3D printing technologies have attracted the attention of the trade policy community for their potential to disrupt international trade. It is argued that greater cross-border exchange in design files for local printing may lead to less trade in physical goods. New evidence presented in this...

Services play a more important role in trade and employment in the United Kingdom than in most other OECD countries. The UK services sector is supported by an open and transparent trade regime, policies that support competition and innovation, and regulatory transparency that facilitates the...

Closing gender gaps makes good economic sense. Advancing the aim of women’s economic empowerment will require policy action across a wide range of areas, including increasing their participation in international trade. Although trade policies are not de jure discriminatory, they impact women...

Data flows across border underpin today’s digitalised and globally interconnected world, but have also given rise to a range of concerns, including about privacy protection, intellectual property protection, regulatory reach, competition, and industrial policy. This has led to the emergence of...

The number of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have increased markedly over the last decade, with many addressing market openness and rule-making for services trade. Recent RTAs are breaking down existing barriers: on average, removing between 10% and 40% of services restrictions present in the...

Rules affecting digital trade are complex and spread across a diverse set of issues and fora. This paper provides an inventory of existing rules, standards, and principles related to issues that are being discussed in the context of the Joint Statement Initiative (JSI) at the WTO, highlighting...

Today, more parcels are crossing international borders than ever before. While this has given rise to new opportunities, not least for individuals and SMEs who are now more directly engaged in trade, it is also raising new challenges. This paper explores this complex and evolving environment,...

The support that governments provide to their industrial producers has been a growing source of concern. Much of that support is provided by governments through the financial system, either in the form of below‑market borrowings or below-market equity. To better understand the nature and scale...

Artificial intelligence (AI) has strong potential to spur innovation, help firms create new value from data, and reduce trade costs. Growing interest in the economic and societal impacts of AI has also prompted interest in the trade implications of this new technology. While AI technologies have...

This paper maps the evolving data localisation landscape. It shows that the number of data localisation measures is on the rise and that the measures themselves are becoming more restrictive. The paper highlights the need to better understand and monitor the evolving regulatory environment with...