Few firms whether or not the Internet plays an important role in their business have assessed the benefits of the Internet. Many do not know how to begin such an assessment. It is easy to measure increases in sales and the ratio of revenue to costs in the new sales that are generated. But many of the benefits that the Internet offers are intangible and difficult to measure. These opportunities may not have a direct dollar value and might never feature in estimates of on-line trading, but nevertheless are very important.
Trade is trade.
Internet commerce, like all other forms of exchange across borders, can be affected for good or ill by domestic policies. There is a wide variety of potential barriers to e-commerce but, so far, the traditional barriers of taxation of trade are probably the least concern. Of course, goods and services which transit borders as a result of an Internet exchange are still subject to border regulations, such as tariffs. There are, however, other potential barriers to the openness of e-commerce markets. Some countries have strict controls or heavy taxes on public presentation of information about companies.