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Bloomberg
China risks being locked out of talks to establish new global rules to govern the $25 trillion e-commerce marketplace as the US and other nations resist an effort by Beijing to curb the plan’s ambition, according to people familiar with the talks.
Negotiations, which are set to be launched on Friday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, seek to establish a baseline international regime for modern trade, reduce cross-border hurdles to e-commerce and cut costs, said the people, who asked not to be identified because talks are ongoing.
The accord seeks to re-invigorate the World Trade Organization’s stalled e-commerce agenda amid criticism from US President Donald Trump that the institution has become irrelevant and has failed to cope with China’s rise. Such an agreement could be a boon for US businesses that have sought to knock down burdensome trade restrictions on international data flows and server
localisation requirements.
Replying to a request for comment, China’s mission to the WTO said a final decision had not been made yet on whether to join the e-commerce discussions.