Information technology and e-commerce

This chapter analyses the impact of the internet on global value chains (GVCs) in Africa. We investigate the effect of internet adoption on forward participation and backward participation of African countries in GVCs. We conduct the estimations using country-level data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Eora GVC database and firm-level data from the World Bank’s Enterprise Survey. We test wheth Read More

E-commerce has grown rapidly in Kenya, supported by laws governing information and communications technology (ICT) services, e-commerce transactions, data protection and access to information. The government has established one-stop shops for the provision of government services to citizens and for trade logistics. The country is well positioned to expand its digital trade with the establishment of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), given t Read More

This chapter analyses the potential for e-commerce activities in Africa. The rapid growth of internet penetration and the use of mobile telephony, along with the adoption of mobile innovations that have greatly boosted financial inclusion and encouraged reliance on electronic payment, have established a strong basis for e-commerce development on the continent. On the other hand, still-low banking rates, fragile laws and regulations governing the sector, Read More

The emergence of e-commerce is driving important changes in the ways of conducting international trade. It has become clear that improvements in trade facilitation implementation should be supported by electronic systems. Through a comparative study of a number of reports issued by international organizations – the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Unite Read More

This study explores the status, challenges and opportunities of e-commerce in Mauritius. The share of the population making online purchases was 14 per cent in 2017, the secondhighest level (after Libya) in Africa, largely due to increases in internet use and penetration, coupled with increased credit card usage and the development of secure online payment systems. And Mauritius topped the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTA Read More

Tax rates on e-commerce in Russia should remain moderate, given the small size of its digital trade operations (so the rise in tax revenues from higher rates would be small) and substantial growth prospects (so future tax revenues from a developed sector could be quite large). The Russian Federation’s (Russia’s) taxation of e-commerce activities presents two important challenges. First, consumer goods purchased directly from foreign online sellers enjoy si Read More

“Data is the new oil”. Just like oil, which powered the economy in the last century, data are what moves the world today. This is especially true for international trade. The crucial role played by data can be observed at every step of the process, from the conception of a new product and the sourcing of raw materials and parts, to the manufacturing process and the transportation of products across borders, until they finally reach the hands of con Read More

The dollar value of e-commerce transactions in China has increased enormously over the past 20 years, supported by improved infrastructure, the rapid growth of mobile telephony and increased financing. The market also is characterized by increasing diversity, for example, the growth of e-medical services, the expansion of cross-border e-commerce and the development of online-offline transactions. China’s national government has played an import Read More

While recent technological advances have supported an increase in digital trade, this growth has occurred with a lack of clear and defined rules. This deficiency has become an issue for Latin American countries. With the multilateral trade regime impasse, more complex regional and bilateral agreements have emerged. The formulation of digital trade regulation raises many questions. In this chapter we deal with the new rules on digital trade in regi Read More

The study explores structural and practical issues following the adoption of Indonesia’s e-commerce roadmap (2017–2019) and its implications for the future of the country’s digital economy. Two major categories of issues are examined in order to identify problems and challenges confronted by related stakeholders. The first category, i.e. the structural one, relates to the larger governance context of the country’s digital economy to which e-com Read More

2021 has highlighted the critical role that Customs play in enabling global trade. To make the global supply chains of the future more efficient, Smart Customs have to minimize Customs clearance time and costs, while intelligently managing inbound and outbound goods and vehicles. Disruptive technologies such as IoT devices are enabling autonomous equipment to drive effective monitoring of cargo and tracking of journeys.

The promise of TradeTech – the set of technologies that enables global trade to become more efficient, inclusive and sustainable – is multifaceted, from trade facilitation to efficiency gains and reduced costs, to greater transparency and resilience of supply chains. Of particular interest for this publication is the potential of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT) and the internet of things (IoT) to shape the global trade ecosystem.

On average, a cross-border transaction requires the exchange of 36 documents and 240 copies (Fletcher, 2019). A shipment of roses from Kenya to Rotterdam can generate a pile of paper 25 cm high, and the cost of handling it can be higher than the cost of moving the containers (Allison, 2016).

Businesses operate in an environment of increasing legal complexity. At a global level, trade compliance is particularly time consuming and costly, as enterprises need to be aware of and comply with rules under different international agreements as well as meet their contractual obligations.

This toolkit aims at raising awareness of the technical and legal tools to be called upon to adopt cross-border paperless trade systems and national single windows (NSWs).

Using electronic documents and transactions can speed up and increase trade. Electronic messages can eliminate the need to enter data into a computer manually at each supply chain checkpoint and can provide opportunities for the potential reuse of data.

This section provides a set of recommendations regarding the introduction and scaling up of technologies by Customs. These recommendations were provided by Customs, the private sector and academia in discussions held on different occasions in the last four years, including at the October 2017 Permanent Technical Committee, the annual dialogue held between the Private Sector Consultative Group and the Policy Commission in June 2018 Read More

El uso de documentos y transacciones electrónicos puede acelerar y aumentar el comercio. Los mensajes electrónicos pueden eliminar la necesidad de introducir datos en un ordenador manualmente en cada puesto de control de la cadena de suministro y posibilitan la reutilización de los datos.

Conscientes de la necesidad de estar al corriente de las novedades en la esfera de las tecnologías disruptivas y con el fin de tratar de comprender los desafíos y las oportunidades que plantean para las aduanas y la gestión de fronteras, presentamos una versión actualizada del Informe de estudio sobre tecnologías disruptivas. En los tres años transcurridos desde que se publicó por primera vez, este informe ha sido una importante fuente de infor Read More