Electronic Commerce and the GATS Negotiations

Electronic commerce is not only expected to change the ways of doing business dramatically but also to have a tremendous impact on the rules and regulations under which international trade will be conducted in the future. Many studies highlight the enormous potential of e-commerce. For example, International Data Cooperation has estimated that e-commerce will amount to US$ 2.5 trillion in the year 20041. Since e-commerce is in essence “borderless”, much of this electronic commerce will result in electronic trade. FORRESTER RESEARCH (2000) argues that in 2004 US $1.4 trillion of exports will be traded online, which would constitute about 18% of global exports2. Even if one does not believe fully in such projections — estimates often vary widely — the relevance of global e-commerce is obvious.