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Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy Global Information Economy Working Group Background Paper Released by the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC, October 26, 2000

The advent of new information a communication technologies has ushered in a new era of global economic integration. Today, the Internet and other technologies are making it easier for businesses to operate more efficiently, work together across borders, and access markets and consumers around the world. Consumers have benefited from greater choice and lower prices. The U.S. Government is working hard to sustain this momentum by eliminating barriers in this new global marketplace. The ACIEP determined that given the importance which e-commerce has assumed in the development of the information economy, a specific effort was needed to consider the views of industry, labor, and consumer groups. It was considered that a group was need to help the State Department better address e-commerce other issues of growing importance to the global information economy. The Global Information Economy Working Group (GIE), working under the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy (ACIEP) at the Department of State, unites over 40 private sector representatives with U.S. Government officials involved in issues relating to the global information economy. At the GIE's first meeting August 7, 2000 over 60 U.S. Government and private sector participants listened to presentations from Viatel, Lands' End, American Express, FedEx, and UPS in which barriers to international e-commerce expansion were identified. The information presented, along with discussion following, were incorporated into a draft of the Cross Sectoral Initiative Concept Paper entitled "Optimizing Global E-Commerce Networks". The next meeting of the GIE is tentatively scheduled for November 9, 2000 -- subject to confirmation -- at the Department of State. The topics for discussion will include reviewing the implementation strategy for the Cross-Sectoral Initiative, as well as receiving updates on the G-8's Dot Force, the APEC Leaders' E-Commerce Initiative, the upcoming Transatlantic Business Dialogue CEO Conference, and IT issues for the upcoming U.S.-EU Summit in December. ACIEP Home Page | Economic and Business Affairs | Department of State