The research presented in this thesis of Martin Luther Munu focuses on designing development-oriented international e-commerce agreements. The attention is on countries that have low levels of digital capacities, referred to as Digitally Developing Countries (DDCs). The research used examples from Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda to illustrate the concerns of DDCs. Also known as digital trade, e-commerce is defined as the production, distribution, marketing, sale, or delivery of goods and services by electronic means. The emergence of e-commerce presents opportunities for the development of DDCs by facilitating the growth of MSMEs, the important actors in these economies. Digital trade helps in enhancing market access for both MSMEs’ products and inputs. However, challenges associated with increased competition by established companies also exist, and threaten the prospects of these MSMEs from DDCs. Moreover, MSMEs in DDCs face several obstacles to their growth, ranging from domestic productivity constraints to market access barriers in export markets. The regulation of e-commerce has emerged as a critical component of trade agreements at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and through Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). Therefore, the main research question of this thesis is: How should international e-commerce agreements be designed to meet the development objectives of digitally developing countries? To answer the research question, three approaches in legal analysis were used: 1) the doctrinal/descriptive legal research method; 2) normative legal research; and 3) comparative legal analysis. The doctrinal research method focuses on understanding the law as it is, describing the e-commerce chapters in various agreements. The normative legal research method focuses on how the law should be, analyzing how the identified e-commerce agreements should be designed to promote development. The comparative legal analysis examines the similarities and differences between the RTAs on one side, and the similarities and differences between the RTAs and the JSI stabilized text on the other. Analyzing e-commerce agreements requires a development-oriented framework that takes a balanced approach to promoting trade liberalization while allowing protectionist measures, in line with the infant industry argument and the concept of embedded liberalism. Six factors are central to constructing a development-oriented framework for the analysis of e-commerce agreements. They are: facilitating imports and exports; providing for tariffs as a form of government revenue; attracting investment; preserving policy space for other non-trade objectives; providing development assistance; and providing for different rights and obligations according to development levels. There are several RTAs with e-commerce chapters, with the WTO registering 208 of these agreements by February 3th 2025. Of all the RTAs, the CPTPP, USMCA, TCA, RCEP, and the AfCFTA DTP are the most relevant to DDCs, considering the influence of their parties in global e-commerce and the participation of DDCs, especially regarding the AfCFTA DTP. The RTA provisions reflect three main approaches to e-commerce regulation, namely: the US approach, which promotes liberalization and less state influence; the Chinese approach, which emphasizes government control; and the EU approach, which balances liberalization with regulation, prioritizing the protection of personal data. The USMCA and CPTPP are more oriented towards the US approach, while the RCEP is more oriented towards the Chinese approach. The TCA and AfCFTA DTP reflect the EU approach. The AfCFTA DTP is the most development-oriented, as it balances liberalization with exceptions and provides opportunities for development assistance. In contrast, the CPTPP and USMCA are the least development-oriented, as they promote liberalization with limited exceptions and do not offer development assistance. Overall, all the selected RTAs meet the development objectives of DDCs to some extent, though they fall short in other areas. The RTAs impose obligations that promote trade, which benefit MSMEs, but also contain provisions that hinder MSMEs’ growth, such as prohibiting customs duties on electronic transmissions, which leads to potential revenue losses. The RTAs have weak SDT provisions, with limited technical assistance and capacity-building support, which hinders their ability to meaningfully support MSMEs in DDCs. At the WTO, different bodies oversee e-commerce issues in line with the 1998 Work Programme on Electronic Commerce. However, progress has been slow, which has motivated some Members under the JSI on e-commerce to launch negotiations for an e-commerce agreement, resulting in the JSI stabilized text. There are three options for incorporating the outcomes of the JSI stabilized text, namely: the creation of a plurilateral agreement; the modification of Schedules of Concessions/Schedule of Specific Commitments by parties; or the creation of an FTA. The first option—also pursued by the JSI stabilized text—is the most feasible, although it requires consensus from Members, which is lacking. The JSI stabilized text meets DDC development objectives more ably than the RTAs, although it is also lacking in certain areas. The JSI stabilized text imposes obligations that facilitate trade and follows the RTAs by providing for a permanent ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions. The JSI stabilized text promotes the inclusion of underrepresented groups, including Indigenous Peoples and MSMEs, with SDT provisions, although framed in best-endeavor, hortatory language that hinders their effect. The SDT provisions in the JSI stabilized text also provide flexibility to developing countries and LDC parties to allow them to build capacity before meeting the obligations, but do not make the implementation of these obligations conditional on receiving technical and capacity building support, as is the case with the TFA.

Munu defended his thesis March 2nd 2026 at the Maastricht University. Supervisors: dr. Denise Prévost, prof. dr. Dominic Coppens, prof. dr. Marta Pertegás Sender.  

Martin Luther Munu
Designing Development-Oriented International E-Commerce Agreements 

A copy of the thesis can be obtained here