UN Economic Commission for Europe
Second International Forum on Trade Facilitation, 15 May 2003
The Business Contribution to
Development and Safe Trade
Patrick de Smedt
Chairman, Microsoft EMEA
Overview
“No nation was ever
ruined by trade.”
Benjamin Franklin
The twin pillars of business support:
 Developing markets
 Creating a safe trading environment
Developing Markets – Overview
Types of industry support:
Foreign direct
investment
Skills gap
Open
standards
Solution
development
Developing Markets – Direct investment
 More than just money at stake
 OECD has identified many valuable spill-over effects
 A few recent examples:
 Renault
–
€230 million in Russia
 Bayer
–
€3 billion in China
 Microsoft
–
–
–
€80 million in China
European Microsoft Innovation Centre
Microsoft Research Cambridge
 Partner ecosystem
Developing markets – Addressing the skills gap
 Skills gap impairs growth worldwide
 Career Space: public/private initiative to develop
academic guidelines
 WEF Digital Divide Task Force
 NEPAD
Developing markets – Support for open standards
 XML, web services
 Streamlining customs operations
 UNeDocs and Microsoft technology support
 Opportunity for SMEs and developing countries
Developing Markets – Enabling solutions
 Technology enables market development
 Thaigem.com – Thai gem sales
 Everythingaboutwater.com – Indian water sales
 Dubai – eMirsal Customs On-line Service
 Czech customs project
 Entirely new private network
 80% of customs declarations electronic
 First Eastern European link to NCTS
Trade safety – Overview
Key business issues for improved trade safety:
Piracy and
counterfeiting
Safe and
trustworthy
computing
Supply chain
security
management
Export control
regimes
Trade safety – Piracy and counterfeiting
 Pirates and counterfeiters support many types of
illegal activities
 IP theft – illegal software rates:
 36% worldwide
 34% in EU
 63% in Eastern Europe
 Industry action plan:
 Public awareness campaigns
 Education Programs
 Joint efforts with Government Regulators
Trade safety – Safe computing
 Safe trading requires safe and secure computing
 The Microsoft response
 “Trustworthy Computing is computing that is as available, reliable and
secure as electricity, water services and telephony”
 Four pillars of TWC: reliability, security, privacy and business integrity
 Universal Postal Union Project: secure digital signatures leading to
safer trade
 Great security will increase trade safety and expand
consumer confidence in trade and development
Trade safety – Supply chain security
 Supply chain security critical in the modern
trans-border economy
 New technologies help
 ‘Smart’ shipping containers
 Shipping content tracking software
 Public/private partnerships improve security
and customs efficiencies
Trade safety – Export Control Regimes
 The realities of a post 9/11 world
 New rules should be multilateral and transparent
 Remember history – the flawed attempt to control
encryption in the 1990s
 Working together to find the best balance:
Security vs. efficient trading
Conclusions
 Industry has an important role
 Developing markets improves local conditions and
expands trade
 Trade safety is vital to the continued trust and support
of the free trade system
 More than just trade – all these efforts help bring
developing countries into the global economy
Thank You