Digital trade: who sets the rules in the absence of a global agreement?
The crisis of multilateralism is giving way to a variable-geometry system in which the United States, China, and Europe compete to define the rules governing the international exchange of data, digital services, and the technological infrastructures increasingly required to support them. More and more, this takes place outside the framework of the World Trade Organization, through coalitions and agreements among “like-minded” countries. How can openness and control be reconciled in a world that is ever more interconnected and, at the same time, increasingly conflict-ridden? Digital flows are now the backbone of the economy, yet they are also a source of risk for security, privacy, and political stability. In this scenario, the real question is no longer whether a global system will exist, but which combination of rules, coalitions, and technologies will end up defining it.
