Study On The Classification Of E-Commerce Under The WTO Framework

E-Commerce has grown at a rapid rate over last decade. Nevertheless, a really important challenge stands before world's community for lack of legal regulations of E-Commerce.Since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, one of the most important economic development has been the growth of the Internet and E-Commerce. But the WTO faces a new set of issues relating to what we will call E-Commerce, goods or service, that formerly were delivered in tangible form but now can delivered in electronic form via Internet. So we have to consider whether E-Commerce should be treated as goods subject to the rules of GATT, services subject to the rules of GATS, or something else. The classification debate on E-Commerce results from the different protections of GATT rules for goods and GATS rules for services. Thus, the decision whether E-Commerce is goods or service has significant implication for the members of WTO. In the interest of China, it is necessary to study on classification of E-Commerce under WTO framework.This dissertation focuses on the issue of classification of E-Commerce under the WTO Framework and it consists of four chapters in addition to Preface and Conclusion.Chapter 1: reviews the genesis of E-Commerce and E-Commerce law, then summarizes the course of International lawmaking for E-Commerce and its development under WTO.Chapter 2: deals with the classification of digital product under WTO framework, which bases on the discussion about digital product, then analyzes the reasons for classifying digital product as goods or service and makes comments.Chapter 3: with basis of the independent introspection on the classification system of E-Commerce under WTO framework, achieves the conclusion of the classification of E-Commerce and probes into the on-line (digital) trade in service being part of cross border supply (model 1) or consumption abroad (model 2).Chapter 4: focuses on the chances and challenges in the face of development countries in the era of E-Commerce, then the chapter sums up revelations to China and puts forwards some related countermeasures for China to answer E-Commerce...