[CTC] E-commerce plurilateral participants to propose formal WTO acceptance in 2025

[Arthur Stamoulis]

E-commerce plurilateral participants to propose formal WTO acceptance in 2025
Hannah Monicken, Inside US Trade
December 18, 2024
 
World Trade Organization participants in the plurilateral e-commerce initiative are planning to push for the formal incorporation of their agreement into the WTO framework early next year, although the effort is likely to face opposition from a few countries.
 
The co-conveners of the joint statement initiative, or JSI, on e-commerce announced a “stabilised” text in July <https://insidetrade.com/node/180684> and are aiming to formalize the agreement next year, according to a communication earlier this month <https://docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/SS/directdoc.aspx?filename=q:/WT/GC/W955.pdf&Open=True> that was raised at a General Council meeting held on Monday and Tuesday.
 
The communication says participants have a “shared objective of seeking a decision” from WTO members to adopt the e-commerce deal at the next General Council meeting in February. They will be asking members to adopt it into Annex 4 of the Marrakesh Agreement, which names plurilateral agreements that are considered to be part of WTO rules and obligations for those party to them. The document includes a copy of the e-commerce text.
 
Nearly 75 countries, including all 27 European Union member states, are party to the proposed e-commerce agreement. Notably, the U.S. participated in the talks but declined to sign onto the final text earlier this year, saying at the time that it “falls short” and citing in particular the “essential security exception.”
 
Backers of the e-commerce JSI are likely to face the same challenge that advocates of the plurilateral Agreement on Investment Facilitation for Development have faced in their push for that deal to be incorporated into the WTO framework. Namely, a few members that are not party to the deal -- India, South Africa and Turkey -- have said they will not agree to do so; WTO decisions are made by consensus.
 
At the General Council meeting this week, India and South Africa said they are reviewing the submission from the e-commerce JSI participants, according to a Geneva-based trade official familiar with the meeting. Cameroon, speaking for the African Group, similarly noted it would provide comments at a later date but also indicated it would most likely support the effort to formally adopt the deal, the official said.
 
India and South Africa have previously raised systemic concerns with plurilateral initiatives, arguing they take attention away from multilateral mandates and questioning whether there is an appropriate legal pathway for such agreements to be adopted into the WTO framework.
 
While the U.S. has not signed onto the e-commerce agreement, it likely would not stand in the way of the deal’s progress; Washington is not party to IFD and has said it is happy to join consensus to adopt the agreement for the members that are a part of it. Alternatively, the incoming Trump administration could change course and join the e-commerce deal.
 
“The above-mentioned Members parties consider that the Agreement on Electronic Commerce is set to benefit consumers and businesses involved in digital trade, especially MSMEs, and that it will play a pivotal role in supporting digital transformation among participating Members,” the e-commerce JSI communication says, urging all delegations to consider the text and related information. “In this regard, we are committed to further discussions and consultations with all Members.”
 
“We invite all WTO Members to consider joining the Joint Statement Initiative on Electronic Commerce and the Agreement on Electronic Commerce,” it concludes. -- Hannah Monicken (hmonicken at iwpnews.com <mailto:hmonicken at iwpnews.com>)
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