29 Jul 2024

New Agreement on Electronic Commerce finalised at the WTO

On 26 July, the first global baseline deal on digital trade has been agreed at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. The Joint Statement Initiative Co-Convenors have announced the end of the negotiations on the “Agreement on Electronic Commerce”.

After five years of negotiations, 91 countries have finalised the deal, which will make trade faster, cheaper, fairer and more secure. It will help businesses, workers and consumers seize the opportunities of global digital trade, which is estimated by the OECD to be worth around US$ 5 trillion and growing.

The agreement will permanently ban customs duties on digital content, lower costs for businesses and help protect consumers from online fraud. Global adoption of digital customs systems, processes and documents is another significant priority.

Australia, one of the three co-convenors has indicated that it continues to encourage all WTO members to join the agreement. The new UK government has already indicated its support.

The next phase of this work includes integrating these foundational rules into the broader WTO system.

Although 91 countries have negotiated this agreement, they are not all automatic signatories. Countries like Indonesia, Turkey, possibly Thailand and Philippines, will likely decide not to join the deal. More importantly, though somewhat expected, the United States has indicated it is not in the position to join at this stage, given the electoral cycle.

techUK has long supported these negotiations and will continue to monitor the process of making this agreement a reality businesses can take advantage of. If members have any questions on this agreement or the broader WTO agenda, they can reach out to the trade team.