As Commerce Secretary William Daley and e-commerce architect Ira Magaziner head to Bonn next week to present the administration's approach to doing business in the digital age, they are charged with the daunting task of convincing Europeans that the US plan for e-commerce is the best.
"The bottom line is that there will be more receptivity to this because the president is so strong on it," Daley said Wednesday, referring to the fanfare surrounding the White House unveiling of its global framework on e-commerce.
The Bonn conference of European ministers and representatives, including those from the European Union, World Intellectual Property Organization, World Trade Organization, Council of Europe, business leaders, and user representatives, are convening to devise a European framework, or "Bonn Declaration," on e-commerce issues such as security, privacy, and content regulation.
And though the administration hopes that Europe will support the Clinton plan, disagreement could arise on several issues: With e-commerce booming, how to persuade governments to refrain from taxation? With the world's wide range of attitudes, customs, and legal protection for freedom of expression, how to encourage adoption of a tolerant standard? With unprecedented free access to licensed material, how to uphold copyright protections?
Daley said that making good on past promises will help instill confidence in Europe - for instance, ratification of last winter's World Intellectual Property Organization treaty that updates rights rules for the digital age. Legislation to ratify the treaty will likely be submitted to Congress before the August recess, Daley said.
"We are not going to get other countries to move until we do," Daley said.
As for the administration's tack on other e-commerce issues such as privacy, security, taxation, and content regulation, Daley said that the potential for job growth, new business ventures, and consumer opportunities should be enough to persuade European leaders to adopt a hands-off approach to e-commerce, adding that if the Europeans don't buy it, their economies "may very well suffer."
