Construction of Digital Trade Rules under the WTO System: Analysis of Digital Trade Texts Based on Four Regional Trade Agreements

Abstract

Since the 21st century, the rapid development of information technology has contributed to the rise of digital trade. However, WTO still does not have a complete set of systems applicable to digital trade rules. The article adopts two research methods, text analysis and comparative analysis. It takes the text content of digital trade rules of CPTPP, USMCA, DEPA and AfCFTA as the entry point to analyze the current negotiation issues of WTO. The WTO should include the contents contained in the above four regional trade agreements but not included in the scope of negotiation into the negotiation issues, to comprehensively improve the WTO's digital trade system. The construction of digital trade rules under the WTO system should fully draw on existing regional trade agreements to comprehensively improve digital trade rules. Besides, in future negotiations on digital trade rules, WTO should adhere to the attitude of seeking convergence in the negotiation process and seek common ground while reserving differences. In addition, China should be sought as the representative of the major countries that can lead the negotiations to facilitate the conclusion of the talks.