Research on the Impact of Digital Trade Rule Networks on Manufacturing Global Value Chain Positioning

Amidst an increasingly complex global economic landscape, the rapid expansion of digital trade has emerged as a vital growth engine for nations worldwide while simultaneously disrupting traditional international trade frameworks. Major developed economies are actively constructing digital trade governance systems through regional trade agreements, where proliferating digital-focused RTAs with expanding coverage have collectively formed an interconnected digital trade rule network. This study uses social network analysis to establish a weighted digital trade rule network spanning 162 countries, systematically examining network metrics and evolutionary trajectories while investigating the mechanisms through which network influences manufacturing GVC positioning. Utilizing panel data from 48 countries (2007–2021), fixed-effects regression models incorporating multiple network indicators reveal three critical findings: (1) enhanced network centrality significantly elevates manufacturing GVC positioning; (2) node countries adopting the "US-style template" demonstrate substantially stronger upgrading effects than those following the "EU-style template"; (3) innovation-driven effects constitute the primary transmission channel for GVC advancement. The research contributes novel dimensions to the literature. First, it introduces social network analysis to digital trade governance studies, leveraging the newly released TAPED database to quantify rule depth and map network evolution—a methodological breakthrough in a nascent research domain. Second, by empirically connecting national-level digital rule networks to manufacturing GVC upgrading and revealing template-specific heterogeneity ("US-style" vs. "EU-style"), it addresses critical gaps in understanding cross-national regulatory impacts on industrial competitiveness.