UK Signs E-Commerce Joint Initiative

91 countries, including the UK, have signed up to an agreement that is set to ease digital trade barriers and, according to the UK government, 'could unlock billions for UK companies by imposing new digitised trading practices'. 

Work on the E-Commerce Joint Initiative began back in December of 2017 when 71 member states decided to 'initiate exploratory work' on the subject of making digital trade across borders fairer, faster, cheaper and more secure. After more than six years of intense negotiations and 20 new members signing up, the initiative was recently finalised at the WTO (World Trade Organisation).

One of the key provisions outlined in the E-Commerce Joint Initiative is the digitalisation of customs processes and documents, which would eradicate the need for physical paperwork at custom checkpoints, a process which is expensive, cumbersome and more than a little outdated. The UK Department for Business and Trade has said that shifting to digitised customs systems in this way could result in a GDP increase for the UK of as much as £24.2 billion.   

Jonathan Reynolds, MP for Stalybridge and Hyde and the UK Business and Trade Secretary, pointed out that the new initiative would help to rationalise a sector that offers a wide scope of potential efficiencies but is not currently regulated on a global scale. He said: "Global digital trade is already estimated by the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] to be worth around £4 trillion and counting but no common set of global rules exist."

Members who have signed the E-Commerce Joint Initiative will also recognise e-signatures and e-documents, negating the need for time-consuming postal exchanges and physical contract signing. Furthermore, the initiative will also implement safeguarding measures against things like misleading product claims and instances of online fraud. 
The UK signing up to the new agreement follows what has been described as 'a promising few weeks for digital trade agreements globally'. In July alone, a DTA (digital trade agreement) between Ukraine and the UK came into force while the EU finalised negotiations for a DTA with Singapore.

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