Machines need to be able to “speak" to each other regardless of the technology used and of whether the loT, 3D printing or blockchain technologies are involved, and ITC services can enable this. Nevertheless, such progress has not been uniform across and within countries, nor between urban and rural populations. The wide adoption of digital technologies is changing the composition of trade in different categories of services and goods, and is redefining intellectual property rights in trade. Beyond facilitating trade in traditional services, digital technologies are enabling new services to replace trade in goods, ensuring the continued importance of services in the composition of trade. For example, new developments in the field of remote controlled robotics (such as telesurgery) have opened new ways to trade services and could trigger extensive changes in international trade. A further reduction in trade costs enabled by digital technologies could give rise to increased trade in certain goods, most notably time-sensitive, certification-intensive and contract-intensive goods.