International Trade Law and Global Data Governance

This book examines how international trade agreements apply to domestic regulations on cross-border data flows and then proposes a multilayered framework to align international trade law with evolving norms and practices in global data governance. Digital trade and global data governance are at a unique crossroads, raising significant policy challenges. The book focuses on 5 policy areas at the interface of digital trade and global data governance: privacy, cybersecurity, data access, data divide, and competition. In 5 different chapters, the book analyses how different types of domestic laws in each of these policy areas implicate existing provisions in international trade law. Thereafter, each of these chapters explore the challenges and possibilities for aligning international trade law with evolving norms, standards, and best practices in that specific area of data regulation, both at the domestic and transnational level. Drawing upon these findings, the final chapter proposes a multilayered framework for aligning international trade law with evolving norms and practices in global data governance. The key message of the book is that international trade law can and should meaningfully contribute to the development of transnational data governance norms and practices. It can also foster opportunities for robust regulatory cooperation among various stakeholders of the digital economy. As the book offers a broad perspective on the significance of digital trade rules in a datafied world, it will benefit scholars, practitioners and policymakers working on digital trade and data regulation, helping its readers explore fresh avenues in the future development of digital trade rules.