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The B20 push for digital economy, e-commerce

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Sonal Desai
New Update

MUMBAI, INDIA: In a bid to improve the global trade system for the emerging digital economy and provide a sustainable platform for e-commerce, an influential group of business leaders known as B20, has urged the G20 to focus on the reforms for strong and sustainable growth.

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The meeting comes at a right time as the digital economy and e-commerce are both, set to bloom. According to estimates, the digital economy is expected to contribute $4.2 trillion or more than five percent of GDP for the G20 countries in 2016; and is growing at 10 percent annually. Cross border e-commerce accounts for 10-15 percent of total e-commerce volumes (depending on the region). By 2025, annual global cross border e-commerce revenues could swell to between $250 billion and $350 billion-up from about $80 billion now, a Times of India report quoted the estimates from McKinsey Global Institute and BCG Analysis.

According to the ToI the B20 which met in Turkey on the sidelines of the G20 Sherpa’ meeting, called for eliminating data flow restrictions and softening regulations on data privacy to decrease the cost of doing business.

In its recommendations to G20, it said, customs regimes must be harmonized to minimize bottlenecks to e-commerce and make transactions more predictable.

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“Harmonize customers protection rules specifically on the core issues relating to purchase processes to better facilitate e-commerce and eliminate costs and administrative difficulties,” B20 stated in its recommendations.

The B20 set taskforces in infrastructure and investment, trade, finance, anticorruption, small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurship. Each taskforces made specific recommendations to improve business prospects with the G20, which would help lift GDP growth.

It called for reaffirming the commitment to roll back of existing protectionist measures, particularly non-tariff barrier and said the G20 must start taking distinct actions by eliminating localization barriers to trade as a first step, the ToI report said.

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