New opportunity for Indo-Pacific digital trade
Adobe Image
This paper talks about new opportunities for the Quad countries to establish rules for free and trusted digital trade, among themselves and within the Indo-Pacific through the adoption of the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT).
Key points
- There is a new opportunity for Quad countries to establish rules for free and trusted digital trade, among themselves and within the Indo-Pacific.
- Responses to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) have been muted.
- But recent domestic developments in Quad countries, especially India, have reduced the obstacles to the adoption of the Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) concept.
Policy recommendations
- Jointly develop principles and standards for DFFT, building on efforts such as G7 Digital Trade Principles.
- Establish expert working groups to examine interoperability of data/privacy regimes.
- Leverage Quad trade dialogues to advocate for DFFT provisions in bilateral and regional trade agreements over the next one to two years.
About the series
This paper has been written for the Quad Tech Network Dialogue, as part of the Quad Tech Network (QTN) initiative. QTN is an initiative of the NSC, delivered with support from the Australian Government. It aims to establish and deepen academic and official networks linking the Quad nations – Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – in relation to the most pressing technology issues affecting the future security and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific.
