The impact of U.S.-style digital trade rules on digital services trade between China and CPTPP member countries

As digital trade expands globally, U.S.-style digital trade rules have garnered increasing attention from scholars and policymakers. Drawing on panel data from 2005 to 2023 covering China's digital services trade with CPTPP member countries, this study quantifies the depth of U.S.-style digital trade rules using the TAPED dataset and empirically evaluates their impact through an extended gravity model. The results indicate that these rules exert an overall positive effect on China–CPTPP digital services trade, with a more pronounced impact on exports. Mechanism analyses reveal that U.S.-style digital trade rules facilitate bilateral trade by reducing transaction costs, while also introducing constraints by narrowing ICT development gaps and intensifying institutional trade barriers. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that different types of provisions exert varied effects: e-commerce and data-specific provisions significantly promote digital trade, whereas other high-standard or complex provisions have relatively limited influence. This study provides both theoretical underpinnings and policy-relevant insights for China to enhance its digital services trade with CPTPP members within the evolving framework of U.S.-style digital trade rules, thereby strengthening the global competitiveness of Chinese digital firms.