90+ Industry Groups from 32 Countries Urge WTO to Adopt Permanent E-Commerce Moratorium

WASHINGTON - More than 90 industry and civil society associations from around the world urged the World Trade Organization and its members to support a permanent Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions and a permanent WTO E-Commerce Work Programme.

As WTO delegations meet this week for the Fourteenth WTO Ministerial Conference - scheduled for March 26-29 - the Business Software Alliance (BSA) and 92 partner associations, issued a Global Industry Report calling for the permanent bar on e-commerce duties and a standing WTO work programme to address digital trade policy priorities.

"The Moratorium ensures the regulatory predictability essential for long-term digital investment, innovation, and cross-border integration," the joint industry report reads. "It supports the competitiveness of economically integrated regions, allowing for seamless digital flows that enhance efficiency and innovation across borders."

The Report was supported by nearly 100 business and civil society organizations across Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania.

"Establishing a permanent Moratorium and a standing digital Work Programme will help build a more stable and inclusive global trading system," said Joseph Whitlock, Senior Director, Policy, BSA. "Allowing the Moratorium to lapse would increase costs, fragment digital markets, and disproportionately harm small businesses and developing economies that rely on digital tools to grow and compete. Ending the Work Programme would set back efforts to promote greater digital inclusion across the globe."

Digitally delivered services now account for more than half of global services exports and are expanding rapidly across sectors. Research shows that greater access to cross-border digital services supports job growth and export expansion for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in economies including India, Indonesia, and South Africa.

At the same time, studies indicate that the revenue associated with maintaining the Moratorium represents only a small fraction of overall government revenue. Evidence from the International Monetary Fund and other international organizations shows that non-discriminatory consumption taxes such as VAT are more efficient and generate more stable revenue than tariffs, without distorting trade.