The popularity of American novels, textbooks, and scholarly works is driving efforts to translate and sell U.S.-published books in countries around the world. Digital publishing offers access to many more consumers beyond our borders. The main challenge to global expansion is the need to promote modern copyright regimes in the countries where publishers seek to sell more books
The Kardashians continually extend their dynasty, promoting their own products while recommending others on social media using Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter. They’ve also created their own apps, in their own images, to push their own line of products. Love them or hate them, the Kardashians’ countless business ventures are stimulating both the global app economy — and the larger world economy.
China’s cybersecurity law can be used as a form of “backdoor” trade retaliation to hurt U.S. firms in China.
Sports fans around the world have so many new platforms and formats to enjoy premium sporting events, that income from the sale of broadcasting and media rights far surpasses revenue from ticket sales in most sports. Unlike in football, the rules of this game are still being written.
Protectionism is making a comeback. Governments aren’t just trying to protect traditional sectors such as agriculture,chemicals, and machinery out of concern for lost jobs or domestic economic interests. They’re also intervening in the digital economy and innovation-intensive industries as critical components of national competitiveness.
In 1927, people throughout the United States were introduced to the white gospel of country music made possible by new portable recording devices and distributed by album and broadcast radio. In 2016, paid subscriptions to music streaming services topped 100 million. The recorded music industry is at the forefront of the explosion in global digital trade.
Over half of all Americans enjoy playing video games regularly. Whether you’re a “hardcore gamer” with the latest virtual reality headset or just killing time with Sudoku on your phone waiting for the bus, we are all unwittingly engaged in a vibrant global market for gaming entertainment products competing for our attention.
As NAFTA negotiations get underway, the United States and Canada face a challenging mix of issues. Some represent longstanding disputes between the two countries. Others may be new priorities for the Trump Administration and untested in trade agreements. Still others, like commitments to facilitate digital trade, both sides are ready to agree. Here’s your cheat sheet.
In an era when who trades, what is traded, and how it’s trade are in constant flux, the only constant for international trade rules is the potential for obsolescence. Technological innovations are testing the limitations — and rationale — of the old rules.
In 1994 – the year NAFTA went into effect – the Internet was still accessed through dial-up. Amazon, Google, and eBay were years away, while Facebook and the iPhone were a decade off. As the United States, Canada, and Mexico prepare to rethink NAFTA, they have an opportunity to write rules for digital trade, protecting North America’s lead as a digital pioneer.