SC Working Lunch Meeting, April 2019

Title:               Working Lunch Meeting to discuss the Indian Draft National e-Commerce Policy

Date:                Friday, 5th April, 13:00 – 15:00

Venue:             The South Centre

Organizers:     The South Centre 

The South Centre will organise a lunch meeting on E-Commerce on Friday 5th April from 1.00 – 3.00 pm. There was interest expressed in our last e-commerce meeting of 15 March to have a discussion on the Indian Draft National e-Commerce Policy, so that other developing countries can learn lessons from the process India has been undergoing. We will also draw on experts from other countries for the meeting.  The proposed agenda will be as outlined below. A major area our speakers will attempt to grapple with are the questions many developing country delegations now have regarding the plurilateral E-Commerce negotiations. These include:

  • What are the implications of the kinds of rules US is attempting to push for in the plurilateral negotiations on E-Commerce for developing countries
  • Some developing countries are being asked to join in the plurilateral negotaitions (in exchange for support to build their capacities). Should developing countries join in or not?
  • India’s E-commerce policy – what were the objectives; how are those objectives sought to be met? What position is India taking on the plurilateral negotiations and why?
  • What are the implications of negotiated outcomes in the plurilateral for those outside these negotiations
  • What kinds of issues need to be discussed in the multilateral 1998 Work Programme and why is this important for those inside the plurilateral negotiations as well as those outside.

13:30 – 13:40           Making Sense of the Messy Situation in E-Commerce at the WTO, Overview of the Issues and Questions – Aileen Kwa (South Centre)

13:40 – 14:05           Key issues and concerns taken up in the Indian Draft National e-Commerce Policy and why – Shailendra Singh, Additional Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India and Parminder Jeet Singh (IT for Change)

14:05  – 14:15          India’s position on the Plurilateral E-Commerce Discussions and Why – Abhijit Das (Centre for WTO Studies)

14:15 – 14:25           Q and A

14:25 – 14:32           CSO perspective on the E-Commerce Negotiations, Deborah James (Our World is Not for Sale Coalition)

14:33 – 14.40           Developments in the US  – Burcu Kilic (Public Citizen)

14:48 – 15:00           Q and A


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