WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce: What Issues for the East African Community (EAC) Member's ? Stakeholders' Perspectives

Abstract

E-commerce is increasingly growing as a remarkable and unavoidable innovation in trade across the globe including Tanzania. It is considered as one of the key innovations in trade that cannot be escaped in the country as it simplifies trading. Different international trade stakeholders in Tanzania that include private sector; chambers of commerce; relevant government departments; academic institutions and NGOs working on trade and development issues assess the stance of ecommerce to Tanzania differently with mixed connotations. The general insight is that, Tanzania has currently advanced on use of ICT contributed by many factors including the extension of fiber optics that aids community accessibility to internet facilities and the increasing use of mobile phones systems in Tanzania. In addition, electronic-transaction such as mobile banking facilities (i.e., payment of electricity bills, television subscriptions and other bills) has significantly openedup and widely expanded internet-based trade, extending to small traders as well. According to Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA), the number of internet users in Tanzania rose by 16 percent at the end of 2017 to 23 million, with the majority of those using their handsets to go online.