Research On The Compliance Of Cross-border Data Flow Regulation And International Economic And Trade Rules

Today’s world is experiencing a wave of globalization and digitalization.The Internet and communication technologies have changed the way goods and services are produced and traded,and have promoted the development of new business models.In the digital age,international trade and investment rely heavily on the cross-border flow of data,which is both a tradable asset and a channel for providing services,playing an important role in promoting the facilitation and automation of international trade and investment.However,the cross-border flow of data has also raised concerns among relevant governments,who have raised the potential for privacy protection and national security in the collection,transmission,and storage of data.Based on privacy,national security and other considerations,countries adopt different regulatory measures to regulate cross-border data flows according to their national positions.In order to safeguard the interests of its citizens and the country,it is legitimate and reasonable for a country to regulate cross-border data flow,but in today’s economic globalization,the completion of a digital economic activity often needs to rely on global data flow,so the regulation of cross-border data flow in various countries affects the development of the digital economy.There are also relevant studies that show that some regulatory measures have a certain hindrance to international trade and investment.As a result,questions have been raised about the compliance of regulations on cross-border data flows under international economic and trade rules.This article focuses on the issue of "regulation of cross-border data flow",in addition to the introduction,it is mainly divided into four chapters: the first chapter is the relevant theory of cross-border data flow and international regulation,and the concept of "data" and "cross-border data flow" needs to be defined before writing,and the relationship between "data" and "privacy" and "personal information" needs to be clarified.Data classification is the basis of data protection based on different scenarios.In addition,an in-depth exploration of the underlying logic of cross-border data flow regulation can help us clarify our thinking and better understand the regulatory measures for cross-border data flow.Chapter 2 mainly discusses the regulation of cross-border data flow under international trade law and analyzes the interface between cross-border data flow regulation and WTO package agreements from the perspective of international trade law.Since cross-border data flow does not require the nature of physical carrier transfer,in the WTO package agreement,the most relevant to cross-border data flow may be GATS,for which it is necessary to analyze whether cross-border data flow belongs to the classification under GATS,and then explore its application to GATS obligations and exceptions.Due to the slow process of e-commerce negotiations under the WTO,some regional trade agreements have taken the lead in including cross-border data flow in the scope of the agreement,and the TPP is the earliest practice,and its relevant provisions on cross-border data flow have certain reference effects on subsequent trade agreements.Chapter 3 mainly discusses the regulation of cross-border data flows under international investment law,which also poses challenges to international investment law.First,whether investors can seek IIA protection in terms of host country’s regulatory measures presupposes that cross-border data flows are "investments" in the agreement,secondly,it will gradually analyze the application of cross-border data flows and the obligation clauses and exception clauses in investment agreements,and finally briefly analyze the regulations on cross-border data flows under the investment chapter of trade agreements using the TPP as an example.Chapter 4 focuses on the issue of compliance with international trade and economic rules and the regulation of cross-border data flows and proposes recommendations for improvement.The issue of compliance with international trade and economic rules and cross-border data flow regulation needs to be discussed not only from a national perspective,but also to harmonise the relevant rules of international trade and economic.Therefore,this section will firstly suggest improvements to the issue of compliance with cross-border data flow regulation and international trade and economic rules from the level of national subjects.Secondly,the reform and harmonisation of international economic and trade rules will be carried out in terms of both internal harmonisation and external participation,with a view to reducing conflicts arising from the regulation of cross-border data flows and thus effectively bringing into play the positive effects of cross-border data flows on international trade and investment.In addition,as the largest developing country,China has been actively participating in global governance,and in recent years it has also begun to focus on data protection and governance,but as the current situation stands,data governance in China is still in its infancy.Therefore,on the one hand,China can co-ordinate and harmonise various domestic legal regulations and systems,and on the other hand,actively participate in the cooperative governance of international crossborder data flows and promote the construction of a consensus mechanism for crossborder data flows.