APEC Addresses Importance of E-Commerce

In the latest Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, the 21 representatives discussed the importance of working together toward global economic recovery. The plan discussed involves consolidating the digital economy and e-commerce.

Around the world, there has been an exponential increase in the use of online markets and e-commerce. Customers are getting used to buying in this new way and many companies have been going through or are starting to go through the digital transformation, making this channel an important factor for economic recovery, as mentioned in a previous MBN article. During the APEC forum, representatives emphasized how investing in free, non-discriminatory, fair, transparent, predictable and norm-based trade could allow growth, productivity and innovation, reports El Universal.

Luz María de la Mora Sánchez, Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade, attended the forum. She restated Mexico’s commitment to a rule-based multilateral trading system and highlighted APEC’s importance in achieving Mexico’s trade policy goals of inclusion, innovation and diversification, according to El Universal. US President Donald Trump also joined the event, even though he had not participated in any of the previous ones.

Part of the forum’s message was to not repeat the mistakes made throughout history by taking refuge in protectionism. “As a grouping whose economies constitute about 60 percent of the global economy, APEC assumes a central role in spearheading post-pandemic economic recovery,” Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said during the event, according to an APEC press release.

Without an end to COVID-19 in sight, companies are still trying to develop their e-commerce tools further. Having forums discussing e-commerce’s importance and supporting companies that are going through this digital change could ease this transition. As an example of the role e-commerce plays in the current reality, MBN recently reported on the results from El Buen Fin 2020, when the use of the official app increased from 50,251 users in 2019 to 77,442 this year, while digital spending was between US$49.67 and US$496.70, according to Ricardo Sheffield, head of PROFECO.