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Digital trade and development: A way forward for Africa at a continental and multilateral level
This paper argues that digital trade can benefit developing countries and result in substantial financial gains. The regulation thereof has been at the forefront of negotiations at the multilateral level and within regions of Africa. While developing economies do not typically reap the benefits of d...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Commercial Law
2020
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| _version_ | 1867613342463426560 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Harvey, Caitlin Megan |
| author2 | Ismail, Faizel |
| author_browse | Harvey, Caitlin Megan Ismail, Faizel |
| author_facet | Ismail, Faizel Harvey, Caitlin Megan |
| author_sort | Harvey, Caitlin Megan |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This paper argues that digital trade can benefit developing countries and result in substantial financial gains. The regulation thereof has been at the forefront of negotiations at the multilateral level and within regions of Africa. While developing economies do not typically reap the benefits of digital progression, this paper proposes that digital trade can be developed in such a way so as to prioritise the developmental considerations of Africa specifically. Through observing the progress of the WTO platform for digital trade, namely the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, it is seen that the multilateral regulation of digital trade is a complex task. Developing country participation at this level is essential to the sustainable development of digital trade. Within Africa, there have been notable advancements in the regulation of digital trade, evidenced by the establishment of COMESA’s Digital FTA. The considerations for the advancement of digital trade for a developing continent are numerous as not only do the traditional barriers to trade still remain a primary concern but there is also the potential threat of furthering the existing digital divide that persists between the developing and the developed world. Therefore, the paper proposes that should Africa consider developing digital trade through AfCFTA (the African Continental Free Trade Agreement) digital trade in services should be prioritised ahead of digital trade in goods. This would help overcome Africa’s trade facilitation and development challenges and advance Africa’s position in the multilateral trading system. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/31438 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:34:36.552Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2020 |
| publishDateRange | 2020 |
| publishDateSort | 2020 |
| publisher | Department of Commercial Law |
| publisherStr | Department of Commercial Law |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/31438 Digital trade and development: A way forward for Africa at a continental and multilateral level Harvey, Caitlin Megan Ismail, Faizel International Trade Law This paper argues that digital trade can benefit developing countries and result in substantial financial gains. The regulation thereof has been at the forefront of negotiations at the multilateral level and within regions of Africa. While developing economies do not typically reap the benefits of digital progression, this paper proposes that digital trade can be developed in such a way so as to prioritise the developmental considerations of Africa specifically. Through observing the progress of the WTO platform for digital trade, namely the Work Programme on Electronic Commerce, it is seen that the multilateral regulation of digital trade is a complex task. Developing country participation at this level is essential to the sustainable development of digital trade. Within Africa, there have been notable advancements in the regulation of digital trade, evidenced by the establishment of COMESA’s Digital FTA. The considerations for the advancement of digital trade for a developing continent are numerous as not only do the traditional barriers to trade still remain a primary concern but there is also the potential threat of furthering the existing digital divide that persists between the developing and the developed world. Therefore, the paper proposes that should Africa consider developing digital trade through AfCFTA (the African Continental Free Trade Agreement) digital trade in services should be prioritised ahead of digital trade in goods. This would help overcome Africa’s trade facilitation and development challenges and advance Africa’s position in the multilateral trading system. 2020-03-02T11:54:22Z 2020-03-02T11:54:22Z 2019 2020-03-02T09:49:04Z Master Thesis Masters LLM http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31438 eng application/pdf Department of Commercial Law Faculty of Law |
| spellingShingle | International Trade Law Harvey, Caitlin Megan Digital trade and development: A way forward for Africa at a continental and multilateral level |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Digital trade and development: A way forward for Africa at a continental and multilateral level |
| title_full | Digital trade and development: A way forward for Africa at a continental and multilateral level |
| title_fullStr | Digital trade and development: A way forward for Africa at a continental and multilateral level |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital trade and development: A way forward for Africa at a continental and multilateral level |
| title_short | Digital trade and development: A way forward for Africa at a continental and multilateral level |
| title_sort | digital trade and development a way forward for africa at a continental and multilateral level |
| topic | International Trade Law |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/31438 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT harveycaitlinmegan digitaltradeanddevelopmentawayforwardforafricaatacontinentalandmultilaterallevel |