Regions

ITIF’s submission focuses on the ITC’s interest in recent developments in the digital economy for key SSA markets, including national and regional regulatory and policy measures and market conditions that affect digital trade.

When attempting to evaluate the effect that a policy intervention can have on development or innovation, researchers and policymakers routinely look to short-term impacts, both out of urgency and because of the difficulty in maintaining contact with participants over several years.

Over the last decade, mobile money services have brought banking to populations that have lacked formal financial services by allowing users to manage money on their mobile phones. First launched in Kenya in 2007, 96 percent of Kenyan households now use mobile money and can withdraw funds in physical currency from 110,000 agents across the country.

Meet Arthur Zang, a 29 year-old Cameroonian engineer who invented the handheld Cardio-Pad, the world’s first medical tablet facilitating heart examinations and remote diagnosis. The Cardio-Pad is a touch-screen tablet device for conducting cardiac tests such as electrocardiograms in remote locations, and then sending the results to cardiologists in city centers often hundreds of miles away.

Rwanda’s government, which has declared a vision of making the country a technology and innovation hub for Africa, has partnered with the startup Zipline to facilitate the real-time delivery of urgent medical supplies, such as blood or vaccines, to patients in remote locations via drones.

Together, the United States and its like-minded partners in the CPTPP can work together to push Vietnam to remove restrictive and repressive digital policies. But if they fail to act, the challenge of building an open, rules-based, and rights-respecting digital economy will only get harder.

When it comes to the most important step Korea can take to address global climate change―boosting clean energy R&D―Korea, like most developed nations, is lagging.

Even if Korea implements additional advanced technology policies, it will be increasingly difficult for Korean firms in advanced industries, like electronics, semiconductors, machinery, and autos, to compete against Chinese firms that are backed to the hilt by the Chinese government, writes Rob Atkinson in The Korea Times.

Rather than blindly copying Europe in efforts to over-regulate its tech economy, Korea and KFTC should take a deep breath and put their digital regulatory efforts away, or at least on hold until we can all learn the results of Europe's regulatory experiment with the DMA.

While India brings significant strengths to the semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem, it can become a strong global player by further addressing investment barriers such as the business environment, customs and tariffs, taxation, and infrastructure.

America’s imports from China look large because China is so large. But proportionally, they’re less than those from the other Asian tigers. America’s large trade deficit stems primarily from its lack of high-value manufacturing exports, not just to China but to the world.

Recent administrations have not done enough to ensure GSP beneficiaries play fair in digital trade. To ensure the GSP program remains relevant in supporting modern U.S. trade, Congress should add explicit criteria defining what constitutes a digital trade barrier.

The implications of this should be clear. The only way for the United States to compete with dollar-adjusted lower manufacturing wages in China is for manufacturers in America to be more productive—and automation, including robotics, is the key way to do that.

The reality is that if America does not do both—speed itself up, and slow China down—then it will likely lose the techno-economic race in the advanced, traded-sector industries that are most strategically important for the country’s dual-use industrial base and national security.

The rivalry between the United States and China has significant diplomatic, military, and ideological aspects, but its most important dimensions are technological and economic.

For policymakers to bolster the global competitiveness of their nations and regions, they first must know where they stand. This report benchmarks the 121 regions of Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United States using 13 commonly available indicators of strength in the knowledge economy, globalization, and innovation capacity.

The latest target of tech critics is emotion recognition technology. Unfortunately, the EU appears poised to crack down on this technology, which would be a mistake since most of the criticism directed toward it is largely misguided and fails to consider its potential benefits.

The EU's strategy for Web 4.0 and virtual worlds has a laudable goal of fostering a supportive business environment to position the region as a hub for technological innovation. However, this objective is largely incompatible with the EU’s current regulations for Internet services.

If enacted, the UK’s Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill could ruin the UK’s ability to compete with other leading tech sectors.

The EU is considering a new policy that would force American content providers like Google and Netflix to effectively subsidize European ISPs. The Biden administration should push back at the next meeting of the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council.

Recent administrations have not done enough to ensure GSP beneficiaries play fair in digital trade. To ensure the GSP program remains relevant in supporting modern U.S. trade, Congress should add explicit criteria defining what constitutes a digital trade barrier.

ITIF and a global network of think tanks call on governments around the world to commit to a clear set of principles to ensure generative AI tools serve democratic ideals and promote global progress.

The G7’s “data free flow with trust” initiative is still conceptual, but it has the potential to become a venue to develop pragmatic tools to address data privacy and governance issues. However, the G7’s success depends in no small part on the EU being far more pragmatic (rather than dogmatic) in how it works with like-minded countries on data governance issues.

Completing a second expansion of the Information Technology Agreement (an “ITA-3”) could bring more than 400 unique ICT products under the ITA’s tariff-eliminating framework, which would add more than $750 billion to the global economy over 10 years.

Instead of duplicating any one approach, U.S. policymakers should borrow from the menu of options to craft a cohesive, pro-innovation data strategy.

For policymakers to bolster the global competitiveness of their nations and regions, they first must know where they stand. This report benchmarks the 182 regions of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States using 13 commonly available indicators of strength in the knowledge economy, in globalization, and in innovation capacity.

If Latin America wants to avoid this fate, it needs to make a key decision: does it want to look east to China or north to the United States. The United States is leading the world in efforts to get China to roll back its unfair, mercantilist trade and economic policies. But that task will be much harder if the region sides with China or avoids the fight altogether and sits on the sidelines.

Before policymakers can act, there needs to be a consensus that there is a problem, and a role for policy in solving it. When it comes to competitiveness, too many in Washington don’t recognize this.

Colombia faces significant political, social, and economic hurdles in building its digital economy, yet its progress toward developing a robust strategy deserves recognition. It has an opportunity to be a trailblazer and regional role model.

Citizens and businesses rely on government websites to access important information and services. Unfortunately, many Colombian government websites fail to meet basic website standards for security, speed, mobile friendliness, and accessibility.