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Symposium on international digital trade

  • Symposium on international digital trade

  • Thursday 4 June 2026

  • 9.00am - 4.00pm

  • London campus

  • Book now

Technology and Policy Developments (IDTTP 2026)

Join us in person for the 2nd Symposium on International Digital Trade to explore the latest trends and insights!

Digital technologies are reshaping how goods and services are created, sold, and delivered across borders. Digital services and cross-border data flows are growing rapidly and are becoming a major force in global trade. At the same time, traditional paper-based processes are no longer fit for purpose in a world that demands speed, efficiency, transparency and trust.

The symposium aims to explore the latest developments at the intersection of technology and policy in the space of international digital trade. This second edition of the symposium seeks to bring together scholars and practitioners from various disciplines and regions to exchange ideas and share knowledge on the latest policy and technology developments in digital trade.

Guest speakers

Sarah Green

Sarah GreenProfessor Sarah Green was Law Commissioner for Common and Commercial Law at the Law Commission of England and Wales from 2020 to 2024. Her work included the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023, the Arbitration Act 2025 and the Property (Digital Assets etc) Act 2025. She also advised the government on smart contracts and reviewed the law on intermediated securities.

In 2022, she was placed on the Women in Fintech Power List and on Bloomberg’s ‘Who to Watch Crypto List’. In 2023, she won both the International Chamber of Commerce’s Award for the Individual Who Has Made the Greatest Contribution to the Digitalisation of Trade and the Outstanding Achievement Award at the British Legal Technology Awards.

Sarah is now an Independent Arbitrator and Mediator specialising in crypto and blockchain Disputes at Newmans Row, Professor of Private Law at the University of Bristol, and a consultant to D2 Legal Technology. She is a member of T3i Partner Network, and also a member for several national and international taskforces, including UK Jurisdiction Taskforce, the International Jurisdiction Taskforce, The Digital Commonwealth, LegalUK, and the Trade Digitalisation Taskforce. Sarah Green is an advisor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on blockchain technologies. She has written books and articles on subjects such as blockchain, smart contracts, digital assets and intermediated securities, and her work has been cited extensively in parliament, across several jurisdictions in appellate courts, and in the US Congress.

Emmanuelle Ganne

Emmanuelle GanneEmmanuelle Ganne is Chief of Digital Trade and Frontier Technologies at the World Trade Organization (WTO), where she coordinates policy discussions, negotiations, research and technical assistance on digital trade, AI and other frontier technologies. Prior to this, she has held several roles at the WTO, including as WTO Lead on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), as Counsellor to Director-General Pascal Lamy, and in the Accessions Division, where she assessed trade policies of governments wishing to join the WTO and advised them on how to improve their business environment. Ms Ganne is a Yale World Fellow and the author of a 2018 book entitled ‘Can Blockchain Revolutionize International Trade?’. She regularly speaks on digital trade and emerging technologies and has received awards for her work in trade digitalisation and blockchain.

AGENDA



Thursday 4 June 2026

9.00am – 9.20am: Registration and refreshments

9.20am – 9.30am: Opening remarks

9.30am – 10.45am: Paper presentations

TRACK A: Digitalisation of trade processes and regulatory compliance

Chair: Olugbenga Akinade (Teesside University)

Ilias Ioannou (University of Bristol) and Christian Delev (University of Bristol): The London Effect: How the adoption of digital commercial laws in the UK shapes international trends in modernising commercial laws in the EU and beyond.

Gülfer Meriç (Ozyegin University) and Göker Tataro?lu (Social Sciences University of Ankara): The Electronic Bill of Lading at the Crossroads of Law and Technology: An Analysis and Implications of MLETR, the Accra Convention, and ISO 5909:2026 for the Recognition of Electronic Bills of Lading in Turkish Maritime Law.

Adewale Ogabi (Teesside University) and Michael Short (Teesside University): A Hybrid AI Framework for Pre-Screening Carbon, Origin, and Traceability Records in Digital Trade Compliance.

TRACK B: Digital trade and the Global South

Chair: Martina F. Ferracane (Teesside University)

Yasmin Ismail (University of Lucerne) and Riham Marii (ICC France): Emerging Technologies and the Digitalisation of Trade Processes in LDCs: Leapfrogging Potential or Structural Lock-In?

Sergio Martinez (University of St. Gallen): How does digital services trade affect income inequality in the Global South?

Fandi Achmad (University of Oxford): The 3S Learning Framework: A Digital Learning-by-Exporting Mechanism.

10.45am – 11.20am: Keynote by Sarah Green (University of Bristol)

11.20am – 12.35pm: Paper presentations

TRACK A: Applied research & case studies

Chair: Michael Short (Teesside University)

Chris Papp (TransPacific Trade Nexus (TPTN) / SynergAI): Validation-backed interoperability for MLETR-aligned electronic transferable records: a Canadian design case.

Hans J. Huber (Verifiable.Trade Foundation): Applied case studies on trade digitalisation.

Shahwaiz Afaqui (Teesside University), David J. Hughes (Teesside University) and Olugbenga O. Akinade (Teesside University): Comparative Analysis of Wireless Connectivity Architectures for Digital Trade Logistics.


TRACK B: Empirical research on digital trade

Chair: Martina F. Ferracane (Teesside University)

Kung-Chen Chen (University of Maryland) and Rupa Chanda (ESCAP): Trade Implications of Digital Regulation in Asia-Pacific.

Ivan Cenon V. Bernardo (BSP Research Academy): Trade in Transition: The Prospects of Developing Asia-Pacific Towards Digital Trade.

Jieun Choi (World Bank) and Emiko Fukase (World Bank): Chilling Effect or Catalytic Effect? Impact of Local Storage Requirement on FDI Inflow in Vietnam.

12.35pm – 2.00pm:Lunch and interactive demos

2.00pm – 2.35pm: Keynote by Emmanuelle Ganne (World Trade Organization)

2:35pm – 3.50pm: Paper presentations

TRACK A: Digitalisation of trade processes and regulatory compliance.

Chair: Olugbenga Akinade (Teesside University)

Julien Achard (OpenbanQ)and Riham Marii (ICC France): Architectures of Interoperability in Digital Trade: Toward a Technology-Agnostic Framework for Integrating Platforms, Distributed Ledgers and Regulatory Systems.

Chris Papp (TransPacific Trade Nexus (TPTN) / SynergAI): AI-assisted, human-governed trade compliance for SMEs: architecture and auditability without over-automation.

Stanley Montwedi (TradeVow Limited): From Purchase Order to Proof: An Execution-Layer Model for Interoperable Digital Trade Corridors in Africa.

TRACK B: The implications of regulatory choices on digital trade

Chair: Martina F. Ferracane (Teesside University)

María Vásquez Callo-Müller (University of Lucerne) : The Hard and Soft Law of Digital Trade: Regulatory Implications.

Christopher Foster (University of Manchester): Disruption in digital trade and small packages: Examining global de minimis reforms and e-commerce logistics systems.

Snehaprava Sahoo (Indian Institute of Technology), Jadhav Chakradhar (Centre for Economic and Social Studies), Devi Prasad Dash (Indian Institute of Technology): Digital Trade and the Inequality Dilemma: The Roles of Natural Disasters and Renewable Energy Consumption.

3.50pm – 4.00pm: Concluding remarks

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