The European Commission welcomes the publication today of the text of an E-commerce Agreement negotiated in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The publication follows five years of dedicated negotiations by over 90 WTO Members. The EU played an active role in the negotiation of these first global rules on digital trade.
Once integrated into the WTO legal framework, the E-commerce Agreement will be the basis for global rules on digital trade among a broad range of WTO Members. The agreement will benefit both consumers and businesses, and support digital transformation among participating WTO Members by:
- facilitating cross-border electronic transactions,
- reducing barriers to digital trade,
- and promoting innovation in e-commerce.
In addition, it will bolster digital inclusiveness and the economic growth of developing and least developed participating Members.
The Commission welcomes this outcome and looks forward to working with participants to incorporate the Agreement into the WTO legal framework. The EU will also engage with other WTO Members to encourage their participation.
Setting the ground rules
The negotiated E-commerce Agreement is a balanced, inclusive, and commercially significant agreement. It is also of strategic importance for the WTO. It will benefit consumers and businesses involved in digital trade, especially SMEs, from both developed and developing countries.
The negotiated E-Commerce Agreement includes a set of ground rules on digital trade:
- Initiatives to promote seamless digital trade both within and across borders, including on electronic signatures and electronic invoices;
- Provisions to improve trust in the digital trade environment for both consumers and businesses, notably by strengthening consumer protection online;
- Provisions to make the international digital trade environment more reliable and affordable, including collaboration on cybersecurity risks;
- A prohibition of customs duties on electronic transmissions, which is of great commercial importance and is a key priority for industry worldwide; and
- Initiatives to facilitate participation of consumers and companies from developing countries in digital trade.
Next Steps
The EU and other participants of the Joint Statement Initiative will take necessary steps towards integrating the E-commerce Agreement into the WTO rulebook, which will require consensus by all WTO Members.
The EU stands ready, as part of its digital development activities, to support developing countries in assessing their needs for assistance and implementation of the Agreement.
Background
Digital Trade accounts for around 25% of all international trade and has been growing at a faster pace than traditional trade. The EU is the world's leader in both exports and imports of digitally deliverable services, which amounted to €1.3 trillion in 2022, or 54% of the EU's total trade in services.
At the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC11) held in Buenos Aires in December 2017, a group of 71 WTO Members (including the EU) sponsored a Joint Ministerial Statement calling for the start of exploratory work toward future WTO negotiations on trade-related aspects of electronic commerce. Negotiations started formally in January 2019, when 76 WTO members confirmed their intention to "seek to achieve a high standard outcome that builds on existing WTO agreements and frameworks with the participation of as many WTO members as possible". Since then, additional WTO members have joined the initiative, bringing the total to 91 participants, who collectively account for over 90% of global trade. Participation remains open to all WTO members. The initiative is chaired by Japan, Australia, and Singapore, acting as "co-convenors".
