Legitimate Public Policy Objectives of and Exceptions to Digital Trade Agreements

디지털 무역협정의 예외 조항 및 사례 연구: 정당한 공공정책 목표를 중심으로

The growing impact of cross-border movement of information is increasing interest in information policy through digital trade agreements in major trading countries. Major trading partners are calling for the inclusion of their digital policies in trade agreements to strengthen market dominance and protect personal information. This study analyzes the meaning and disputed settlement cases of the WTO's public policy objectives and examines the tendency of stakeholders to standardize legitimate exceptions to public policy objectives in digital trade. The study also examines the desirable direction of digital trade standardization suitable for the changing international trade environment. There is still debate about the specific objectives that should be included and the extent to which they should be allowed to restrict trade, however this study finds that there is a growing consensus on the need for legitimate public policy objectives to be included in digital trade agreements. The study concludes that the desirable direction of digital trade standardization is to strike a balance between the need to protect legitimate public policy objectives and the need to liberalize digital trade. This balance will need to be adjusted as the international trade environment continues to change.

디지털 무역의 핵심 주제인 정보의 국경 간 이동은 주요 통상국의 시장지배력을 강화하고, 개인정보 보호 등을 위해 정당한 공공정책 목표 달성이 필요한 경우 예외적으로 인정되고 있다. 본 연구는 WTO 주요 협정의 공공정책과 분쟁사례를 분석하고, 디지털 무역협정의 정당한 공공정책 목표의 개요 및 쟁점 분석을 통하여 WTO 다자간 규범을 중심으로 국제통상환경에 적합한 무역 규범화의 올바른 방향 및 시사점에 관하여 살펴보고자 한다.