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ARTICLE · 02 JANUARY 2019

Digital Protectionism, Trade And The WTO

Gowling WLG
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In our recent report Protectionism 2.0: Digital forces driving the new protectionist agenda we highlighted how measures restricting data flows crucial to businesses pose as much a threat

GlobalInternational Law
Bernardine Adkins
Bernardine Adkins
Sean Giles
Sean Giles
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In our recent report Protectionism 2.0: Digital forces driving the new protectionist agenda we highlighted how measures restricting data flows crucial to businesses pose as much a threat to international trade as cruder, traditional tools of trade protectionism.

There is widespread consensus that the World Trade Organization ("WTO") needs modernisation in order to tackle the challenges presented to free trade by both traditional and digital protectionism. Such reform is being considered against a backdrop of concern as to the viability of the WTO dispute resolution process and the use of such practices as forced technology transfers. In the UK, the WTO is now attracting attention as a 'fall back' proposition, should there be a 'no deal' Brexit.

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