DIGITAL TRADE BARRIERS AND THEIR EFFECT ON DEVELOPING ECONOMIES

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the digital economy has introduced a new class of trade barriers — data localization mandates, regulatory asymmetries, platform gatekeeping, and payment infrastructure exclusions — that disproportionately constrain developing economies. Unlike traditional tariffs, these barriers operate invisibly yet systematically, limiting market access, suppressing digital exports, and widening the global economic divide. This paper examines the nature and economic consequences of digital trade barriers across developing regions, analyzes existing multilateral frameworks, and argues for reform that centers equitable digital participation as a prerequisite for sustainable economic development.Digital trade, born in the context of digitisation, is an emerging model based on digital technology and realised through the digitisation of trade methods and trade objects. While solving the limitations of time and space, digital trade barriers have also emerged, which have become a major obstacle in the process of economic globalisation.