The draft text, finalized by dozens of countries on Friday, marked a step forward in efforts to set global digital trade rules, but more talks are likely needed as the United States and several other countries have yet to back it.
Among the measures outlined in the document aimed at promoting and facilitating digital trade are online consumer protection, digitizing customs procedures and accepting electronic signatures.
European Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis hailed the document as “historic,” posting on social network X that countries had “negotiated the first global rules on digital trade.”
“This will boost electronic trade, spur innovation and integrate developing countries into the digital economy,” he said.
In a statement, Britain said the deal would make “trade faster, cheaper, fairer and more secure” once it comes into force.
Digital commerce is growing at a much faster pace than traditional commerce.
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The OECD, a group of advanced economies, estimates that e-commerce already accounted for a quarter of global trade in 2020, worth just under $5 trillion.
Despite its growing importance, “there are no universal rules,” UK Trade Minister Jonathan Reynolds said.
Achieving a deal would be “a major step forward in rectifying that issue and ensuring that British businesses can benefit.”
Negotiations began in 2019 and involved about 90 countries, accounting for 90% of the WTO's member states, including major powers such as the United States, the European Union, and China.
Australia, Japan and Singapore, which have jointly led the E-Commerce Initiative talks, issued a joint statement at a closed-door WTO meeting confirming that “after five years of negotiations, the participants have completed a stable text.”
But it could still be years before the agreement is actually implemented.
A handful of negotiating countries, including the United States, Brazil, Indonesia and Turkey, have yet to sign the declaration.
“The text released today […] “This marks an important step forward for the WTO in an area of growing importance to the global economy,” Maria Pagan, U.S. ambassador and deputy U.S. trade representative, said in a statement.
But the United States believes “the current language is insufficient and further work is needed,” she said, pointing in particular to “significant national security exceptions.”
Co-organizers of the talks have stressed in recent months the importance of reaching an agreement, stressing that it can boost electronic commerce, facilitate digital trade and foster an open and trustworthy digital economy.
“These will be the first ever ground rules for digital trade,” Singapore's WTO ambassador Tan Hun Seng said in April.
“In an increasingly fragmented world, increasing legal predictability and certainty will contribute to the growth of e-commerce in each country,” he said.
UK Science Minister Peter Kyle said in a statement on Friday that the agreement aims to “make technology safer by protecting people from fraud and drive faster and safer economic growth through the digitisation of trade”.
The agreement also includes elements that give preferential treatment to developing countries.
The text aims to make permanent the long-standing moratorium on customs duties exemptions for electronic transactions as well as pave the way for the digitalization of customs documents and procedures.
The moratorium has been in place since 1998 and has been extended at each WTO ministerial conference since then. It is currently due to expire in 2026.
Once the agreement comes into force, tariffs on digital content will be permanently banned,” the UK statement said.
The aim is to incorporate digital trade rules into the WTO's legal framework, but this will require agreement from all member states, including those that are not part of the agreement.
This may be difficult given that countries such as India and South Africa are resisting more plurilateral agreements within the WTO, rather than the almost impossible multilateral agreements supported by all WTO members.
Experts say one solution would be for signatories to transfer the agreement to another international organization, but that would mean they would not have access to the WTO's trade dispute settlement mechanisms.
