[DC-Trade] Latest version of IGF workshop proposal for submission next week

Mon May 1 08:14:34 PDT 2017

Hi Jeremy, thanks so much for the hard work!

I think a compromise is possible, in describing that the workshop will deal
with WTO rules IF something happens, but if nothing happens at the WTO,
then a conversation about the future of the broader e-commerce agenda will
take place. I also really like Bill´s idea of talking about the role of
developing countries in the shaping of the digital trade agenda.

Best,

Gus

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*Gus Rossi*
Global Policy Director (202) 861-0020 (x123) | (202) 651 1337
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On Sun, Apr 30, 2017 at 3:16 PM, susan aaronson <saaronson2 at verizon.net>
wrote:

> Bill: Thank you. That advice makes a lot of sense to me.
>
> All the best,
>
> Susan
>
> On 4/30/2017 2:35 AM, William Drake wrote:
>
> Hi
>
> Thanks Jeremy.  Just a few thoughts further to the below:
>
> *All discussions and decisions should be done on-list in a transparent and
> inclusive manner, that’s the strong expectation/requirement for how Dynamic
> Coalitions are to work.  We have 30+ people on the list and so far messages
> from about 3 people.
>
> *The people listed as Volunteered and the one somehow already listed as
> Invited are largely civil society.  The MAG takes very seriously
> geo/gender/stakeholdergroup/and intellectual-political diversity, so we
> have to populate the thing accordingly.  And obviously, speaker choices
> should be matched to the agenda and the skill sets needs.
>
> *On substance, I guess my concerns with the original text is that is blurs
> the lines between a) what has been floated (generally without broad support
> yet) in the WTO’s e-commerce work program, b) what is likely to be formally
> proposed and agreed for the WTO Ministerial meeting, and c) what has been
> proposed by certain parties in some of the mega-regionals.  Not only might
> this look odd to the trade community, but it would be awkward if we’re
> meeting a week after the Ministerial and talking about a bunch of stuff
> that didn’t happen there rather than what did.  So my thought was that we
> either should focus on the Ministerial, decoding its inclusions and
> exclusions for a IG-oriented audience that probably is not all following
> WTO happenings (and there will in fact be enough to talk about), or we
> should address the mega-regionals where (due to negotiating group
> composition etc) some of the specific items we flagged could get more
> play.  The problems with the latter are that a) the pace and prospects of
> the mega-regionals are highly variable and the situation may not be clear
> in December, and b) there were several workshops last year on the megas, so
> focusing on them again is sort of like saying we just want to redo and
> update.  So my personal preference would be to focus on the Ministerial
> outcomes and their implications for work in the WTO over the next couple
> years.  This would make us more relevant to the WTO process which is the
> most institutionalized, and also would draw us further toward the whole
> roiling debate about developing country interests regarding digital trade,
> which might offer the possibility of some alliance building.  If we went
> this route, we could also loop in the work going on in UNCTAD, which has a
> range of Internet-related trade initiatives underway and would seem a good
> partner for this.
>
> But that’s just one view, and if the group prefers a more diffuse approach
> that is less tightly coupled to current negotiations, ok.
>
> In any event we need to hear from more people on list and move toward a
> consensus quickly as the submission deadline is Wednesday.  Bear in mind
> too the new MAG’s form has gotten more complicated, so we have to have
> detailed answer to multiple questions (remote participation is key) and
> establish digital profiles with bios for each speaker etc.  So there’s a
> couple hours of busy work to be done by the submitters after we settle on
> the plan.
>
> Best
>
> Bill
>
>
>
> On Apr 28, 2017, at 20:55, Jeremy Malcolm <jmalcolm at eff.org> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> I am pasting below the latest version of the IGF workshop proposal that
> several of you have expressed interest in supporting.  Because we only have
> a few more days to finalize the proposal, your comments and suggestions are
> now urgently needed.
>
> All of the panelists now listed as volunteering have been confirmed—but
> probably we shouldn't include all of them on the panel, which is rather
> CS-heavy.  Any suggestions about how we could have a more balanced
> panel—including other people (not civil society) to propose, and perhaps
> some panelists with different views?
>
> Bill Drake has suggested we should tweak the proposal to do EITHER one of
> two things: 1. De-emphasize the prospect of the Internet governance issues
> that we mention being taken up at the WTO, which he judges as unlikely, and
> instead to emphasize the fact that these issues are on the agenda for
> mega-regional agreements and new bilaterals.  2. OR else refocus the
> session on what is actually more likely to come out of the WTO Ministerial
> in Buenos Aires, namely just extending the customs duties moratorium, trade
> facilitation, e-commerce for development, and a loose commitment to talk
> about future issues.
>
> Does anyone else have views on Bill's suggestion?  If anyone thinks
> changes to the proposal are needed, please propose specific wording.
>
> With whatever feedback we have by then, I'll be finalizing and submitting
> this proposal by Wednesday.  So I'll be depending on you between now and
> then to ensure that it's in the best shape it can be.
>
> Here's the current text, also found at https://opendigital.trade/
> projects/dc-trade/wiki/IGF_Workshop_2017:
>
> --- begins ---
>
> Title: Engaging with the E-commerce Trade Agenda
>
> The World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference takes place from
> 11 to 14 December 2017, just one week prior to the IGF. Key member states
> are advocating that the Ministerial Conference should approve additional
> substantive work on e-commerce, perhaps even new norm-setting measures. The
> IGF will be the first opportunity that stakeholders have to prepare a plan
> of action in response to whatever decision is taken, and to connect the
> dots between the WTO work programme and other relevant sources of expertise
> from the broader Internet governance community.
>
> Possible topics already proposed by certain delegations for the WTO's work
> program include encryption, data localisation, source code disclosure
> mandates, and intermediary liability rules. All of these areas have
> substantial intersections with Internet governance policies on
> cybersecurity, privacy and data protection, and freedom of expression. Yet
> the WTO, being relatively new to these topics, lacks deep expertise in many
> of them, and does not possess strong connections with all of the
> stakeholders with non-trade perspectives to offer on the impacts of
> rulemaking in this areas.
>
> This workshop will facilitate the exchange of information among interested
> stakeholders and from external communities that also have an interest or
> expertise to offer in the development of Internet-related global trade
> rules. Even in the event that the WTO does not decide to expand its
> existing work programme on e-commerce, this workshop will still be relevant
> as many of the same issues are also being dealt with in other trade
> negotiations and fora, including the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA),
> the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the Regional
> Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
>
> To facilitate a discussion about Internet-related global trade rules in
> general, we will use the following policy issues to engender debate:
>
>    - Encryption
>    - Data localization
>    - Intermediary liability
>    - Big data (social, economic, and political dimensions)
>
> Co-sponsors
>
>    - Electronic Frontier Foundation (USA, civil society)
>    - IT for Change (India, civil society)
>    - Internet Infrastructure Coalition (USA, private sector)
>    - Diplo Foundation (Malta, academic community)
>    - Public Citizen (USA, civil society)
>
> Personnel Volunteered
>
>    - William Drake (University of Zurich, USA/Switzerland, academic
>    community)
>    - Susan Aaronson (George Washington University, USA, academic
>    community)
>    - David Snead (Internet Infrastructure Coalition, USA, business)
>    - Marília Maciel (Diplo Foundation, Brazil, academic community)
>    - Gus Rossi (Public Knowledge, USA, civil society)
>    - Maryant Fernandez (EDRi, Spain/Belgium, civil society)
>    - Burcu Kilic (Public Citizen, USA, civil society)
>    - Estelle Massé (Access Now, Belgium, civil society)
>    - Jean-Baptiste Velut (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle Paris 3, France,
>    academic community)
>    - Aileen Kwa (South Centre, inter gov organisation)
>
> Invited
>
>    - Sanya Reid Smith (Third World Network, civil society)
>
> Remote moderator or rapporteur
>
>    - Renata Ribeiro (Brazil, civil society)
>
>
>
> --
> Jeremy Malcolm
> Senior Global Policy Analyst
> Electronic Frontier Foundationhttps://eff.orgjmalcolm@eff.org
>
> Tel: 415.436.9333 ext 161 <(415)%20436-9333>
>
> :: Defending Your Rights in the Digital World ::
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>
> ***********************************************
> William J. Drake
> International Fellow & Lecturer
>   Media Change & Innovation Division, IPMZ
>   University of Zurich, Switzerland
> william.drake at uzh.ch (direct), wjdrake at gmail.com (lists),
>   www.williamdrake.org
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> --
>
> Susan Ariel Aaronson, Ph.D.
> Research Professor of International Affairs, Institute of International Economic Policy
> GWU Cross Disciplinary Fellow and Cavalho Fellow, Government Accountability Project
>
> Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington Universityhttp://www.gwu.edu/~elliott/faculty/aaronson.cfm
>
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>
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