The ECSG recognizes the importance of public-private collaboration in developing an environment conducive to e-commerce and encourages the active participation and contribution of the private sector in its meetings and activities. Reports presented by guest organizations to the group, including the Global Business Dialogue on Electronic Commerce, the International Chamber of Commerce, the Pan Asian Alliance on E-Commerce and the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development are a welcome contribution to the ECSG.
Originally established in 1999 as an APEC Senior Official's Special Task Force, the ECSG was aligned to the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) in 2007. This alignment will enhance the coordinating capacity of the ECSG with a stronger focus on trade and investment issues.
Technical Assistance Seminar on International Implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework, 2008 - "Data Privacy & E-Commerce: Fostering Economic Growth" (Lima, Peru, 19-20 February 2008) The purpose of the seminar was to foster a collaborative environment through an enhanced understanding of the diverse cultures of privacy among APEC member economies and to highlight the manner in which the APEC Framework can address privacy in the region. The work of the seminar was further intended to provide information and resources to emerging economies about the benefits and opportunities provided by APEC adoption. Specifically, the seminar included sessions focusing on the needs of organizations seeking or providing processing services in the APEC region. Finally, the seminar goals included encouraging the involvement of economies, particularly emerging economies, in the Pathfinder projects and to further the progress of those projects.
APEC Symposium on Paperless Trading Capacity Building and Intellectual Property Protection (Beijing, 14-16 August 2007). The Symposium provided a valuable opportunity for participants to share ideas and experiences, including successful cases in developing and implementing paperless trading and intellectual property protection policies in APEC member economies. It produced relevant recommendations and proposals such as: 1) a Roadmap Towards Paperless Trade Capacity Building and Intellectual Property Protection on APEC; 2) a Framework of Intellectual Property Resources Related to Paperless Trading; 3) a Directory of APEC Paperless Trading Products and Service Platform of APEC Intellectual Property Resources Related to Paperless Trading; and 4) the Digital Rights Management Promotion Committee of APEC E-Commerce Business Alliance. These recommendations will be submitted for consideration of the Electronic Commerce Steering Group. Second Technical Assistance Seminar on International Implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework, 2007: "Cooperation and Cross-Border Privacy Rules: building confidence in an accountable system for personal information moving between economies" (Cairns, 25-26 June 2007). The seminar brought together key privacy experts, government officials, privacy regulators and supervisory authorities, businesses and APEC member economies to discuss and develop cooperative cross-border arrangements for implementing a Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system based on the preferred model identified in the First Technical Assistance Seminar. The seminar also provided input to decisions on APEC projects to undertake in 2008 within the proposed Pathfinder framework that would assist in implementing these cooperative arrangements. The seminar built on the conclusions reached by the First Technical Seminar in January in Canberra and the subsequent Data Privacy Sub Group meeting.
APEC Training Program on E-Trade and Supply Chain Management (2006-2007). Building on the successful implementation of the first training course conducted in Beijing in October, 2006, the second training course was held in Sanya, Hainan province, China on 27-30 March, 2007. The training raised the awareness level and understanding, knowledge and skills of e-trade and e-commerce through education among APEC members, especially developing member economies. The course strengthened cooperation in the field of trade among member economies so as to enhance bilateral or multi-lateral trade development among APEC member economies and reinforced the collaboration between policymakers, officials, enterprises and academies to create a better economic environment.
Initiative for APEC Women's Participation in the Digital Economy (2005-2009). This project jointly endorsed by the ECSG and GFPN aims to promote the use of electronic means and generate e-business opportunities for women entrepreneurs. The initiative comprises four collaborating components that will be carried annually from 2005 to 2009: 1) research, 2) capacity building, 3) e-community building and 4) policy forum.
Under this initiative a Joint ECSG/GFPN APEC Digital Economy Forum was held in Port Douglas on 22 and 23 June 2007 and the International Entrepreneurship Training for Women: APEC Women's e-Biz Training 2007 was held in Seoul on 16-21 July 2007.
The endorsement of the APEC Privacy Framework aims to promote a consistent approach to information privacy protection, avoid the creation of unnecessary barriers to information flows and prevent impediments to trade across APEC member economies. The Framework provides technical assistance to those APEC economies that have not addressed privacy from a regulatory or policy perspective.
Progress on the implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework includes application of the Information Privacy Individual Action Plans by 12 economies and the creation of a study group within the Data Privacy Sub-Group to analyse and identify best practices and the role of trust-marks in promoting the cross-border flow of information.
Significant progress was made in Cairns, Australia on 29 June when the ECSG approved the APEC Data Privacy Pathfinder and its work plan. The Pathfinder seeks to create implementation frameworks by pursuing multiple projects that work toward achieving an overarching set of objectives and accountable cross-border information flows, progressing the implementation of the APEC Privacy Framework. The Pathfinder was launched and formally adopted at the AMM and AELM in September 2007. During the last meeting in Lima, Peru on 24 February, ECSG adopted the APEC Data Privacy Pathfinder Projects Implementation Work Plan .
The APEC Data Privacy Pathfinder will promote consumer trust and business confidence in cross-border data flows. It will support business needs, reduce compliance costs, provide consumers with effective remedies, allow regulators to operate efficiently, and minimize regulatory burdens.
Paperless trading
Realizing the Paperless Trading goal has been integral to the work of the APEC Electronic Commerce Steering Group (ECSG). Work is underway to implement APEC's Strategies and Actions Toward a Cross-Border Paperless Trading Environment to enable the electronic transmission of trade-related information across the region by 2020.
Seventeen economies have prepared Paperless Trading Individual Action Plans. These plans outline the steps members should take to meet APEC's target to reduce or eliminate customs, cross-border trade administration and other documents relevant to international sea, air and land transport.
A review and strategy development to attain the APEC's Strategies and Actions Towards a Cross-Border Paperless Trading Environment will be undertaken by the group. An outreach strategy will be developed on the importance of paperless trade in customs and commercial purposes.
The group is also collaborating with the SCCP and United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business to undertake work to enhance trade facilitation through technical cooperation and knowledge sharing, specifically in electronic standards for paperless trade. In this context, the APEC-UN Joint Capacity Building Symposium on Paperless Trading, under the auspices of APEC ECSG and UN Centre for Trade Facilitation & Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT), will be held in Seoul Korea, on May 26-28, 2008. The symposium intends to identify paperless trading instruments for enabling phased development among APEC member economies.
Developed by the International Chamber of Commerce, the ECSG acknowledged the potential benefits of the ICT-Enabled Growth Initiative Enabling the Informative Economy: The Digital Growth Checklist. The initiative could contribute to Member Economies' economic growth and competitiveness. The alignment of the ECSG to the CTI provides an ideal context to seek further guidance for further implementation of this initiative.
