As the world economy works to shake off the effects of a global pandemic, few areas will be as important as the fast-growing crossborder trade in services and data. Against this backdrop, the Lisbon Council convened the High-Level Roundtable on 21st Century Digital Trade: Why Crossborder Data Flows are Key to Europe’s Success. Janos Ferencz, trade policy analyst, and Javier López González, senior trade policy analyst, at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), presented The OECD Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index, the OECD’s flagship project for measuring international data trade and tracking progress in a fast-moving world. Ricardo Castanheira, digital and telecoms counsellor at the permanent representation of Portugal to the European Union, also intervened, weighing in with crucial thoughts on how the incoming Portuguese presidency of the Council of the European Union will work towards fostering growth in the digital economy and facilitating intra-European and transatlantic data flows. Later, Karina Stan, director of European Union policy at Developers Alliance, stressed the importance of a stable regulatory environment and relatively frictionless cross border market access for startup growth in Europe.
Visit The OECD Digital Trade Services Restrictiveness Index
Watch the High-Level Roundtable on 21st Century Digital Trade
Download Janos Ferencz and Javier López González Presentation