What Is Next for Digital Trade in a Post-Brexit Britain? - Examining the Regulation of Data Flows Under G.A.T.S. & Possible Implications of G.D.P.R. on Britain as a Third Country

• Autore: Abhishek Rana, Rishabha Meena
• Carica: O.P. Jindal Global University/Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (Centre for Trade and Investment Law)
• Pagine: 6-28

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What Is Next for Digita Trade in a PostBrexit Britain 

Examining the Reguaon of Data Fows Under GATS 

Possibe Impicaons of GDPR on Britain as a Third Country

A

BHISHEK

R

ANA

*&R

ISHABHA

M

EENA

**

* Abhishek Rana is a Lecturer at the Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, India.

He is also a visiting faculty in W.T.O. law at the Indian Society of International Law.

** Rishabha Meena is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Trade and InvestmentLaw at the Indian

Institute of Foreign Trade.

The authors would like to thank Neha Mishra and Svetlana Yakovleva for their precious comments

on earlier drafts. They also wish to specify that all errors remain theirs alone.

@* abhishekrana@jgu.edu.in ** rishabh.149620@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Data, much like other currencies, flows cross-border -from one jurisdiction to the other.

However, it is hard to regulate the privacy aspects surrounding such free-flowing data by rules

strictly based on jurisdiction. This article thereby begins by discussing the importance of data

protection regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (G.D.P.R.), followed by a brief

analysis of the General Agreement on Trade in Services’ pivotal role in regulating data flows and

digital trade, and how it can be further used in checking the World Trade Organisation

consistency of various data protection requirements resorted by the European Union (E.U.) so far

under the G.D.P.R.. Lastly, the note examines how, post the Brexit transition period, the situation

will change for the United Kingdom (U.K.) as it has become a third country for the E.U. data

protection regime, with the authors critiquing the various models, including the recent Draft

U.K.-E.U. Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, that may help the U.K. in attaining an

“adequacy” status, which is requisite for the continuation of an unconstrained digital trade with

the E.U. .

KEYWORDS

World Trade Organization; GeneralData Protection Regulation; Brexit;

General Agreement on Tradein Services; Data

6

2021] UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 6:1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ............................................ 7

1. Data Protection & Digital Trade Governed by G.D.P.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2. Regulating Data Flows & Data Privacy MeasuresUnder G.A.T.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2.1 Assessment of G.D.P.R.with E.U.’s Schedule of Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2.2. Exceptions to Non-Discrimination and Market Access Commitment . . . . . . . 17

3. Digital Trade Post-Transition Period: Exploring the Viable Models for the U.K. . . . . . . 20

3.1 Option that the U.K. Could Have Explored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

3.1.1 U.K. as an E.E.A. Member: Exemption from Data Adequacy Requirement, but

aLossofSovereignty............................... 20

3.2 Models that Are Being Explored . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3.2.1 U.K.-E.U. C.F.T.A.: a Bilateral Approach to (digital) Trade . . . . . . . . . . . 22

3.2.2 Full Adequacy Finding Under the G.D.P.R.: a HardNut to Crack . . . . . . . . 24

Conclusion ............................................. 27



In the modern era, the privacy of a person is an essential facet of human rights law which

necessitates legal protection,1and it has been enshrined in multiple international

instruments covering fundamental human rights.2For instance, under Article 17 of the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a person cannot be subjected to

“arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence,

nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation”.3In furtherance of the same,

several countries have either amended their existing legislations or have brought in new

regulations to deal with the issue of privacy.4The debates around data privacy, apart

from being addressed from a human rights perspective, can also be understood from an

international economic law lens as privacy aspects heavily influence the international

trade of data; although the domestic data protection regimes of the World Trade

Organisation’s [hereinafter W.T.O.] Members have tried to act as barriers to such free

flow of digital trade.5

1Samuel D. Warren & Louis D. Brandeis, The Right to Privacy, 4 H

ARV

. L. R

EV

. 193 (1890).

2International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 17, Dec. 16, 1966, UNTS vol. 999, 171 (hereinafter

ICCPR); See Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 16 (Thirty-second session, 1994), Compilation

of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, UN Doc.

HRI/GEN/1/Rev.1,21 (1994).

3ICCPR, Art. 17.

4Australia is governedby “Australian privacy principles”, see Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) sch1 ; Canada is governed

by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, S.C. 2000, c. 5; India is governed by

the Information Technology Act, 2000, No. 21, Acts of Parliament, 2000 while the Personal Data Protection

Bill, 2019, No. 373 is yet to be become an Act.

5Svetlana Yakovleva & Kristina Irion, The Best of Both Worlds? FreeTrade in Services and EU Law on Privacy and Data

Protection, 2 E

UR

. D

ATA

P

ROT

. L. R

EV

.191 (2016). See Rolf H. Weber, Regulatory Autonomy and Privacy Standards

under the G.A.T.S, 7 A

SIAN

J. WTO & I

NT

’

L

H

EALTH

L & P

OL

’

Y

25 (2012).

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