Statement by Dr. Danuta Hübner,
UN Under-Secretary General
Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe
at the Forum "Trading into the future: e-services for
trade, investment and enterprise"
Geneva, 12 June 2001
Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
This is the second Forum organized by the UNECE to discuss the future of
electronic commerce. This year you have joined us here in Geneva to discuss
electronic services for trade, investment and enterprise development. It is
indeed very encouraging to see so many people willing to share their precious
time with others, to share their knowledge, expertise and experience and, I am
sure, hoping also to learn more from others. Thank you for coming.
We meet here to discuss electronic services at a time when a shared vision
for global electronic commerce seems to be emerging. This vision is based on the
assumption that rapid development and spread of global electronic commerce
requires a broad, collaborative approach by governments, private sector and
international organizations to ensure a stable and predictable environment which
facilitates its growth and maximizes its social and economic potential across
economies and societies.
An important element of this shared vision is the confidence in the digital
market place. We need both trustworthy technologies and policies, we need
regulations and codes of practices and standards, we also need effective user
protection.
We know today that the social dialogue and cooperation among all stakeholders
are vital in determining policies, and all actions undertaken must be
internationally compatible. Governments, the business community, consumers and
international organizations must work together if trust, rules and information
infrastructure development are to lead us towards a global information society.
The expansion of electronic commerce depends on universal and affordable access
to the information infrastructure. Effective competition in telecommunication
markets can ensure a long term trend towards lower costs, improved quality and
unrestricted access to information infrastructure and services. Governments
should indeed promote a competitive environment for electronic commerce and
eliminate unnecessary barriers.
The business community should play a key role in developing and implementing
solutions to issues essential for the expansion of electronic commerce, and work
closely with other stakeholders. It should also play a leading role in
stimulating growth of global electronic commerce through investment and
innovation.
A major challenge for us here in the region is to enhance participation of
countries with economies in transition that are less advanced in information
technology. There are already numerous stories of successful participation by
firms from countries with economies in transition in electronic commerce. They
should be broadly presented, as best practice is a major mechanism for progress
and we should aim at having more of them.
Let me say a few words on services as they are one of the most promising
areas in trade for countries which face the challenge of catching up. They
account today for at least 20 per cent of the recorded world trade as well as
for the majority of domestic activities in most economies of our region. Some
analysts believe they will reach 50 per cent of the world trade by 2020.
Services encompass activities from banking, transportation, travel,
telecommunications, audio-visual services to professional services and
internet-based service offerings. They account for more than 70 per cent of
production and employment in advanced market economies, levels that many of
emerging economies are today approaching fast. Of course, the world trade in
commercial services is regionally uneven. Global data conceal rather large
regional discrepancies. What is important, however, is that trade in the
"other services" category (which includes all but transportation and
tourism) has been growing at over 9 per cent over the last 5-6 years.
Interestingly, catching-up economies have been gaining a growing share of
trade in services with fastest growth in exports of the mentioned "other
services" which include new services supported by information technologies.
These services are a niche opportunity for countries with economies in
transition. What matters for us here today is that services are at the heart of
the new economy since they drive economic activities based on the new economic
paradigm.
No country today can be successful in its efforts to adapt new technologies
to its needs or to link itself to the global economy without establishing the
basis for a thriving, productive and innovative services industry. Regulatory
reforms and liberalization of trade in services have been crucial tools for
achieving this objective over the last 5-6 years. The increased capacity to
process and transmit information and the associated tradability of services have
generated the globalization in both goods and services. The globalization of
markets due to new telecommunication and data processing technologies has been
most pronounced in financial services. There is no doubt either that internet
has opened up the possibilities of the efficient global distribution of many
services.
We can say today that the implications of the information revolution for the
rules on global trade in services did not confront the first generation of GATS
negotiations but they figure prominently in current debate on services.
I am sure that our Forum will add to this ongoing debate. I wish you a lot of
satisfaction with these two days in Geneva.
Thank you for your attention.