A historic launchpad for neoliberal globalization, global elites once again embrace the World Trade Organization. This time as a “coalition of the willing” launching an initiative of proposed new WTO rules for E-Commerce. A key takeaway at an event convened by South Africa’s Mission to the World Trade Organization was that except for China it makes no sense for developing countries & regions to sign onto this initiative. If implemented, far from an opportunity to climb the technology ladder, this kind of digital era trade regime would kick away that ladder and benefit Big Tech powers namely in the U.S. & China.

September 20, 2019 Produced by Lynn Fries / GPEnewsdocs

This mini-documentary features clips from the 2019 WTO Aid for Trade Global Review, specifically comments by speakers presenting at a side event – Financing Digital Industrialization – organized by South Africa.

Featured speakers by order of appearance as follows:

  • Vahini Naidu: Counsellor, South African Permanent Mission to the World Trade Organization
  • Richard Hill: President, Association for Proper Internet Governance; Former International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Senior Official; Author of The New International Telecommunications Regulations and the Internet
  • Deborah James: Director of International Programs at the Center for Economic and Policy Research; Representative of Our World Is Not For Sale (OWINFS)

TRANSCRIPT not available at this time.

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Originally aired on US & South African public access TV

Original content in this work by Lynn Fries/GPEnewsdocs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Some of the other public domain work(s) that this program incorporates may be licensed separately.

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