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<td><font color="#398bc5" face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="5">Open Digital Trade Newsletter</font><br />
<font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif"><strong>An update on the reform of trade agreements dealing with digital policy issues</strong></font><br />
<font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="5">March 2018</font></td>
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<td style="font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#398bc5"><strong>Highlight: Changes to Open Digital Trade Network and IGF Dynamic Coalition on Trade and the Internet</strong></font></font>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2">With apologies for a very long delay since our last weekly newsletter, this is the new Open Digital Trade Newsletter which replaces both the earlier newsletter, and also the website opendigital.trade, which will no longer be used except by volunteer coordinators. If you find it useful, let us know! If it could be improved or if you'd like to help, let us know that too!</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2">Some associated changes: this is the new mailing list for <em>public</em> discussions of both the Open Digital Trade Network (the group formed in 2016 of those who developed the <a href="http://www.eff.org/files/2016/03/15/brussels_declaration.pdf">Brussels Declaration on Trade and the Internet</a>) and the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Trade and the Internet (which was formed in 2017). This first newsletter includes an overview of the activities of both groups. The previous IGF-only list, dc-trade@opendigital.trade, has been deactivated and merged into this joint public list.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2">For <em>private</em> discussions, you can apply to join (if you are not already on it) the list <a href="mailto:digitaltrade@lists.eff.org">digitaltrade@lists.eff.org</a>, and your application will require approval by the existing members. The separation of public and private lists is necessary because of IGF rules that require the official DC list to be public. If you have any questions, please let us know.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#398bc5"><strong>Project: transparency and participation</strong></font></font></p>
<p><strong><font color="#3b5187">Overview</font></strong></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2">The two approaches to reforming trade negotiation practices are bottom-up, or top-down. The bottom-up approach is to establish best practices at the national level and then to encourage other states to adopt equivalent standards. Currently the most promising avenue for this is the UK Trade Bill, which if proposed amendments are accepted, could require all consolidated texts to be published after the close of each round of negotiations, and proposals and agendas to be published as presented. However, the last committee hearings were in January and progress of the Bill has stalled since then.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2">The top-down approach is to establish best practice standards or recommendations at an intergovernmental level instead, and to have those filter down to the national level. This requires seeding these ideas at the World Economic Forum (WEF), UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Trade Organization (WTO), and Internet Governance Forum (IGF). Members of this group have been doing just that, but the resistance of the trade community to change the the integration of new ideas will be a length and ongoing process. One of the purposes of the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Trade and the Internet is to build bridges between the trade and Internet governance communities to
facilitate this dialogue.</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#398bc5"><strong>Project: digital trade policy advocacy</strong></font></font></p>
<p><font color="#3b5187"><b id="docs-internal-guid-868f691d-0c6d-db52-3976-4b92565e7f1c">Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) </b></font></p>
<p dir="ltr">The 16 member countries<a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2018/02/07/indonesia-strives-for-conclusion-of-rcep-talks.html"> met</a> in Indonesia from February 2-9, 2018. Failure to meet negotiating deadlines, and divergence on key issues have raised concerns that discussions have stalled. The Indian government is <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/policy/asean-pushes-india-to-conclude-rcep-this-year/article10046655.ece">being cautious</a> about opening up its markets and the situation seems unlikely to change with upcoming elections in the country. Mounting pressure may cause India to walk away from talks, a move which would <a
href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/policy/asean-pushes-india-to-conclude-rcep-this-year/article10046655.ece">significantly</a> impact the economic and strategic value of the agreement and tilt the balance of power in the favor China. Following the US withdrawal from the TPP, China is keen to expand its leadership in world trade order and in 2017 had outlined its <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/business/2017-11/14/content_34525509.htm">agenda</a> for an East Asia Economic Community during the 20th ASEAN+3 Leaders’ Meeting.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><font color="#3b5187"><b id="docs-internal-guid-868f691d-0c6d-db52-3976-4b92565e7f1c">North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) </b></font></p>
<p>The renegotiation the agreement has triggered a battle on copyright issues and piracy. During the 6th round of talks held in Canada, EFF had joined 15 other organizations and 39 academic experts to send the negotiators an <a href="http://digitalcommons.law.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2651&context=historical">open letter</a> [PDF] about the importance of platform safe harbor rules, a topic that has been <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2017/09/canada-pushes-back-against-us-copyright-demands-nafta">proposed for the deal's Digital Trade chapter</a>. Hollywood and music industry associations have written to U.S. Trade Representative <a
href="http://variety.com/2018/politics/news/nafta-safe-harbor-copyright-1202672779/">urging him</a> to reject demands as they "fail to adequately protect our industry, disincentivize taking reasonable measures to protect intellectual property, and provide immunity from liability without sufficient safeguards for copyright holders.” The 7th round of the negotiations is set to be held from February 25 to March 5 in Mexico City.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><font color="#3b5187"><b>WTO/ UNCTAD, WEF & digital issues</b></font></p>
<p dir="ltr">At the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos, World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General, Roberto Azevêdo acknowledged the “positive progress made in Buenos Aires by groups of members on ecommerce”. It is unclear if Azevêdo's counted the <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/d9f63c20-e01d-11e7-a8a4-0a1e63a52f9c">declaration </a>by 70 countries to pursue plurilateral agreement outside the WTO's negotiating stream, or the recently established private sector led <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/sme-sector/wto-ropes-in-alibabas-jack-ma-to-promote-e-commerce-talks/articleshow/62034131.cms">Electronic World Trade Platform</a> (eWTP) as progress. This week,
UK's Trade Secretary is <a href="http://www.cityam.com/280821/liam-fox-travels-geneva-campaign-digital-trade-rules">meeting</a> Azevêdo alongside ministers from Australia, Japan and Singapore, to campaign for rule on digital trade. In the run-up to the two-day ‘mini-ministerial’ to <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/government-consults-industry-on-cross-border-digital-trade/articleshow/62795845.cms">be hosted</a> by India in March, the government is consulting industry on its agenda and priorities on ecommerce at the WTO.</p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#398bc5"><strong>Collaboration opportunities</strong></font></font></p>
<p dir="ltr"><font color="#3b5187"><b>WTO/ UNCTAD, WEF & digital issues</b></font></p>
<p>Our joint-proposal for organising a workshop at RightsCon 2018 in Canada in May, 2018 on "Can trade agreements such as CPTPP NAFTA and RCEP be used as a tool for advancing digital rights?" has been accepted. Members are working to finalize the agenda, format and speakers. More details will be shared in the next update.</p>
<p dir="ltr"><font color="#3b5187"><b>NAFTA joint letter</b></font></p>
The Our Fair Deal coalition is composing a joint letter to negotiators covering digital issues in NAFTA. This will be followed by a second, separate letter by nonprofit groups covering the particular impacts of NAFTA's digital issues such as fair use and platform safe harbors. If you would like to be involved in either of these joint letters, please contact any member of the Our Fair Deal coalition, such as EFF or OpenMedia.
<p dir="ltr"><font color="#3b5187"><b>Other mailing lists</b></font></p>
<p>There are some other mailing lists for activists involved with particular trade negotiations that don't have public addresses or archives. If you are unsure whether an existing group already exists, you can ask and someone will be in touch with you if there is a list that you can join.</p>
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<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#003399"><strong>Quick Links</strong> </font><br />
<a href="https://www.eff.org/files/2016/03/15/brussels_declaration.pdf">Brussels Declaration on Trade and the Internet</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.intgovforum.org/multilingual/content/dynamic-coalition-on-trade">IGF Dynamic Coalition on Trade and the Internet</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.bilaterals.org/">bilaterals.org</a></font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/fair-deal-outreach">Fair Deal Coalition (TPP/NAFTA)</a><br />
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<a href="http://unctad.org/en/Pages/Home.aspx">UN Conference on Trade and Development</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.wto.org/">World Trade Organization</a></font></p>
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<font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#003399"><strong>Upcoming Events</strong></font><br />
<a href="http://unctad.org/e-week2018">UNCTAD e-Commerce Week</a>, 16-20 April<br />
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<a href="https://www.rightscon.org/">RightsCon 2018</a>, May 16-18<br />
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<font color="#003399"><strong>Contacts</strong></font><br />
<a href="https://eff.org">Electronic Frontier Foundation</a><br />
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<a href="https://edri.org">European Digital Rights</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.keionline.org/">Knowledge Ecology International</a><br />
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<a href="http://openmedia.org">OpenMedia</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.citizen.org">Public Citizen</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.publicknowledge.org">Public Knowledge</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.tacd.org/index2.htm">Trans-Atlantic Consumer Dialogue</a></font></p>
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<td><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><font color="#398bc5"><strong>Press roundup</strong></font></font>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/03/fair-use-and-platform-safe-harbors-nafta">Fair Use and Platform Safe Harbors in NAFTA</a> (EFF, March 7)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/03/06/washington-strikes-back-against-chinese-investment/">Washington Strikes Back Against Chinese Investment</a> (Foreign Policy, March 6)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2018-03-05/trade-war-poor?cid=soc-tw-rdr">A Trade War on the Poor: How a Collapse of the WTO Would Hurt the Worst Off</a> (Foreign Affairs, March 5)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news18_e/dgra_05mar18_e.htm">Azevêdo calls on members to avoid triggering an escalation in trade barriers</a> (WTO, March 5)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://www.ip-watch.org/2018/03/04/comments-mexican-senate-copyright-provisions-nafta-renegotiation/">Inside Views: Protecting And Promoting Copyright Balance In NAFTA</a> (IP Watch, March 3)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2018/02/rcep-negotiations-face-obstacles-member-nations-unwilling-commit">The Post-TPP Future of Digital Trade in Asia</a> (EFF, March 2)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-02-27/thailand-weighs-benefits-of-joining-trade-pact-trump-ditched">Thailand Weighs Benefits of Joining Trade Pact Trump Ditched</a> (Bloomberg, February 27)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news18_e/trip_27feb18_e.htm">WTO members broaden the discussion on IP, inclusive innovation and the public interest</a> (WTO, February 27)</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2"><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-china-cyber-trade/united-states-tells-wto-of-concerns-over-chinas-new-web-access-rules-idUSKCN1G7179">United States tells WTO of concerns over China's new web access rules</a> (Reuters, February 23)</font></p>
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<hr /><font face="Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" size="2">This newsletter is prepared by the Electronic Frontier Foundation for the Open Digital Trade Network and the IGF Dynamic Coalition on Trade and the Internet. <a href="https://lists.eff.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaltrade" title="click to unsubscribe">Click here</a> to manage your membership and unsubscribe from this mailing list.<br />
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Our mailing address is:<br />
815 Eddy Street, San Francisco, CA 94109</font></td>
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