Diplo launches e-commerce portal

Issues related to the digital economy have gained prominance in the last few years. The volume of e-commerce is soaring, and the impact of cross-border data flows on gross domestic product (GDP) growth is now larger than the impact of the traditional flow of goods. Policy discussions at the national level, in regional trade agreements, and at the World Trade Organization (WTO), reveal a growing interplay between trade and digital policy agendas. This new scenario has brought considerable challenges from the perspective of trade negotiators and practitioners, due to the growing complexity of discussions.

With this in mind, DiploFoundation has intensified its work in the field of e-commerce. A comprehensive training programme designed to assist governmental and non-governmental actors to better understand what digitisation brings to trade discussions has been designed. Under the framework of this programme, Diplo held courses – jointly offered by the International Trade Centre (ITC), CUTS Geneva, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the Geneva Internet Platform (GIP) – webinars, publications, events, just-in-time reporting from e-commerce related events and other activities. As a consequence, a considerable amount of resources have been generated and made available online.

The web portal on e-commerce will provide a focal point in which information about Diplo’s activities in the field will be easily retrievable. It will also facilitate access to capacity building opportunities, to our latest publications and videos, events, and to a series of blog posts analysing the latest developments in e-commerce.

We look forward to receiving feedback about this portal as we plan to continually work on improving it, and we hope that it will contribute to timely and efficient information-sharing on e-commerce issues.