Live Online Policy Forum 

# Digital Trade: Challenges and a Way Forward 

##### Watch the Event 

Download:

[ 

Video 

](https://fastly-unsigned-us-east-1-prod.brightcovecdn.com/media/v1/pmp4/static/clear/6039378657001/519cbff7-4733-41eb-91b5-37be133771a5/dda21cc7-3dc2-445c-ab84-3c2c79c7b3fe/main.mp4) 

Join the conversation on X using [\#CatoTrade](https://x.com/hashtag/CatoTrade). Follow [@CatoInstitute](https://x.com/catoinstitute) on X to get future event updates, live streams, and videos from the Cato Institute.

Date and Time 

December 15, 2020 12 - 1 PM EST 

Location 

Live Online 

Share This Event 

##### Featuring 

Featuring **Christine Bliss** ([@cblisscsi](https://twitter.com/cblisscsi)), President, Coalition of Services Industries; **Stephanie Honey** ([@StephHoneyTrade](https://twitter.com/StephHoneyTrade)), Consultant, Honey Consulting; and **Hanna Norberg** ([@TradeEconomista](https://twitter.com/TradeEconomista)), Founder, Trade Economista; moderated by **Huan Zhu** ([@HZhu2013](https://twitter.com/HZhu2013)), Research Associate, Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies, Cato Institute.

The emergence of new actors, technologies, and avenues for commerce has greatly transformed the trade landscape. With the outbreak of COVID-19, the digital space has quickly become part of our daily lives, allowing us to safely communicate, work, and conduct business with minimal physical contact. However, the digital economy faces a number of challenges as governments grapple with different approaches to managing this fast-growing area. While some countries are taking actions to restrict digital trade, others are pushing for international rules that facilitate digital trade and services, avoiding the possibility for too many divergent rules in different markets.

This panel will discuss the obstacles and opportunities for digital trade: How can governments balance the promotion of an open digital environment with their desire to protect privacy and counter cybersecurity threats? Is there a possibility for multilateral or plurilateral consensus on new rules? And what do we stand to lose if consensus on a baseline set of rules cannot be achieved? Join us for a deep dive into this timely issue.

## Additional Resources

- “[Will the New NAFTA Boost Digital Trade?](https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/will-new-nafta-boost-digital-trade),” by Simon Lester
- “[WeChat or We Don’t Chat? A Total Ban on WeChat Goes Too Far](https://www.cato.org/blog/wechat-or-we-dont-chat-total-ban-wechat-goes-too-far?queryID=bac35feb5440a30ffa7a7d5584cfd57c),” by Huan Zhu
- “[The Lesson of TikTok](https://www.cato.org/blog/lesson-tiktok?queryID=06394c84d333721b9c3e2446673deed9),” by Huan Zhu

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).