{"id":34318,"date":"2018-10-30T16:56:04","date_gmt":"2018-10-30T11:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=34318"},"modified":"2018-10-30T16:56:04","modified_gmt":"2018-10-30T11:26:04","slug":"decision-on-fishing-subsidies-certain-in-wtos-dec-meet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/decision-on-fishing-subsidies-certain-in-wtos-dec-meet\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Decision on fishing subsidies certain in WTO\u2019s Dec. meet\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/business\/decision-on-fishing-subsidies-certain-in-wtos-dec-meet\/article19934131.ece\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2018Decision on fishing subsidies certain in WTO\u2019s Dec. meet\u2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Context<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An agreement on <\/span><b>elimination of \u2018harmful\u2019 fisheries subsidies<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is likely to be the only major outcome at the forthcoming meeting of the <\/span><b>World Trade Organisation\u2019s (WTO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) highest decision-making body called the \u2018<\/span><b>Ministerial Conference\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and there seems <\/span><b>to have no progress at e-commerce.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is the issue?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In May, a UN statement cited fisheries experts from UNCTAD mentioned that Harmful fishing subsidies (globally) that contribute to overfishing are estimated to be as high as $35 billion.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seeking permanent solution to the issue of <\/span><b>public stock-holding for food security purposes\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would be a part of the outcomes as it is an issue of huge importance to developing countries including India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India has <\/span><b>rejected<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> fresh efforts by a clutch of countries led by the European Union (EU), Japan, Canada and Australia to negotiate new <\/span><b>global e-commerce<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rules under the aegis of the World Trade Organization (WTO).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>\u2018No\u2019 to e-commerce talks<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The probability of introduction <\/span><b>of \u201cnew issues\u201d like \u2018e-commerce\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u2018<\/span><b>trade facilitation in services\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and \u2018<\/span><b>investment facilitation\u2019<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> into the WTO\u2019s ongoing Doha Round negotiations remains timid.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The main argument of many developing countries currently remains that there is a lot of stuff on the deck already, which needs to be sorted out before going into new issues like e-commerce.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Developing countries are not ready to allow e-commerce to be negotiated at the WTO at this stage. They want to ensure that e-commerce is an enabler for development, without going into rule-making at the WTO.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Why did India say no?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India fears that the new global e-commerce rules <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">could provide unfair market access to foreign online retail firms, hurting the rapidly growing domestic start-ups.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During an informal meeting at the WTO, the EU, Canada, Australia, Chile, Korea, Norway and Paraguay, among other countries, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">circulated a restricted draft ministerial decision to establish \u201ca working party\u201d at the upcoming WTO ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and authorizing it to \u201c<\/span><b>conduct preparations for and carry out negotiations on trade-related aspects of electronic commerce on the basis of proposal by Members<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A key demand by the developed countries is to <\/span><b>make permanent the current ban on customs duties on global electronic transactions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014they were suspended in 1998.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What is E-Commerce?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Electronic commerce or e-commerce is a type of business model, or segment of a larger business model, that enables <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a firm or individual to conduct business over an electronic network, mainly from the internet.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Electronic commerce operates in <\/span><b>all four of the major market segments<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: business to business, business to consumer, consumer to consumer and consumer to business.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">E-Commerce processes are conducted using applications, such as <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">email, fax, online catalogues and shopping carts, electronic data interchange (EDI), file transfer protocol and web services and e-newsletters to subscribers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Electronic commerce emerged in the early 1990\u2019s and its use has increased at a rapid rate. Today the majority of companies have an online presence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Types of e-commerce:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are several types of electronic commerce. The most common is <\/span><b>business to consumer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, in which a business sells products or services directly to consumers over the Internet.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another type of electronic commerce is <\/span><b>business to business<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, where companies sell products or services to other companies over the Internet.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Consumer to business<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> electronic commerce involves consumers selling products or services to businesses.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is <\/span><b>consumer to consumer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> e-commerce, which is where consumers sell their products to other consumers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>The issues and problems affecting the development of Internet, e-commerce and e-business applications:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no guarantee of product quality.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mechanical failures can cause unpredictable effects on the total processes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As there is minimum chance of direct customer to company interactions, customer loyalty is always on a check.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many hackers who look for opportunities, and thus an e-commerce site, service, payment gateways; all are always prone to attack.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">E-commerce is lack of human interaction for customers, especially who prefer face-to-face consumption.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Challenges e-commerce business facing in India:<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India, the second most populous country in the world, is home to 1.2 billion people. Despite lower per-capita purchasing power, this still makes India one of the most attractive emerging markets for ecommerce. But India is far from being a bed of roses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Here are some challenges that ecommerce businesses face in India:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indian customers return much of the merchandise they purchase online.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cash on delivery is the preferred payment mode<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ecommerce companies using Indian payment gateways are losing out on business, as several customers do not reattempt payment after a transaction fails.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Though the total number of mobile phone users in India is very high, a significant majority still use feature phones, not smart phones. So, for all practical purposes this consumer group is unable to make ecommerce purchases on the move.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The logistics challenge in India is not just about the lack of standardization in postal addresses. Given the large size of the country, there are thousands of towns that are not easily accessible. Metropolitan cities and other major urban centers have a fairly robust logistics infrastructure.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Overfunded competitors are driving up cost of customer acquisition.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The vibrancy in the Indian startup ecosystem over the past couple of years has channeled a lot of investment into the ecommerce sector. The long-term prospects for ecommerce companies are so exciting that some investors are willing to spend irrationally high amounts of money to acquire market share today. Naturally the Indian consumer is spoiled for choice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Solutions:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">E-commerce readiness: It is essential to fully understand the payment and logistical infrastructure, consumer behaviour, retail opportunity and technological developments.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scope of growth: It is also important to look at the internet penetration, demographics of the online buying population.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barriers to entry: Players should understand the regulatory environment and connect with solution providers, content distribution networks, and digital agencies.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Competition: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is also a need to do an in-depth assessment of what competitors are doing, their online strategy and the nature of each offering.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Government initiatives:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In India, the<\/span><b> Information Technology Act 2000<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> governs the basic applicability of e-commerce.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian Government\u2019s <\/span><b>\u201cDigital India\u201d<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> initiative is also expected to boost the e-commerce industry. The government will deliver service via mobile connectivity and in doing so, is expected to bring the internet and broadband to remote corners of the country.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Indian Government is also modernizing Indian Post and aims to develop it as a distribution channel for e-commerce related services. It will improve delivery services and cash transactions in more remote and rural areas, thus increasing the reach of e-commerce players and expanding the potential market.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An online Consumer Mediation Centre (OCMC) for e-commerce complaints was launched in December 2016 is in the process of being opertaionalized. A mobile app named \u201c<\/span><b>Smart Consumer<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d has also been launched in December 2016.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Information Technology Act, 2000<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Information Technology Act, 2000<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, is an Act of the Indian Parliament. It is the primary law in India dealing with cybercrime and electronic commerce.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is based on theUnited Nations Model Law on Electronic Commerce<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> 1996<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (UNCITRAL Model) recommended by the General Assembly of United Nations by a resolution dated 30 January 1997.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An Act to provide legal recognition for transactions carried out by means of electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication, commonly referred to as \u201celectronic commerce\u201d, which involve the use of alternatives to paper-based methods of communication and storage of information, to facilitate electronic filing of documents with the Government agencies and further to amend the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, the Bankers\u2019 Books Evidence Act, 1891 and the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A major amendment was made in 2008. It introduced the Section 66A which penalized sending of \u201coffensive messages\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also introduced the Section 69, which gave authorities the power of \u201cinterception or monitoring or decryption of any information through any computer resource\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also introduced penalties for child porn, cyber terrorism, and voyeurism.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Conclusion:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The E-Commerce industry in India may currently be behind its counterparts in a number of developed countries and even some emerging markets. The Indian e-Commerce industry has access to funds from within the country and international investors. Overall, the e-Commerce sector is maturing and a number of serious players are entering the market.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018Decision on fishing subsidies certain in WTO\u2019s Dec. meet\u2019 Context An agreement on elimination of \u2018harmful\u2019 fisheries subsidies is likely to be the only major outcome at the forthcoming meeting of the World Trade Organisation\u2019s (WTO) highest decision-making body called the \u2018Ministerial Conference\u2019 and there seems to have no progress at e-commerce. What is the&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/decision-on-fishing-subsidies-certain-in-wtos-dec-meet\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">\u2018Decision on fishing subsidies certain in WTO\u2019s Dec. meet\u2019<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-test-1","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704884815},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34318\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}