E-commerce and other digital technologies are revolutionizing trade, transforming how goods, services and intellectual property are produced and distributed across borders. WTO members are working to ensure that the benefits of e-commerce and digital technologies are broadly shared and that challenges are addressed in a globally coordinated manner.
Work at the WTO is advancing on several tracks: through the Work Programme on E-Commerce which includes all 166 WTO members as participants, through the group of around 70 WTO members that co-sponsor the E-Commerce Agreement, and through related efforts of other WTO bodies.
Work Programme on E-Commerce
WTO members are discussing how to build consensus for an MC14 ministerial decision based on members' proposals covering elements such as the extension of the moratorium on customs duties applicable to electronic transmissions and the reinvigoration of the E-Commerce Work Programme, including through the establishment of a WTO Committee on Digital Trade.
Four submissions are currently on the table: one by the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group proposing the reinvigoration of the Work Programme with a focus on the development dimension and proposing the extension of the customs duties moratorium until the following Ministerial Conference; one by the United States and co-sponsors for a permanent moratorium;one by a group of members seeking to establish a Committee on Digital Trade that would build on the work done under the Work Programme and provide a stable forum for digital trade discussions; and one by Brazil proposing to establish a Committee on Digital Trade and to extend the customs duties moratorium until the following Ministerial Conference.
Regarding the moratorium, some members support the continuation of the current practice of extending the moratorium at each Ministerial Conference while continuing further analytical work on its costs and benefits; some members are also ready to consider an open-ended moratorium, or a longer extension period to provide more stability and predictability to digital trade. A few members, however, do not support the extension of the moratorium because of fiscal and policy space considerations
Previously, at the 13th Ministerial Conference held in Abu Dhabi in 2024, WTO members adopted a Ministerial Decision to maintain the practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until MC14 or 31 March 2026, whichever is earlier. The decision also instructed the General Council to hold periodic reviews on the Work Programme, with a view to presenting recommendations for action at MC14.
The topic of electronic commerce was first introduced at the Second Ministerial Conference in May 1998 when WTO members adopted a Declaration on Global Electronic Commerce. This declaration instructed the WTO General Council to establish a work programme to examine all trade-related issues arising from e-commerce. Members also agreed to continue their practice of not imposing customs duties on electronic transmissions until the next Ministerial Conference. Since then, the Work Programme and the moratorium have been regularly extended.
Read more about the Work Programme on E-Commerce here.
E-Commerce Agreement
Parallel to discussions in the multilateral Work Programme on E-Commerce, 72 members have committed to the provisions of the E-Commerce Agreement (ECA), which sets baseline rules for digital trade. The Agreement aims to facilitate e-commerce, ensure an open environment for digital trade and promote trust in e-commerce. It includes a commitment for a permanent moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions.
The Agreement stems from efforts begun at MC11 in December 2017; co-convenors Australia, Japan and Singapore announced on 26 July 2024 the conclusion of ECA negotiations.
The co-sponsors of the Agreement are seeking consensus of all WTO members to incorporate the Agreement into the WTO's legal architecture as a plurilateral agreement. In February and December 2025, they submitted a request to the General Council but consensus could not be reached. They will continue to seek the incorporation of the agreement, engage with the WTO membership and discuss the way forward.
According to a WTO Secretariat working paper, adoption of the Agreement by the economies that currently support its incorporation into the WTO legal architecture would lead to an increase in global trade by USD 2.4 trillion until 2040. It is projected to increase participants' GDP by 0.43% and participants' trade by 0.97%. Global GDP and global trade are meanwhile projected to increase 0.14% and 0.58% respectively. Put differently, failure to implement the Agreement on E-Commerce leaves annually an average of USD 159 billion of trade on the table, the study states.
Read more about the E-Commerce Agreement here.