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 1. home
 2. the wto
 3. ministerials
 4. abu dhabi (uae)
 5. briefing notes
 6. E-commerce

13thMINISTERIAL CONFERENCE : briefing note


E-COMMERCE

Electronic commerce was first introduced in the WTO at the Second Ministerial
Conference in May 1998 when WTO members adopted a Declaration on Global
Electronic Commerce. This declaration urged the WTO General Council to establish
a  work programme to examine all trade-related issues arising from e-commerce.
Members also agreed to continue their practice of not imposing customs duties on
electronic transmissions until the next Ministerial Conference. This is known as
the “moratorium on electronic transmissions”.

 * All MC13 briefing notes


   MORE ON:

 * E-commerce


DISCLAIMER

Since 1998, WTO members have periodically agreed to extend the moratorium and
continue the work under the Work Programme. The last extension was agreed in
June 2022 during WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12). The moratorium is due
to lapse at the 13th WTO Ministerial Conference in February 2024, unless WTO
members decide to extend it again.


MC12 OUTCOME AND RECENT WORK ON THE WORK PROGRAMME

In addition to extending the moratorium until MC13, WTO members at MC12 agreed
to deepen their understanding of the scope, definition and the implication of
the moratorium on developing countries, particularly with regards to revenues
and policy space.

At MC12, members also agreed to revitalize the Work Programme on Electronic
Commerce. In 2023, they looked at the digital divide, legal and regulatory
frameworks and consumer protection, the moratorium, digital industrialization
and e-commerce related technology transfer. Members concluded in September 2023
so-called "thematic discussions" on the Work Programme, covering topics
identified by members. This discussion series focuses on the broader
developmental aspect of e-commerce, recognizing that developing and
least-developed countries face various challenges, such as connectivity,
infrastructure and capacity-building to implement policies related to
e-commerce.

In June 2023, a workshop provided an opportunity for WTO members to exchange
views with international organisations on cross-cutting issues under the Work
Programme. The workshop looked at work carried out at the international level on
consumer protection, the digital divide, the moratorium on imposing customs
duties on electronic transmissions and legal, regulatory frameworks on
e-commerce.


IN THE LEAD-UP TO MC13

Members' views on the renewal of the moratorium on the imposition of customs
duties on electronic transactions remain divergent. Proponents of the moratorium
believe that it has supported a stable and predictable environment for digital
trade to thrive. However, some WTO members have expressed concerns about the
lack of clarity regarding the scope of the moratorium and the definition of
electronic transmissions, as well as the potential foregone customs revenue.
They have also expressed the desire to maintain policy space in light of the
uncertainty associated with rapid technological change.

At the Senior Officials Meeting at the WTO on 24 October, many members supported
the extension of the moratorium at MC13, while others considered that it should
be lifted. Some called for more evidence-based discussions and further analysis
on its scope, definition, and impact.

A third session was dedicated to the moratorium on 14 November. At this meeting,
WTO members were presented with the findings of a report on "Digital Trade for
Development" co-published by the IMF, the OECD, UNCTAD, the World Bank and the
WTO. It was officially launched in December during UNCTAD's eWeek. The report
looks into the role of digital trade in development and how economies can work
together to reap the full benefits of digital trade for a more resilient and
inclusive global trading system. The report addresses one of the key
considerations in members' discussions with regards to the moratorium, that is
to what extent it leads to government revenue losses.

In October 2023, WTO members under the leadership of Ambassador Usha
Dwarka-Canabady,  held the first of a series of sessions focusing on
preparations for MC13. The objective of these sessions was for members to begin
reflecting and identifying possible elements and recommendations for ministers
based on discussions held since the beginning of the year under the Work
Programme. Following the meeting, members tabled proposals addressing the Work
Programme and the moratorium on customs duties. The proponents of those
proposals were encouraged by the facilitator to try to find common elements in
the proposals and converge on a single text that could be put forward to
ministers. Currently there are four proposals on these issues.

At the General Council meeting on 14 February 2024, Ambassador Dwarka-Canabady
reported that WTO members were not able to converge on a common draft decision
to be put forward to ministers at MC13 due to divergences on the moratorium and
that the four proposals will be transmitted to ministers for their
consideration. The proposals are:

 1. A proposal coordinated by Switzerland and Canada (WT/GC/W/909.Rev3), which
    seeks to capture the progress accomplished under the Work Programme since
    MC12 and proposes the continuation of work under the Programme. It also
    calls for an extension of the e-commerce moratorium until MC14.
 2. A proposal by South Africa (WT/GC/W/911), which proposes practical steps to
    be pursued under the Work Programme, such as the establishment of a fund
    that could provide developing economies, including least developed members,
    with targeted support to address the digital divide. The proposal further
    calls for an end to the moratorium on e-commerce and the reinvigoration of
    the Work Programme with a focus on development issues.
 3. A proposal put forward by Samoa on behalf of the African, Caribbean and
    Pacific Group (WT/GC/W/916), which takes note of the efforts to reinvigorate
    the 1998 Work Programme. It instructs members to further increase engagement
    under the Programme with a continued focus on the development dimension. It
    also proposes to extend the moratorium until MC14 and to hold further
    discussions on the scope, definition and impact of the moratorium.
 4. A proposal by India (WT/GC/W/922) that makes no reference to the moratorium
    and focuses on the continuation of the Work Programme and reporting on it
    periodically to the General Council and ministerial meetings.   


DEVELOPMENTS IN E-COMMERCE AT RECENT MINISTERIAL CONFERENCES

On the margins of MC11 in 2017, a group of 71 members (developed and developing
members) issued a Joint Statement on Electronic Commerce, committing
participants to explore work towards future WTO negotiations on trade-related
aspects of electronic commerce.

Since MC11, work on electronic commerce in the WTO has therefore continued under
two parallel tracks – multilaterally in the WTO General Council and its relevant
subsidiary bodies through the Work Programme as well as under the Joint
Statement on Electronic Commerce initiative, which kicked off negotiations on
e-commerce in January 2019.


JOINT STATEMENT ON E-COMMERCE

Negotiations are ongoing among 90 WTO members, with The Gambia being the latest
member to join. Members seek to achieve a high standard outcome that builds on
existing WTO agreements and frameworks with the participation of as many WTO
members as possible. Currently, the main themes covered by the discussions are:
enabling e-commerce, openness and e-commerce, trust and e-commerce,
cross-cutting issues, and telecommunications. The talks are led by Japan,
Singapore and Australia.

In June 2022,  Australia, Japan, Singapore  and Switzerland launched the
E-commerce Capacity Building Framework to strengthen digital inclusion and to
help developing and least developed countries harness the opportunities of
digital trade.

An updated negotiation text was issued in November 2023. The co-convenors shared
a Chair's text in January 2024 to help advance the negotiations, with the aim of
concluding them in a timely manner in 2024.  The co-convenors said that the text
reflects their judgement on where consensus is most likely to be achieved in the
agreement.

The initiative so far has "parked" the following 13 articles: online consumer
protection; electronic signatures and authentication; unsolicited commercial
electronic messages (spam); open government data; electronic contracts;
transparency; paperless trading; cybersecurity; open internet access; electronic
transaction frameworks; electronic invoicing; privacy and “single windows”.  
Ongoing negotiations in smaller groups are focusing on topics including
telecommunications services, cryptography-utilizing products, e-payments and
development issues. Small groups' work on data flows and localisation and on
source code have been paused for the moment following the recent withdrawal of
the United States from those discussions.  

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), International Monetary Fund, World
Bank, International Trade Centre, International Telecommunication Union, World
Customs Organization, UNCITRAL.

DISCLAIMER

×

This note has been prepared by the WTO's Information and External Relations
Division in order to help the media and the public better understand the key
issues expected to be addressed at MC13. It is neither an official record of the
discussions nor a legal interpretation of the WTO agreements, nor does it
prejudice member governments’ positions.

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