Technological advancement in World Trade Data systems

The world trading system has constantly been formed by technological development. Not only is technology a factor of global import and export data & trade costs, but it also outlines what goods can be traded across boundaries, and it affects patterns of relative advantage. Today's digital uprising has come about because of the change from mechanical and analogue electronic technology to digital technologies, which have been quickly adopted in the information and communication sectors in specific and accompanied by sweeping economic and social behavioral changes.

All of this started with one vital innovation: the internet. The internet economy has changed many facets of our lives, from how we live, interact, what we buy and to how we work. As new digital technologies leverage the internet to process, develop and analyze big quantum data, computers, automation and data analytics are getting together in an entirely new way that is transforming the global trade systems and World trade report online. Increasingly, trade in goods and services now includes large customs trade data and intellectual property contents, and new markets, goods and business models are developing.

Transportation and logistics costs combined account for more than half of the disparity in trade costs in agriculture and manufacturing sector, and for more than 40 per cent of the variation in trade costs in services. Thus, the application of artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IOT) and Blockchain to lessen transport and logistic costs are likely to have major effects on overall trade costs. Digital technologies are also distorting the distinction between goods and services and are increasing the importance of global trade data flows and intellectual property.

For e, a 3D printed object, a good that is manufactured based on a design protected by patent that is transmitted by automated electronic means as a service.

There are four ways in which digital technologies affect the composition of Global trade data.

I)                    Digital technologies increase the services factor of trade, because of the ease of providing services digitally, because new services develop and replace trade in goods, and global production networks increase the services content of manufactured goods.

II)                  Digital technologies substitute trade in certain type of goods which time-sensitive, certification - intensive and agreement - intensive products, while at the same time reducing trade in digitizable products.

III)                Digital technologies affect the complexity and length of worldwide value chains, reducing the costs of coordinating geographically dispersed projects, but at the same time providing bigger incentives to (re)locate production near bigger markets or at centers of innovation.

IV)               Digital technologies change patterns of competitive advantage by increasing the importance of factors such as the quality of digital structure and market size, as well as institutional and regulatory factors of comparative advantage, including intellectual property protection.

The WTO's Global Trade Model (GTM) shows that advance future technological upgradations are expected to increase trade growth, especially the growth of world trade in services. Global import export data is projected to grow by around 2 %, and the share of trade in services is expected to grow from 21 % in 2016 to 25 % in 2030.

Corpiness is one of the world’s leading Global Trade data providers and they have taken an effort to support businesses around the globe and aim to spread the word on the newest products in the international industry.