Crafting a Strategy: UK International Digital Policy Cooperation - Event Round-Up
On the 12th May 2022 techUK partnered with the Department of International Trade to discuss the UK’s development of its own strategy dealing with digital and technological issues in the international arena, following the publication of the techUK report ‘Crafting a Strategy: UK International Digital Policy Cooperation’ .
The panel included:
- Dr. Thomas Goldsmith, Director, Innovation Policy, Mitacs (Chair)
- Matthew Peake, Global Director, Public Policy, Onfido
- Sabina Ciofu, Associate Director – International, techUK
- Lawrence Kay, Head of Future Digital Trade Policy and Analysis in the Digital Trade Team, DCMS
- Erik van der Marel, Senior Economist, ECIPE, Associate Professor, Université Libre de Bruxelles
In opening remarks, the keynote speaker Graham Floater, Director of Trade Policy at the Department of International Trade noted “creating the strategy for ongoing UK digital trade is one of the most important areas of policy being tackled today” and established 5 broad objectives:
- Digital markets - eliminating customs duties on electronic transactions
- Free flow of data and associated data protection
- Consumer and business safeguards – cyber security and online consumer protections
- Digital trading systems – legalisation of digital contracts
- International corporation and digital governance
Antony Walker, Deputy CEO of techUK, then went on to deliver the presentation of the techUK report, highlighting key themes and proposed actions.
Dr Thomas Goldsmith opened the panel discussion by first exploring the different types of value from proposed trade deals and led the conversation as all five panellists delved into their insights from the newly published report to explore how the new UK strategy expands beyond trade deals, enabling international digital policy to deliver commercial, governance, and societal value to the UK.
The panellists dialogue also addressed unpredictability, the need for information sharing, the role of China, the UK-US trade relationship, and the process to impact the EU to build alignment with UK positions and interests.
Lawrence Kay talked about UK’s digital trade policy, breaking new ground in areas such as innovation, regulatory cooperation and cooperation on emerging technologies. He also touched upon the importance of cross-departmental cooperation in ensuring international regulatory cooperation.
Erik van der Marel then put this into a global context, outlining developments in digital trade across a number of big powers, but also smaller innovators.
Sabina Ciofu covered the recent UK-US Trade Dialogues and the broader transatlantic relationship in technology and trade, including the EU-US Trade and Technology Council.
Matt Peake talked about how a UK-founded high growth firm is looking to expand to international markets and how trade policy – or the lack of it – is creating opportunities and challenges for Onfido.
The panellists also discussed broader overarching topics, like the WTO Ministerial Conference happening in June, as well as the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on trade policy.
You can watch the full webinar here:
Sabina Ciofu
Sabina Ciofu is International Policy and Strategy Lead at techUK, where she heads the International Policy and Trade Programme. Based in Brussels, she shapes global tech policy, digital trade, and regulatory cooperation across the EU, US, Canada, Asia-Pacific, and the Gulf region. She drives strategy, advocacy, and market opportunities for UK tech companies worldwide, ensuring their voice is heard in international policy debates.