Digital Trade Restrictiveness Index (DTRI):

The DTRI is based on a wide spectrum of digital trade policies, covering more than 100 categories of policy measures, across 64 countries worldwide. The Index is the first global initiative to provide transparency of applied digital trade restrictions and sheds light on how countries compare with each other. The Index is based on the Digital Trade Estimates (DTEs), a database that the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE) has developed and that is freely available for anyone to use.

The database and the Index are clustered around four larger areas of digital trade policy, namely

(A) Fiscal restrictions and market access;

(B) Establishment restrictions;

(C) Restrictions on data; and

(D) Trading restrictions.

Each cluster contains more specific policy areas, referred to as chapters.

Cluster A. covers tariffs and trade defense, taxation and subsidies; and public procurement.

Cluster B. covers foreign investment restrictions; intellectual property rights measures; competition policy; and business mobility.

Cluster C. covers data policies, intermediate liability; and content access.

Cluster D. includes quantitative trade restrictions; standards; and online sales and transactions.

According to the Index, China is the most restricted country in digital trade, followed by Russia and India.

The country that is most open in digital trade, with only a few digital trade restrictions, is New Zealand. Iceland, Norway, Ireland and Hong Kong are also among the most digitally open countries.