US/Ireland e-commerce conference concludes

Today the US Ireland Cross Sectoral Initiative eLogistics Forum concludes after two days of discussion between politicians, the private sector and regulators.

The conference, hosted at Farmleigh House, tackled a range of e-commerce issues in terms of the telecommunications, aviation, customers, delivery services and electronic payments sectors. Ireland and the US intended the conference to be a way of looking at how e-commerce and the supply chain can benefit citizens and consumers and look at some e-commerce "best-practice" methodologies.

The economic downturn was a topic of discussion, but many government officials pointed to the productivity gains made by e-commerce and the investment opportunities in the future.

David Gross, deputy assistant secretary of state and US co-ordinator for international communications and information policy, stressed that the internet as a medium of communication has become a large driver for investment.

He said: "The internet is information in an international space. One of the biggest barriers to investment is the lack of information available. Now countries, like Ireland for example, can distribute information on-line and it's a very powerful to attract foreign capital."

However, it was pointed out that the US and Ireland still both differ widely on the issue of taxation on e-commerce.

The U.S. is upholding its position that the internet should be a tax-free zone, while Ireland is following the European Union guidelines to maintain VAT and other taxes on purchases made over the internet. It is possible that the tough issue of taxation could directly impact investment, particularly with Ireland's relatively high rate of VAT.

The conference will produce two deliverables, a checklist of reforms for each sector to enhance e-commerce and a US Ireland joint statement of principles on the importance of reducing supply chain barriers to e-commerce. These documents are expected to be released in the next few weeks.