The marriage of the physical and digital worlds has unlocked limitless economic opportunities, providing a boost to productivity and propelling us into the next industrial revolution. Policymakers will need to work to keep up by removing trade barriers that could limit the global reach of the Internet of Things.
Through a combination of automation, analytics, mobile payment and other digital technologies, the world’s leading food retailers are in a race for your “digitally-enabled” grocery business.
How can one bakery focus on selling this many flavors of macaron cookie? Production in our economy is increasingly specialized. Specialization requires trade, which in turn promotes more specialization. And, the greater the number of consumers and producers, the larger the scope for each producer to focus on a narrow specialization. That’s part of the story of trade.
The WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA), which removes tariffs on information and communication technologies (ICTs), got an overdue upgrade last year when 24 participants representing 53 WTO members agreed to nearly double the products included in the agreement.
MTTS Asia’s husband and wife co-founders set out to meet a healthcare gap in Vietnam, but they soon found they needed to scale by selling greater volumes in more markets. They are working to overcome non-tariff barriers to break into markets where low-cost innovative medical technologies are most needed.
Thanks to international sales and partnerships, Batik Boutique empowers more than a dozen female artisans—who set their own wages and hours—to sell their creations to a global audience.