The advent of the digital economy combined with the challenges imposed by COVID19 pandemic resulted in several international cooperation efforts among consumer protection agencies and experts.
The existing regional and international networks like COMESA, ASEAN, the European Union, MERCOSUR, ICPEN and the OECD prove to be relevant efforts for exchanging experiences and best practices. However, this research shows that there is a large room for development and improvement in the field of international cooperation in consumer protection.
UNCTAD is playing a pivotal role following the formal mandate on consumer protection law and policy received by the General Assembly in 2015 and is expected to contribute to the improvement of international cooperation in consumer protection issues through its three pillars of work: consensus-building, research and analysis and technical assistance and capacity building.
This paper aims to contribute to the implementation of coordinated actions to better protect consumers, serving as cornerstone for efforts on consumer protection at the international level.
