The ICC and more than 170 business organizations around the world urge World Trade Organization (WTO) member states to suspend WTO tariffs on electronic transmissions at the upcoming WTO 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We are calling for the system to be updated. February 26-29, 2024.
Without updates, the future of e-commerce and digital trade is in jeopardy. Governments could start experimenting with unilateral tariffs on everything from software, e-books and cloud services to the data underlying popular streaming services, disrupting the digital economy and slowing growth. It could wreak havoc on businesses around the world that rely on the moratorium to operate. their business.
The World Industry Statement said allowing the moratorium to expire would be a historic setback for the WTO, marking an unprecedented end to a multilateral agreement that has been in place since 1998, and in an era of unprecedented digital transformation. It is emphasized that it is more important than ever.
The statement further notes that the continuation of the moratorium is critical to the continued recovery from COVID-19 and supply chain resilience, and is particularly beneficial for small and medium-sized enterprises. This refers to recent research demonstrating that the anticipated revenue losses from a moratorium are outweighed by the social, developmental, and financial benefits that will result from the growth of digital services.
