WTO members bypass opposition to introduce world’s first baseline digital trade rules

By Olivia Le Poidevin

YAOUNDE, March 28 (Reuters) – A group of World Trade Organization members agreed on Saturday to overcome obstacles to the adoption of the world’s first base of digital trade rules and opt to enforce the agreement among consenting participants, the WTO said.

In recent years, efforts by a group of countries to add the E-Commerce Agreement to the WTO rulebook have been blocked twice by opposing members. The agreement aims to develop an open environment for digital trade.

The push to speed up entry into force among members representing 70% of global trade stems from growing frustration over these hurdles, a senior diplomat told Reuters. Under WTO rules, multilateral agreements between subsets of members require consensus.

At the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference in Cameroon, 66 members agreed on an interim arrangement to activate the agreement within their countries while pushing for broader inclusion within the WTO framework.

Japan’s State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yamada Kenji hailed it as a “historic step” towards global digital trade rules.

British Trade and Trade Minister Peter Kyle also welcomed the move.

“As the first global digital trade agreement, this will make trade cheaper, faster and safer for businesses around the world,” Kyle said.

India was one of the main countries blocking the deal, arguing that trade agreements should be agreed by consensus multilaterally.

The United States is not among the 66 countries that signed the agreement and the issue is currently under review by the US administration.

The agreement is separate from the e-commerce moratorium that bans the imposition of tariffs on digital downloads and streaming, which is currently the subject of a political deadlock between the US and India at the WTO meeting in Cameroon.

(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin, Editing by Keith Weir)