Cooperation, Capacity Building, and Implementation Considerations of Developing Countries in the E-Commerce Joint Statement Initiative: Status and the way forward

The document examines the 'digital divide' facing approximately 38 developing countries in the WTO e-commerce JSI, highlighting gaps in infrastructure and information asymmetry. It argues that current cooperation provisions are too focused on regulatory alignment and recommends a hybrid Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) model—combining elements of the Trade Facilitation Agreement and GATS—to provide enforceable capacity building and flexible implementation periods.

• A significant 'preconditions' gap exists in digital access, with 49% of the global population lacking internet access, and the divide being most acute in Africa (71%), Asia and the Pacific (55%), and the Arab States (45%).
• Telecommunications investment per capita declined between 2019 and 2020 in Africa, the Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean, while increasing in North America, Europe, and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
• Developing countries and LDCs face an 'asymmetry of information and knowledge' that hinders their ability to evaluate the impact of e-commerce regulations on cybersecurity, data flows, and national development goals.
• The author argues that a hybrid SDT model combining the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), GATS, and traditional SDT is the most appropriate way to address diverse development concerns, as traditional capacity-building provisions are often 'unenforceable' 'best endeavour' clauses.
• Current cooperation provisions in the JSI 'cleaned texts' are limited to the promotion of regulatory cooperation and lack targeted capacity-building or technical assistance commitments for specific technical issues.
• Developing countries require three types of critical support during negotiations: mechanisms for demand-driven research to enable negotiations, multistakeholder consultations to build national knowledge, and drafting support to ensure balanced rules.

APA

Ismail, Y. (2022). Cooperation, Capacity Building, and Implementation Considerations of Developing Countries in the E-Commerce Joint Statement Initiative: Status and the way forward. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-04/developing-countries-e-commerce-joint-statement-initiative.pdf

Chicago

Ismail, Yasmin. Cooperation, Capacity Building, and Implementation Considerations of Developing Countries in the E-Commerce Joint Statement Initiative: Status and the way forward. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2022. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-04/developing-countries-e-commerce-joint-statement-initiative.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ismail |first1=Yasmin |title=Cooperation, Capacity Building, and Implementation Considerations of Developing Countries in the E-Commerce Joint Statement Initiative: Status and the way forward |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=April 2022 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-04/developing-countries-e-commerce-joint-statement-initiative.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ismail2022cooperation, author = {Ismail, Yasmin}, title = {{Cooperation, Capacity Building, and Implementation Considerations of Developing Countries in the E-Commerce Joint Statement Initiative: Status and the way forward}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2022}, month = apr, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2022-04/developing-countries-e-commerce-joint-statement-initiative.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }