Posts by Alastair Tempest
UN and WTO Agree That 2023 Will See a Slump in the Global Economy – But The AfDBank is Optimistic for Africa
A series of severe and mutually reinforcing shocks — the COVID pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine and resulting food and energy crises, surging inflation, debt tightening, as well as the climate emergency…
Read MoreTrade in Services Policy in Africa, New Work by the WTO and World Bank
Services are often overlooked in trade negotiations, partly because they are amorphous in character, unlike goods. Yet Africa is increasingly exporting its services within the continent and globally. Examples are in music…
Read MoreTrade News From the USA
EFA is affiliated to the E-Merchants Trade Council (EMTC), which represents cross border ecommerce in the USA. Recently the EMTC sent us this report: “The US Senate Finance Committee held a Hearing on Cross Border Trade in…
Read MoreThe USA Toys With A Federal Privacy Law – and an ISO for Privacy
The US Congress has recently made some much-anticipated progress toward advancing a bipartisan privacy bill. The current compromise, the American Data Protection and Privacy Act (ADPPA), still has a long way to go before becoming…
Read MoreBig Tech News
In mid-February the European Commission asked all their staff to remove the TikTok app from the phones they use for work. The reason given was security concerns and the data…
Read MoreMiscellaneous
The Marvels of AI Noise in contact/call centres is inevitable and has an impact on Average Handle Time and Customer Experience. Callers request agents to repeat the information or do not hear the key messages,…
Read MoreImportant News from the SA Consumer Goods and Services Ombuds
The Consumer Goods and Services Ombuds CGSO) is the official body to which consumers complain on any retail issue – off-line and online. EFSA works closely with the CGSO on…
Read MoreCybercrime Update – And New UN Convention Planned
This Newsletter has strongly recommended that more is done to prevent cybercrime for many years. We are delighted that the ECOM Africa conference in April has that issue on its…
Read MoreAnti-Money Laundering Activities
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Britain’s financial watchdog, has fined the UK subsidiary of Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank $9.3m for what it says are further failures in its anti-money-laundering systems and controls. “These…
Read MoreOpportunities, events and Publications
WIPO and WTO Course on Intellectual Property The course is designed to improve the capacity of policymakers to develop national expertise in international IP law and policy issues. The focus…
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