Digital trade, e-commerce and domestic regulations

Statement of need 

The remarkable pervasive growth of the internet in the last few years and its related technologies as well as its promise to continue permeating and disrupting brick-and-mortar understanding and operation of international trade has created new ways of communicating and trading. The underlying technologies creating new transaction avenues are creating a digital economy that in the majority of cases most regulatory systems are ill-equipped to deal with. The aggregate impact of the Internet and its associated technologies on international trade has manifested itself through e-commerce.

Lauded for its efficiency and effectiveness, e-commerce incentivizes traders and consumers’ migration to virtual markets albeit rendering the domestic, regional and international trade and trade-related regulatory frameworks ill-equipped to seize opportunities and address challenges arising therefrom. This course is therefore aimed at equipping participants with a deeper understanding of the opportunities and challenges concerning the implications of e-commerce on consumers, traders and trade regulation as well as its sectoral dimension. This is key to rationalizing the extent to which existing African regional and continental economic integration and domestic regulatory regimes take e-commerce in its manifold manifestations into account. The course is also critical for the ongoing AfCFTA Digital Trade Protocol negotiations. technologies as well as its promise to continue permeating and disrupting brick-and-mortar understanding and operation of international trade has created new ways of communicating and trading. The underlying technologies creating new transaction avenues are creating a digital economy that in a majority of cases most regulatory systems are ill-equipped to deal with. The aggregate impact of the Internet and its associated technologies on international trade has manifested itself through e-commerce.

Course Objectives

• Understand the foundations and importance of E-commerce and outline a basic model of the Internet technology infrastructure as it relates to e-commerce
• Analyse technologies employed in e-commerce including its software dimensions ranging from algorithms, data storage and processing to source code and their implications on international trade
• Examine the interface of e-commerce and its underlying technologies and e-commerce business models with domestic, regional and international trade and trade-related regulations
• Explain Internet trading relationships including Business to Consumer, Business-to-Business, and Intra-organizational trading.
• Describe the key features of the Internet, Intranets and Extranets and explain how they relate to each other in the context of e-commerce
• Assess the effect of changing technology on traditional business models and multilateral trading system
• Discuss the significance of Internet-based content and social networks in E-Commerce and evaluate e-commerce markets and transactions, including supply chains, E-tailing products and services
• Discuss key regulatory, online security, tax and revenue models as they relate to E-Commerce at domestic and cross-border levels
• Understand the infrastructural requirements for well-functioning E-commerce markets in Africa and assess electronic payment systems in Africa and other parts of the world
• Demonstrate the extent to which existing African trading regimes at domestic, regional and continental levels take e-commerce regulation and market development into account
• Discuss regulatory aspects of e-commerce and their impact on consumers and traders.
• Consider ethical and legal issues related to e-commerce technologies such as manipulation of graphic and sound information, privacy and control of electronic media
• Understand the productive capacity dimensions of e-commerce and analyse its relationship with physical and regulatory infrastructure

Content

• Efficiency and effectiveness, e-commerce incentivizes traders and consumers’ migration to virtual markets albeit rendering the domestic, regional and international trade and trade-related regulatory frameworks ill-equipped to seize opportunities and address challenges arising therefrom.
• Growing centrality of e-commerce in international trade and its relationship to the trader, consumers and regulation including its cross–border dimensions cannot be overestimated.
• The opportunities and challenges concerning implications of e-commerce on consumers, traders and trade regulation as well as its sectoral dimension are therefore key to rationalizing the extent to which existing African regional economic integration and domestic regulatory regimes take e-commerce in its manifold manifestations into account.
• Importance of Internet
• E-commerce challenges existing and prospective trade and trade-related sectoral policies.
• Business transactions and purports re-engineering and reconceptualization of business supply chains.
• Challenges for governments and revenue authorities’ current revenue raising and collection approaches.

 Target group

• Officials from Trade and Trade Related Ministries and parastatals, officials from Regional Economic Communities, Negotiators, and Regional Integration Practitioners. Private sector player in transport and logistics

Duration
2 Weeks

Venues
a) Venue 1: Kigali, Rwanda
Date: 15 – 26 July 2024

b) Venue 2: Arusha
Date: 2– 13 Dec 2024

Course Fees
$1,600