El Comercio Digital y La Gobernanza Mundial de Datos Trazando nuevas vías en el derecho económico internacional

The author analyzes the friction between national data regulations and international trade agreements, proposing four key lessons for future rule-making: developing a balanced narrative beyond the 'free flow vs. data sovereignty' dichotomy, understanding the limits of trade law in solving complex policy issues, integrating the perspectives of developing countries to combat 'data colonialism', and adopting a multi-layered governance framework that combines binding treaties with soft law and multi-stakeholder cooperation.

• Current narratives on data regulation are often polarized between 'free flow of data' and 'data sovereignty', which leads to regulatory fragmentation and reduced digital trust. While Japan's 'Data Free Flow with Trust' (DFFT) initiative offers a flexible, modular architecture, many countries still view digital sovereignty as a means to control digital flows, though it can potentially be used as a tool for 'digital authoritarianism'.
• International trade law may not always provide clear answers for multifaceted data governance issues. While data localization or cybersecurity bans can be challenged as discriminatory or as market access violations, governments often use general and security exceptions to justify restrictive measures. In WTO contexts, security exceptions are limited to exceptional circumstances like war or public order crises.
• Developing countries face a multidimensional 'data gap' characterized by poor infrastructure, limited data commercialization prospects, and weak regulatory frameworks. This is often attributed to 'data colonialism' by tech giants from digital powers like the US and China, leaving developing nations in a cycle of data manipulation and digital dependence.
• Existing international trade rules, including Plurilateral Agreements (PAs) and Digital Economy Agreements (DEAs), are largely ineffective at reducing the digital data gap. WTO special and differential treatment disciplines are described as weak and vague, and even DEAs lack binding mechanisms for regulatory assistance or technical support for developing partners.
• The dominance of tech giants is fueled by a disproportionate data advantage that creates network scale economies and stifles new market entrants. While governments have attempted competition regulation to counter this, international trade law's role remains unclear, as WTO disciplines (such as those in the General Agreement on Trade in Services) have not been updated for the modern digital economy.
• A 'multi-layered approach' is recommended to align trade law with data governance. This involves combining binding treaty provisions with soft law frameworks, transnational standards, and informal regulatory cooperation. Practical steps include systematic notification of restrictive data measures, transparency obligations, and the use of interoperability and mutual recognition mechanisms.

APA

Mishra, N. (2024). El Comercio Digital y La Gobernanza Mundial de Datos Trazando nuevas vías en el derecho económico internacional. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/es/articles/policy-analysis/global-data-governance

Chicago

Mishra, Neha. El Comercio Digital y La Gobernanza Mundial de Datos Trazando nuevas vías en el derecho económico internacional. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/es/articles/policy-analysis/global-data-governance.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mishra |first1=Neha |title=El Comercio Digital y La Gobernanza Mundial de Datos Trazando nuevas vías en el derecho económico internacional |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=October 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/es/articles/policy-analysis/global-data-governance |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mishra2024comercio, author = {Mishra, Neha}, title = {{El Comercio Digital y La Gobernanza Mundial de Datos Trazando nuevas vías en el derecho económico internacional}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/es/articles/policy-analysis/global-data-governance}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }