This debate will discuss the ongoing WTO ecommerce negotiations amongst today 86 WTO members. They are a bit the external flip side of what is discussed at EU internal level.

The negotiations are about digital trade in the wider sense covering classic B2C ecommerce as well as B2B digitally enabled transactions. The negotiations look at aspects such as consumer trust and spam, barriers to cross-border sales, e-contracts and e-signatures, a ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions, forced data localisation, cross border data flows, forced disclosure of source code and the improvement of existing WTO rules on telecommunications.

The event will show the range of issues that are under discussion, what is less controversial, what is more complex to resolve and of course what the EU aims to achieve in those negotiations.

• Programme

  Opening remarks

  Miapetra Kumpula-Natri MEP and EIF Steering Committee Member

  Speakers

  Christophe Kiener, Acting Director, DG TRADE, European Commission

  Pascal Kerneis, Managing Director, European Services Forum

  Marilia Maciel, Digital Policy Senior Researcher, DiploFoundation

  Moderator

  Maria Rosa Gibellini, Director General, European Internet Forum

  Exchange of views with the participants under the Chatham House rule