United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Building Confidence Electronic Commerce and Development i UNCTAD/SDTE/MISC.11 © UNCTAD 2000 The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Material in this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, but acknowledgement is requested, together with a reference to the document number. A copy of the publication containing the quotation or reprint should be sent to the UNCTAD secretariat ii Table of contents PREAMBLE.................................................................................................................... 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................. 2 FOREWORD................................................................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 1. E-COMMERCE AND DEVELOPMENT...............................................5 INTRODUCTION — CONVINCING EVIDENCE? ........................................................... 5 SECTION I – DEFINITIONS, FACTS AND FIGURES.................................................... 7 E-commerce will soon represent a significant part of international trade ......................... 7 How will tomorrow’s e-commerce differ from today’s? ..................................................... 8 SECTION II — IN SEARCH OF A WORKING DEFINITION OF E-COMMERCE.......... 13 From description to implementation: the two operational definitions of e-commerce ..... 13 New business models: the end of intermediation?......................................................... 16 CHAPTER 2 . SELECTED CROSS-SECTORAL AND SECTORAL ISSUES .......25 SECTION I — FISCAL ASPECTS OF E-COMMERCE................................................. 25 The impact of the Internet on main macro-economic variables...................................... 26 The debate on taxation of electronic transmissions, electronic commerce and services related to Internet access.............................................................................................. 30 SECTION II — LEGAL ASPECTS OF E-COMMERCE ................................................ 35 Commercial law issues ................................................................................................. 35 Intellectual property issues............................................................................................ 37 Consumer protection..................................................................................................... 38 Taxation ........................................................................................................................ 38 Data protection.............................................................................................................. 39 Trade related issues...................................................................................................... 39 Applicable law and dispute resolution............................................................................ 39 SECTION III — ELECTRONIC COMMERCE IN TRANSPORT SERVICES ................. 40 Electronic commerce in freight transport services ......................................................... 42 Regional and sectoral patterns of development in electronic commerce in freight transportation................................................................................................................ 48 Interrelationship between e-commerce and transport services...................................... 50 Implications for developing countries and possible strategies to be adopted................. 53 iii SECTION IV — E-COMMERCE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES .................................... 54 Financial service providers: from proprietary intranets and extranets to Internet ........... 55 Internet-based country and commercial risk analysis and databases: new opportunities to improve credit and performance risk management........................................................ 57 Online payments and credit systems: new challenges for banking ................................ 59 Securities firms: from traditional to online brokerage ..................................................... 63 E-commerce in insurance.............................................................................................. 64 E-Commerce and financial services in developing and transition economies: some concluding remarks....................................................................................................... 69 CHAPTER 3 . THE STATE OF E-COMMERCE ......................................................71 SECTION I — INEQUALITY AND INEQUITY IN E-COMMERCE: WHERE WILL THE DIGITAL DIVIDE RUN?........................................................................................... 71 SECTION II — E-COMMERCE IN AFRICA .................................................................. 78 The general picture ....................................................................................................... 78 Status of Africa’s infastructure for E-commerce and strategies for its improvement...... 88 CHAPTER 4. AN AGENDA FOR ACTION ........................................................... 111 SECTION I — ACTION AT THE NATIONAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS....................111 National task forces and advisory committees in advanced countries ..........................112 Selected examples of e-commerce activities in developing countries..........................114 Regional initiatives and potential for regional cooperation........................................... 120 Cross-sectoral issues to be handled at the national level ............................................ 120 SECTION II — SOME MULTILATERAL DIMENSIONS OF E-COMMERCE............... 123 E-commerce as a new issue in the WTO..................................................................... 123 Some other international dimensions of electronic commerce: legal aspects .............. 127 CONCLUSION – PROMOTING E-VELOPMENT TO BUILD AND DISSEMINATE KNOWLEDGE GLOBALLY................................................................................... 131 Building confidence..................................................................................................... 133 ANNEX ....................................................................................................................... 135 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 145 GLOSSARY................................................................................................................ 159 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................ 171 INDEX......................................................................................................................... 173 iv Preamble This publication draws extensively from the discussions and the main conclusions that emerged from a number of expert meetings and workshops, both in Geneva and in the field. In particular, GET UP, Global Electronic Trade UN Partnerships at the First Meeting “Partners for Development”, Lyon, France from 9 to 12 November 1998. The Arab regional workshop on Electronic Commerce and a national seminar in Cairo, Egypt, from 26 to 28 and from 29 to 30 September 1998. Two expert group meetings were convened in Geneva respectively from 16 to 17 June and from 14 to 16 July 1999, respectively on “Exchange of Experiences among Enterprises in the area of Electronic Commerce” and on “Capacity Building in the Area of Electronic Commerce: Legal and Regulatory Dimensions”. Additionally, UNCTAD organized a national seminar in Caracas, Venezuela, from 28 to 29 June 1999; as well as, three regional meetings. Meetings were held in Lima, Peru, from 4 to 5 August 1999 for the Latin American and the Caribbean countries; in Nairobi, Kenya, from 7 to 8 October 1999 for the African countries; and in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 25 to 27 October for the Asia/Pacific Region.2 These were held pursuant to the agreed conclusions adopted at the closing plenary on 14 December 1998 of the third session of UNCTAD’s Commission on Enterprise, Business Facilitation and Development. The Commission requested UNCTAD “to organize regional electronic commerce workshops” in which emphasis was to be put on stimulating an exchange of experiences among enterprises with a practical knowledge of electronic commerce. The events were also held pursuant to the consultations held by the President of the UNCTAD Trade and Development Board on 30 April 1999, which authorized the secretariat to organize four pre-Conference events for UNCTAD X. The main objectives of the workshop and regional seminars were: · To provide opportunities for direct exchange of experiences among enterprises and organizations involved in the use of electronic commerce; · To enhance the knowledge and awareness of Governments, trade practitioners and entrepreneurs in developing countries regarding the economic, technical and legal aspects of e-commerce and the potential impact of e-commerce on the ability of developing countries to achieve greater participation in international trade; · To identify main obstacles faced