What is best for Canada? An Analysis of the Regulation of E-commerce through Multilateral Trade Agreements
| dc.contributor.advisor | Beaulieu, Eugene | |
| dc.contributor.author | Whittaker, Brittney | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2018-06-28T22:13:08Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2018-06-28T22:13:08Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-09-14 | |
| dc.description.abstract | The use of the internet has grown drastically worldwide since the late 1990s. Increasingly the internet is being used to engage in electronic commerce (e-commerce), especially trade across borders. As this is a relatively new policy area with such a huge emergence, governments globally are attempting to regulate it while taking different approaches. However, it is becoming more clear that there needs to be some level of international coordination to ensure that the ecommerce market remains The use of the internet has grown drastically worldwide since the late 1990s. Increasingly the internet is being used to engage in electronic commerce (e-commerce), especially trade across borders. As this is a relatively new policy area with such a huge emergence, governments globally are attempting to regulate it while taking different approaches. However, it is becoming more clear that there needs to be some level of international coordination to ensure that the ecommerce market remains open and can grow without barriers. Currently Canada has numerous e-commerce policies and regulations that are out of date and not reflective of the modern crossborder nature of e-commerce. Additionally, Canada is not taking advantage of trade agreements to address e-commerce issues faced by Canadian consumers and businesses. As Canada begins NAFTA re-negotiations now is an important time to determine what provisions should be included in future trade deals, as well as create strong domestic policies. Based on the qualitative analysis completed in this capstone there is a three pronged approach that should be adopted by Canadian policymakers. Firstly, Canadian domestic trade policy should be updated, using the policies from the European Union and the United States as references, to better reflect the current e-commerce trade environment. These updated policies should subsequently be reflected in trade agreements. Secondly, multilateral trade agreements should be utilized to better promote Canadian e-commerce priorities, specifically consumer protection and security. Finally, within trade agreements Canada should call for more commitment and adherence to already existing framework from international bodies. Multilateral trade agreements provide the ideal platform to address global e-commerce issues, and Canada is well positioned to be at the forefront of these discussions. open and can grow without barriers. Currently Canada has numerous e-commerce policies and regulations that are out of date and not reflective of the modern crossborder nature of e-commerce. Additionally, Canada is not taking advantage of trade agreements to address e-commerce issues faced by Canadian consumers and businesses. As Canada begins NAFTA re-negotiations now is an important time to determine what provisions should be included in future trade deals, as well as create strong domestic policies. Based on the qualitative analysis completed in this capstone there is a three pronged approach that should be adopted by Canadian policymakers. Firstly, Canadian domestic trade policy should be updated, using the policies from the European Union and the United States as references, to better reflect the current e-commerce trade environment. These updated policies should subsequently be reflected in trade agreements. Secondly, multilateral trade agreements should be utilized to better promote Canadian e-commerce priorities, specifically consumer protection and security. Finally, within trade agreements Canada should call for more commitment and adherence to already existing framework from international bodies. Multilateral trade agreements provide the ideal platform to address global e-commerce issues, and Canada is well positioned to be at the forefront of these discussions. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Whittaker, Brittney. (2017). What is best for Canada?: An Analysis of the Regulation of E-commerce through Multilateral Trade Agreements, (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/32043 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1880/106821 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher.department | The School of Public Policy | en_US |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Graduate Studies | en_US |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Calgary | en_US |
| dc.title | What is best for Canada? An Analysis of the Regulation of E-commerce through Multilateral Trade Agreements | en_US |
| dc.type | master thesis | en_US |