Trade Law Architecture after the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

The topic of ‘trade and technology’ usually gives rise to discussions of the ways in which new technologies might be traded, and the limitation of current trade rules in adapting to rapidly changing innovations. In contrast, this chapter asks a fundamentally different question – what opportunities will technology present to change the modes and methods by which trade regulation is achieved? Specifically, the chapter considers how the World Trade Organization (WTO), or a future trade organisation, might itself take advantage of technology to restructure how it manages trade and fulfils its mandate. That mandate includes serving as a facilitator of trade agreements and market access negotiations, a forum for resolution of trade disputes, and a watchdog for national trade policies. It argues that technologies such as artificial intelligence, distributed ledger technologies, and the Internet of Things can be used in order to streamline and improve a range of WTO processes, particularly dispute settlement, negotiations, notifications, and monitoring.