A group of 86 members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) presented this Monday (13.06.2022/XNUMX/XNUMX) during the XII Ministerial Conference a Valid identity document where they support the extension of the moratorium on customs duties on electronic commerce, as it recognizes the importance of maintaining “certainty and predictability” for businesses and consumers, especially in the midst of the pandemic.
According to information disseminated today by the WTO, the group of negotiations on electronic commerce in the WTO, headed by Australia, Japan and Singapore, stressed the importance of developing global rules on electronic commerce. These countries, together with Switzerland, also launched the E-Commerce Capacity Building Framework to strengthen digital inclusion and help developing and least developed countries take advantage of the opportunities of digital trade.
The ministers said in the document that they are committed to a timely conclusion of the negotiations and to issuing a revised Consolidated Negotiating Text by the end of 2022. Added to this is the inclusion of the Call from 105 trade associations from around the world for the continuation of the multilateral moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions. “It is crucial that the initiative be carried out permanent bases among the participants in the negotiations,” they said.
The WTO's e-commerce moratorium, which prohibits countries from imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions, dates back to 1998, when ministers at the Second Ministerial Conference adopted the Declaration on global electronic commerce, which called for the establishment of a work programme on electronic commerce, which was adopted that year. Since then, at each Ministerial Conference, WTO members have They have agreed “maintain the current practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions.”
El WTO Work Programme on Electronic Commerce defines “e-commerce” as “the production, distribution, marketing, sale or delivery of goods and services by electronic means.”
The moratorium plays a very important role, as it has enabled exponential growth in the use of the Internet and the flourishing of the digital economy.
In March 2020, India and South Africa The countries circulated a statement outlining the obstacles that the moratorium has on developing countries, including: losses of tariff revenue; impacts on industrialization; impacts on the use of digital technologies such as 3D printing in manufacturing; as well as losses of other duties and charges. The countries argue that the moratorium is “equivalent to developing countries providing digitally advanced countries with duty-free access to (their) markets.”
The decision on whether the moratorium should continue or not will be taken at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, a meeting that began on Sunday, June XNUMX, and will end next Wednesday in Geneva.
The 86 countries that support the extension of the moratorium on electronic commerce are Albania, Germany, Austria, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Colombia, Korea, Costa Rica, Chile, China, Spain, Ecuador, Estonia, El Salvador, United Arab Emirates, Guatemala, Honduras, United States, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Philippines, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Ukraine, European Union, Ukraine, Uruguay, among others.
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