Renewal or beginning of the end of WTO’s e-commerce moratorium?
The 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded with the renewal of the e-commerce moratorium and the Work Programme on e-commerce. But, the change of wording signals the beginning of the end of the e-commerce moratorium.
After long negotiations, the WTO Ministerial Meeting reached a compromise solution on the Moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.
The negotiation positions ranged from OECD, some developing countries and China aiming to make the Moratorium permanent to, on the other side, developing countries led by India, Indonesia and South Africa requesting the end of the Moratorium.
In this last-minute deal, compromise position shifted slightly towards the end of Moratorium. Supporters of the Moratorium got some extra time to reverse this decision or prepare for the Moratorium’s end.
Wording from WTO MC 13 held in 2024
We agree to maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until the 14th Session of the Ministerial Conference or 31 March 2026, whichever is earlier. The moratorium and the Work Programme will expire on that date.
Wording from WTO MC 12 held in 2022
We agree to maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until MC13, which should ordinarily be held by 31 December 2023. Should MC13 be delayed beyond 31 March 2024, the moratorium will expire on that date unless Ministers or the General Council take a decision to extend.
You can read more in Marilia Maciel’s blog on the impact of the end of the Moratorium on e-commerce negotiations at the WTO and the future of digital trade.
Other aspects of the WTO MC12
The Abu Dhabi Ministerial Declaration, approved at the end of MC13, expressed a commitment to preserve and strengthen the multilateral trading system centred at the WTO. This political convergence is particularly important at the present stage, considering the challenges faced by WTO’s negotiating and dispute settlement functions.
Members adopted a Ministerial Decision committing to have a fully and well-functioning dispute settlement system accessible to all members by 2024. Nevertheless, in parallel, they could not agree on whether and how to include the agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development, concluded by a Joint Initiative, in WTO’s legal framework.
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