Key insights
- A group of WTO members, excluding the US, have agreed to implement digital trade rules, bypassing consensus requirements. This move, while fostering digital trade among participating nations, highlights trade policy divergence and could create friction in global trade relations. The US absence and ongoing deadlock over e-commerce moratorium introduce uncertainty, potentially hindering broader adoption and negatively impacting US companies reliant on digital exports.
By Olivia Le Poidevin
YAOUNDE, March 28 (Reuters) - A group of World Trade Organization members agreed on Saturday to sidestep adoption hurdles for the world’s first baseline on digital trade rules, opting to bring the agreement into force among consenting participants, the WTO said.
In recent years, efforts by a group of countries to fold the E-Commerce Agreement into the WTO rulebook were twice blocked by dissenting members. The pact aims to foster an open environment for digital trade.
The push to accelerate entry into force, among members who represent 70% of global trade, stems from mounting frustration over those obstructions, a senior diplomat told Reuters. Under WTO rules, plurilateral agreements among subsets of members require consensus.
At the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cameroon, 66 members settled on an interim arrangement to activate the deal within their countries while pursuing broader incorporation into the WTO framework.
Japan’s State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Yamada Kenji, hailed it as a "historic step" toward global digital trade rules.
UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle also hailed the move.
"As the first global digital trade deal, this will make trade cheaper, faster and more secure for businesses around the world," Kyle said.
India has been one of the main countries blocking a deal, arguing that trade agreements should be adopted multilaterally by consensus.
The United States is not among the 66 countries to sign up for the agreement, with the issue currently under review by the U.S. administration.
The agreement is separate from an e-commerce moratorium which bans customs duties being placed on digital downloads and streaming, which is currently the subject of a political deadlock between the U.S. and India at the WTO meeting in Cameroon.