Washington – World Trade Organization (WTO) Members failed to reach an agreement at the 14th Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Cameroon to extend the longstanding moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. As a result, the moratorium will lapse for the second time since its adoption in 1998 (the first time being the failed Seattle Ministerial in 1999).
While ministers highlighted progress across other areas and committed to continue work in Geneva toward a broader “Yaoundé package,” the failure to extend the moratorium introduces significant uncertainty into the global digital economy and risks undermining a foundational principle of digital trade. To date, no governments have imposed such duties, and CCIA urges WTO Members to exercise restraint and avoid actions that would disrupt digital trade flows while negotiations continue —including through unilateral or bilateral commitments to refrain from such action. As a modest, positive development, a large group of WTO Members agreed to implement elements of the Joint Statement Initiative on e-commerce, including a prohibition on customs duties on electronic transmissions, though this commitment falls short of and cannot substitute for a multilateral solution. CCIA has long advocated for a permanent and binding moratorium and strongly regrets that WTO Members were unable to deliver that outcome.
The following can be attributed to Jonathan McHale:
“The WTO’s failure to take an obviously positive step is a deeply disappointing outcome that creates unnecessary risk for the global digital economy. No WTO members will benefit, and all will suffer the consequences. For more than two decades, WTO members have recognized that imposing tariffs on electronic transmissions would be counterproductive, but allowed the issue to become a negotiating football. If any Members now take the unwise step of imposing such duties, other Members, including the United States, should be prepared to respond firmly in the appropriate manner. WTO Members must return to this issue urgently in Geneva, build on the draft texts developed at MC14, and deliver a durable solution that restores certainty and credibility to the system.”
