Topic– Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s
interests.
4) Examine the fears of the developing countries with regards to displacing the “development agenda” in the WTO for a new agenda on digital trade?(250 words)
Why this question
The article discusses the issues raised by civil society groups and others with respect to nefarious designs of transnational organisation in setting down the new WTO agenda related to digital trade. We need to be aware of the implications of such a trade deal and what must be the way forward.
Key demand of the question
The question expects us to bring out the discussion at the buenos Aires summit with regards to displacing the “development agenda” in the WTO for a new agenda on digital trade. Thereafter we need to examine the issues that the developed countries have with wto rules governing digital travel and e-commerce and the impact it would have on domestic economy. Finally, we need to give a fair and balanced opinion and highlight what needs to be done.
Directive word
Examine – When you are asked to examine, you have to probe deeper into the topic, get into details, and find out the causes or implications if any .
Structure of the answer
Introduction – highlight that at the Buenos Aires summit of wto, developing countries rejected the idea of displacing the “development agenda” in the WTO for a new agenda on digital trade
Body
- Discuss the issues with such a new agenda on digital trade
- India fears that new rules could provide unfair market access to foreign companies, hurting the rapidly growing domestic e-commerce platforms. A key demand by the developed countries is to make permanent the current ban on customs duties on global electronic transactions—they were suspended in 1998.
- playing on India’s mind is the previous WTO deal on the Information Technology Agreement, under which it agreed to abolish tariffs on hardware, squeezing the domestic electronics manufacturing industry.
- Discuss what needs to be done
- what is needed around the world for structural transformation is a jobs-and-development-focused digital industrialisation strategy.
- Digital industrialisation indicates the need for investment in countries’ technical, legal and economic infrastructure and policies to develop and support domestic digital businesses and platforms and build capacities to use domestic data in the public interest;
- to strategically promote domestic MSMEs including through technology transfer and national data use frameworks
Conclusion – Give your view and discuss way forward.
