Few may fully appreciate the complex agreements that enable on-demand digital services and commerce at the global level. This degree of collaboration results from countless hours of delicate policy work led by organizations like APEC, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. In recent weeks, in-depth dialogue and planning were the focus of Seattle sessions convened for APEC Digital Month: Building a Digital Pacific for All. And CTA was there.
 

With CTA, Tech Has a Seat at the Table

 
At this year's Digital Month in Seattle, CTA executives were vocal contributors to international discussions on emerging technologies that impact, for example, telehealth and e-labeling. CTA also addressed digital trade rules, good regulatory practices (GRPs) and strategies that promote the competitive clout of small and medium-sized businesses in the tech sector.
 
CTA member interests were represented across the August Digital Month meetings, beginning with the APEC roundtable workshop on telehealth solutions and digital health integration. Later, CTA moderated a panel on the use of emerging technologies in GRPs. And, at the end of Digital Month, CTA led a showcase of environmental, health and AI startups to emphasize what APEC and its member economies can do to meaningfully benefit micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). CTA members BuildWithin, Litesprite and Ossia Inc. were among those addressing showcase audiences. Topics targeted strategies for including MSMEs in Asia-Pacific markets and helping them navigate myriad new policies and programs on technology manufacturing.
 

Why the APEC Work Matters

 
CTA's collaboration with industry leaders, government bodies and other stakeholders is critical to representing the tech sector at an international event of this caliber. The Digital Pacific agenda was designed to expand secure digital access for APEC economies, in close cooperation with the private sector, to bring underserved populations and small businesses into the digital economy. Through its participation, CTA continues to contribute to trade-enabling, pro-innovation and common-sense approaches to trade and technology policy.
 
The importance of CTA’s engagement in APEC cannot be overstated. APEC is the premier economic forum in the Asia-Pacific region, encompassing 21 member economies that include the U.S., Canada, Australia and Mexico. Members represent nearly three billion people and about 60% of the planet’s gross domestic product. APEC has helped reduce trade barriers in ways that decreased average tariffs from 17% in 1989 to 5.3% in 2018. During that period, the APEC region’s total trade increased more than seven times.
 
Stay tuned as CTA’s work with APEC continues, when Peru hosts APEC in 2024 and South Korea serves as APEC host in 2025.