E-commerce Moratorium

E-commerce Moratorium Latest News

More than 200 global business organisations signed a joint statement calling ‌for an extension of the World Trade Organization E-commerce Moratorium.

About E-commerce Moratorium

• It is a global agreement among World Trade Organization members.
• It bans customs duties being applied to electronic transmissions such as digital downloads and streaming.
• It was first ‌adopted in 1998 at the WTO’s Second Ministerial Conference in ​Geneva as part of a declaration to encourage early digital ⁠trade growth.
• It covers cross-border transmissions such as software downloads, e-books, music and movie streaming and video games.
• Originally intended to be temporary, the tariff moratorium has been renewed ‌roughly every two years at each WTO ministerial conference.
• It was most recently extended for two years at the 13th conference ‌in 2024.
• It is set to expire this month at ‌the ⁠14th WTO ministerial conference in Yaounde, Cameroon
• India argues that:
  • It may lead to significant revenue loss. 
  • It restricts policy space in the digital economy. 
  • Developing countries lack the technological capacity to benefit equally.

Source: TH

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