Can Trade Policy Set Information Free?

Aaronson, Susan Ariel and Miles Townes. "Can Trade Policy Set Information Free?" Social Science Research Network, December 5, 2012.   

From the report: "This policy brief examines how the US, the EU and Canada use trade policies to govern the Internet at home and across borders. The three trade giants use trade agreements to encourage e-commerce, reduce online barriers to trade, and to develop shared policies in a world where technology is rapidly changing and where governments compete to disseminate their regulatory approaches. Policymakers use export controls, trade bans or targeted sanctions to protect Internet users in other countries or to prevent officials of other countries from using Internet related technologies in ways that undermine the rights of individuals abroad. Finally, policymakers may use trade agreements to challenge other governments’ online rules and policies as trade barriers. We discuss how these policies, agreements, bans and strategies could affect Internet openness, Internet governance, and Internet freedom. We do not address telecommunications or e-commerce definitional issues." Read more

Avoiding a Data Divide Between the US and the EU

Kerry, Cameron. "Avoiding a Data Divide Between the US and the EU." European Voice, November 22, 2012. 

From the article: "The US and EU privacy regimes differ because their legal systems and political structures are distinct, but our values are similar. The ‘fair information practices principles' that informed the EU's privacy directive originated in a US government report in the 1970s. These principles are also the foundation of the Obama administration's consumer privacy bill of rights.

The US and the EU ultimately share the same goals – to protect privacy and facilitate trade and economic growth." Read more

Choice-of-Law in the Internet Age – US and European Rules

Czigler, Tamas Dezso. "Choice-of-Law in the Internet Age – US and European Rules." Acta Juridica Hungarica - Hungarian Journal of Legal Studies 53 (2012): 193–203.

From the report: "With use of the Internet, a new form of contract has appeared: the electronic contract, which is concluded online. Most of these involve a relationship of two parties: a consumer who is in a relatively vulnerable position, and a business entity. There are numerous examples of such transactions: youngsters downloading music from a website and paying for it – as they would in a music store. Many physical goods can also be purchased online – e.g. even though they live in Europe, the authors of this article regularly purchase books from the US. There are numerous ways such transactions can take place: one of the most obvious ways is buying goods on Amazon or eBay, on the website of a company, or purchasing goods using e-mail communication. The article attempts to summarize the choice of law rules affecting electronic contracts in the US and in Europe – i.e. to give an overview of which country’s or state’s law would apply to a contract concluded online, what the limits are on such a transaction and which state’s laws can protect us in case of a breach." Read more

There Goes Gravity: How Ebay Reduces Trade Costs

Lendle, Andreas, et al. "There Goes Gravity: How Ebay Reduces Trade Costs." World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6253, October 1, 2012. 

From the report: "This paper compares the impact of distance, a standard proxy for trade costs, on eBay and offline international trade flows. It considers the same set of 62 countries and the same basket of goods for both types of transactions, and finds the effect of distance to be on average 65 percent smaller on the eBay online platform than offline. Using interaction variables, this difference is explained by a reduction of information and trust frictions enabled through online technology. The analysis estimates the welfare gains from a reduction in offline frictions to the level prevailing online at 29 percent on average. Remote countries that are little known, with weak institutions, high levels of income inequality, inefficient ports, and little internet penetration benefit the most, as online markets help overcome government and offline market failure" Read more

Mysterious Algorithm Was 4% of Trading Activity Last Week

Melloy, John. "Mysterious Algorithm Was 4% of Trading Activity Last Week." CNBC, October 8, 2012.

From the article: "A single mysterious computer program that placed orders — and then subsequently canceled them — made up 4 percent of all quote traffic in the U.S. stock market last week, according to the top tracker of high-frequency trading activity. The motive of the algorithm is still unclear.

The program placed orders in 25-millisecond bursts involving about 500 stocks, according to Nanex, a market data firm. The algorithm never executed a single trade, and it abruptly ended at about 10:30 a.m. ET Friday." Read more

The Most Important Trade Agreement That We Know Nothing About

Levine, David, S. "The Most Important Trade Agreement That We Know Nothing About." Slate, July 30, 2012.

From the article: ".. Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP)… is misleadingly labeled as a trade agreement, making it seem like a relatively narrow and limited agreement involving traditional topics like tariffs and exchange of goods—the sort of government-to-government discussions that seem too esoteric to have much impact on the everyday citizen. It is, in fact, much more than that. As explained by the USTR, TPP is an “ambitious, next-generation, Asia-Pacific trade agreement that reflects U.S. priorities and values.” President Obama, who announced the goal of creating TPP in November 2009, has said that TPP will “boost our economies, lowering barriers to trade and investment, increasing exports, and creating more jobs for our people, which is my No. 1 priority.” That sounds pretty important—and more than a little vague. Unfortunately, we don’t know much about it beyond those platitudes.
Here’s what we think we know. Based upon the leaks that have occurred, it seems that an enacted TPP would require significant changes in U.S. and/or other signatory countries’ laws. It would curb public access to vast amounts of information in the name of combating intellectual property infringement (or piracy, depending on your choice of words)." Read more

Trade Bill Takes Aim at Russian Net Censorship

Gruenwald, Juliana. "Trade Bill Takes Aim at Russian Net Censorship." National Journal, July 17, 2012.

From the article: "The Senate Finance Committee is set to take up legislation Wednesday that includes language targeting Russian efforts to censor the Internet.

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chairman of the Finance International Trade Subcommittee, has included language in a bill to grant Russia permanent normal trade relations with the United that would require the U.S. Trade Representative to conduct an annual report to identify any actions Russia has taken to restrict access to U.S. digital goods and services, such as barring access to a U.S. website like YouTube."  Read more