-border information flows.
RSVP here.
Day 1: May 5th, 2016
2:30 – 4:00PM
Panel 1. The enabling environment for digital trade as a tool for development.
This panel will explore: How do individuals use the Internet to expand trade? What kind of policies should governments adopt to encourage their citizens to participate in digital trade?
- Abdoul Aziz Sy, CTIC Dakar, Senegal
- Daniel Adidwa, Tour2.0, South Africa
- Diego Molano Vega, Former ICT Minister of Colombia
- Michael Ferrantino, World Bank
- Moderator: Martín Molinuevo, World Bank
4:00 – 4:15PM: Coffee Break
4:15 – 5:30PM
Panel 2. A Conversation on Rethinking IPR Online to Support Development
- Sean Flynn, Professorial Lecturer, American University School of Law
- Kevin M. Rosenbaum, Attorney for the International Intellectual Property Association
- Krista Cox, Director of Public Policy Initiatives, Association of Research Libraries
- Rob Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
- Matthew Schruers, Computer & Communications Industry Association
- Moderator: Maja Andjelkovic, World Bank
5:30 – 6:30PM
First Keynote: Klaus Tilmes, Director, Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice, The World Bank Group
Day 2: Friday, May 6th, 2016
9:00 – 10:30AM
Panel 3: Barriers to Digital Trade as a Tool for Development.
Panelists will discuss the lack of infrastructure, poor regulatory environment, corruption, IPR, and other barriers to digital trade, and what policymakers can do about these barriers.
Opening Remarks: Panel 2 Moderator (Maja Andjelkovic, World Bank) will provide 5 minutes of takeaways from the enabling environment discussion and conversation about IPR to set the stage for the Panel 2 discussion on barriers to digital trade.
- Shawn Tan, Principal author of the international trade section of World Development Report 2016, World Bank
- Ralph Carter, Managing Director, Federal Express
- Anupam Chander, Professor of Law, UC-Davis, Author of “The Electronic Silk Road”
- Usman Ahmed, Director, Global Public Policy, PayPal
- Moderator: Victoria Guida, Politico
10:30 – 11:00AM: Coffee & Networking Break
11:00AM – 12:30PM
Panel 4: Do Provisions Regulating Digital Trade Need a Rethink?
This panel will focus on how trade policies and agreements should change to address both the “public good” nature of information flows and 21st century expectations of governance given the Internet.
- Sandy Reback, Director, Global Public Policy, Akamai
- Carolina Rossini, Vice President, International Policy, Public Knowledge
- Jeremy Malcolm, Senior Global Policy Analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Damien Levie, EU Delegation, Trade and Agricultural Affairs
- Nicholas Bramble, Public Policy Manager, Google
- Moderator: Hanna Norberg, Tradeeconomista.com
12:30 – 2:00PM: Luncheon Keynote
Susan Lund, Partner, McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey & Company, Author of “Digital Globalization – The New Flows”
2:15PM – 3:45PM
Panel 5: Barriers to Digital Trade and Digital Trade Agreements
This panel will examine future barriers to digital trade including cyber-security, information sovereignty, and domestic regulations. We will also debate the difference between domestic regulations to protect netizens and local firms and digital protectionism. Panelists will suggest new policies to facilitate digital trade, in particular in the developing world.
- Brian Bieron, Director of Public Policy, eBay and Main Street
- Joshua Meltzer, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
- Allan Friedman, Director of Cybersecurity, NTIA
- Paul Fehlinger, Manager and Co-Founder, Internet and Jurisdiction Project
- Susan Ariel Aaronson, Research Professor of International Affairs, GWU
- Moderator: Tracey Samuelson, Marketplace, PRI
4:00PM: Wrap Up & Next Steps
The conference’s organizers, Michael Ferrantino and Maja Andjelkovic of the World Bank and Susan Aaronson and Kyle Renner of the George Washington University, will summarize conference findings and discussion and suggest new areas for research.
